Indonesian's Blogger

Yesterday i think.. "why if i try to buy a domain ? to use in my new blog ?" I want to have a popular blog.. like O-OM and Kang Rohman. For a while, i will use "Akang Didi" name.. i feel the name fit with my self..

Power
I want ask a something to you.. "Can you powered me? Please ?" You can powered me with my comments..
yes, i want your comments here.. please..
thank you very much..

He was sitting in front of his dressing room mirror after a tiring performance of “Camelot,” removing his make-up for the who knows how many thousandth time. Paler, with the greasepaint cleansed from the famous face, he managed to look, simultaneously, handsome, vibrant and worn.

“Richard has been entertaining the idea of doing your show, Mr. Cavett,” a man who appeared to be both valet and companion said.

“And letting the idea entertain him,” the Welshman intoned in that unmistakable voice.

In fact, Richard Burton was still pondering whether to do my show, and it was thought that my visiting him backstage informally might help.

I tried to imagine what fears or hesitations Burton might have about appearing with me. Could he be afraid that the rich voice, those rugged good looks, the manly erotic charm, the hypnotic blue eyes, the articulacy, the fine wit and the ready storehouse of classical and modern literary quotations and allusions were not quite enough to qualify him for sitting next to Cavett? (Did anyone think, just now, that I was describing myself?)

Could he really think that maybe a boy from Nebraska — who had only been to Yale and not, as he had, Oxford — might outshine all those charms? As my Aunt Eva would say, “The very idea!”

Hoping for the effect of light humor, I said, “I hope I don’t frighten you, Mr. Burton.”

“No, Mr. Cavett, you do not. I do that to myself.”

I liked him immensely.

---

Even under regression hypnosis, Richard would probably not have recalled how we had briefly met about a quarter of a century earlier when only one of us had a familiar name, but more of that anon.

Memories of that night backstage: Richard’s expertly flipping a single, long Marlboro — the mendaciously advertised “light” version — from its box, contemplating it for a moment in a manner that brought to mind an actor holding Yorick’s skull, and saying, as if a little embarrassed to be lighting up, “Looks like these lethal goddamn things will be with me to the end of my days.”

“And hastening them,” I decided not to say. Later, with us knowing each other better, he wouldn’t have minded and would have had a wry response.

Then came the best thing.

Leaving the theater by the stage door required crossing the wide New York State Theater stage. The “Camelot’ sets had been struck for the night and the house and stage were dark; dark except for the murky bulb in a cage on a stand downstage center — the thing known in the theater world as “the ghost light,” an aptly named light that somehow manages to make a vast, dark space seem darker and spookier than it would with no light at all.

What happened next was in the too-good-to-be-true category. Burton stopped near the light, his coat draped over one shoulder, gazed out at the empty house, tilted his head back and, with the famous, full chiming resonance, began, “O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend / The brightest heaven of invention . . . ” — and went right on through that ringing prologue to “Henry the Fifth” (known to actors as “Hank Cinq”).

Goose flesh manifested.

He was standing no more than a yard from me, and I thought, “Talk about front-row seats!” Unforgettable.

---

Maybe our meeting did the trick. A day or two later, Burton agreed to do the show. But, sadly, requested that there be no studio audience. I felt sorry for a bunch of strangers I would never meet who would never know what they missed.

You can do a good show without an audience, but I knew from experience that audiences sometimes buoyed guests who at first feared them.

“What if I made a deal with you?” I dared. “Since they already have their tickets, why don’t we start with them and if you feel uncomfortable we’ll tell them there’s a technical problem and we have to stop for that day and see them out?”

This gambit could accomplish one of two things: (a) he would feel sorry for the disappointed folks and relent, or (b) I would learn how to say “bugger off” in Welsh.

He accepted the offer.

I introduced him with a glowing quote from a prominent British critic about a past performance, never dreaming — since I didn’t know that Richard had disciplined himself to shun all reviews, good or bad — that I was bringing it to him for the first time. He confessed to enjoying it.

At his entrance — which, you’ll see, he artfully delayed for just a few anticipatory seconds — my usually sedate PBS studio audience went nuts. The mikes didn’t truly report the intense burst of applause. (Happily, this was taped before the later craze of piercing, high-pitched cries and shrieks from talk show audiences that have replaced applause as we knew it. Today, when a guest — of whatever high or low consequence — steps out, the air is ripped with screaming. Why? Who started this?)

I love to watch audiences when famous figures appear. Burton’s charisma radiated. At the moment of his entrance, I watched a highly respectable looking lady in the audience slap her hands to her cheeks, let her purse slip to the floor and slide down in her seat. A staff member reported seeing a woman grab for smelling salts.

I once had a guest hate the audience, lean over to me and whisper, “Let’s dump the creeps out front.” I knew Burton still might opt for that, although in somewhat classier terms; probably whispering something more like, “Richard Cavett, I’m experiencing a modicum of discomfort. Let us enforce our gentlemen’s agreement and politely dispense with the assembled onlookers.”

It didn’t happen. When he got that all-important first laugh, every muscle in the Burton face relaxed visibly and I knew we were in for a good half-hour.

Don’t be surprised if the show seems to go by too fast, leaving you wanting more. The man who wasn’t sure he’d do the show at all agreed to do a second one. At the end of that one, I asked if he thought he had one more in him. He did. And, definitely pushing my luck (and in some sense yours), I snagged a fourth.

Sadly, I was too chicken to ask for the one that would have made a full week. Downing his sixth diet soda, Burton talked away a fifth show backstage in the green room. I owe you one.

There’s a lot more to say about this man, but I’m electing to withdraw for now and release you to some real viewing pleasure.

HAILEY, Idaho – Friends and family of an Idaho soldier who was captured in Afghanistan prayed for his safe return Sunday, shaken by the image of the frightened young private in a Taliban video posted online.

Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, 23, was serving with an Alaska-based infantry regiment earlier this month when he vanished, just five months after arriving in Afghanistan. He was serving at a base near the border with Pakistan in an area known to be a Taliban stronghold.

Bergdahl is from Hailey, a town of about 7,000 people in central Idaho where he worked as a barista and was active in ballet. A sign that hangs in the window of Zaney's River Street Coffee House says "Get Bowe Back," and a message inside asks customers to "Join all of us at Zaney's holding light for our friend."

Sue Martin, owner of the coffee shop, said she knew Bergdahl as a free-spirited young man with blond hair who rode his bicycle everywhere in town and was keen to learn as much as he could about the world.

"He joined the ballet. Then he joined the Army," Martin said in an interview from a room at Zaney's, which has become an impromptu meeting place for friends, acquaintances and the media since the Taliban video was shown around the world. "People have been calling and asking what they could bring to show their support."

Bergdahl's family issued a statement asking people to keep the soldier in their thoughts and prayers, but told The Associated Press they were asking that the media respect their privacy.

Neighbors and others in the community have known for weeks that Bergdahl had been captured, but said the family urged them not to talk about the kidnapping out of fear that publicity would compromise his safety. Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter told the AP that he had been working to keep the soldier's name quiet until it was officially released.

In the video posted Saturday on a Web site pointed out by the Taliban, Bergdahl says his name and his hometown. The Pentagon confirmed his identity Sunday.

"We hope and pray for our son's safe return to his comrades and then to our family, and we appreciate all the support and expressions of sympathy shown to us by our family members, our friends and others across the nation," Bob Bergdahl, the soldier's father, said in a statement issued through the Department of Defense.

The family, described by neighbors as deeply private, lives six miles west of Hailey on a remote gravel county road. The humble home has a metal roof and several outbuildings, and vehicles parked in front. The family has chained and locked the front gate, and a small cardboard sign says: "No visitors."

Neighbors are abiding by the family's wishes not to comment on the record about Bergdahl's capture, but described the 23-year-old as an "adventurous" soul who was educated at home, danced ballet and took part in a sport fencing club, the Sun Valley Swords.

One of the directors of the Sun Valley Ballet School in Ketchum said Bergdahl performed with the group for four or five years until about 2008.

"He's athletic," Jill Brennan said. "He just had a knack for it. He's a wonderful young man."

In the 28-minute video, Bergdahl said he was "scared I won't be able to go home." He said he was lagging behind a patrol when he was captured, which conflicts with earlier military accounts that indicated he walked off the base with three Afghans.

It wasn't clear who initially captured Bergdahl, but the U.S. command in Afghanistan said he was being held by the Taliban and condemned the video as a violation of international law.

"I'm glad to see he appears unharmed, but again, this is a Taliban propaganda video," spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Christine Sidenstricker said. "They are exploiting the soldier in violation of international law."

With a shaved head and dressed in a nondescript, gray outfit, Bergdahl was shown eating at one point and sitting cross-legged. He choked up when discussing his family and his hope to marry his girlfriend.

"I have a very, very good family that I love back home in America," Bergdahl said.

The Pentagon identified his hometown as Ketchum, which is about half the size of Hailey and about 12 miles north. His family says he grew up in Blaine County, closer to Hailey.

Hailey is a mix of a working-class community and resort town, just down the road from upscale Sun Valley, a ski resort that's home to celebrities including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Hanks and Sen. John Kerry. Bruce Willis maintains a vacation home in the area and owns local businesses.

Bergdahl is a member of 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based at Fort Richardson, Alaska.

He entered the Army in June 2008 and was trained in Fort Benning, Ga., said Lt. Col. Jonathan Allen, spokesman for Fort Richardson. Bergdahl reported for duty in Alaska in October, and deployed to Afghanistan in February.

In the video, Bergdahl said the date was July 14; it's clear the video was made no earlier because Bergdahl repeated an exaggerated Taliban claim about a Ukrainian helicopter that was shot down that day.

He was interviewed in English and asked his views on the war, which he called extremely hard; his desire to learn more about Islam; and the morale of American soldiers, which he said was low. He was prompted by his interrogators to give a message to the American people.

"Please, please bring us home so that we can be back where we belong and not over here, wasting our time and our lives and our precious life that we could be using back in our own country," he said.

The circumstances of Bergdahl's capture weren't clear.

On July 2, two U.S. officials told the AP the soldier had "just walked off" his base with three Afghans after his shift. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.

On July 6, the Taliban claimed on their Web site that five days earlier a "drunken American soldier had come out of his garrison" and was captured by mujahedeen.

Details of such incidents are routinely held very tightly by the military as it works to retrieve a missing or captured soldier without giving away any information to captors.

Afghans in contact with the Taliban told the AP that the soldier was held by a Taliban group led by a commander called Maulvi Sangin. They said the fighters decided to move him north into Taliban-controlled areas of Ghazni province.

The Afghans spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of arrest or reprisal. It was impossible to independently confirm their information.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said the militants holding the soldier haven't yet set any conditions for his release.

Their dirty deeds may be done dirt cheap but when it comes to seeing rock legends AC/DC, fans can expect to be thunderstruck by the hefty ticket price.

All tickets to the Australian rockers' concert at Westpac Stadium on January 28 will cost $159.90.

Wellington is the first date of the band's Australasian tour and tickets go on sale on July 28.

It is the first rock concert at the stadium not to vary ticket prices. Even The Rolling Stones in 2006 seen by a crowd of 40,000 had ticket prices from $55 to $350. When AC/DC last played New Zealand in 1996, tickets cost $59 (the equivalent of $77 today).

The band's long-time promoter, Garry Van Egmond, said the price of general admission tickets to stand on the pitch usually some of the cheapest would have been higher if they had not set one price for all tickets. A big factor was the preference of AC/DC audiences wanting to stand on the pitch to see the band, rather than be seated.

About half the ticket sales to AC/DC's shows in Australia had been for general admission, rather than reserved seating. "That was one way of keeping them down to one price. Our audience has widened much more, it's now young kids to 60-year-olds."

Mr Van Egmond said people also had to take into account the scale of the show.

It will have the equivalent of 48 semi-trailers of equipment transported to the stadium by train. It will have more than 120 crew, and about another 380 people employed on the night.

AC/DC fan Darrell Burton, of Foxton, did not think the price was too high. Burton is the lead singer of Sniper Alley, which performs AC/DC tribute shows around the North Island.

"People would sell their car if they're AC/DC fans to go to that concert if they couldn't afford it. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity really."

He said the single ticket price was reasonable because it considered the size of the show. "They are used to playing to crowds of 100,000, therefore the dollar value has to match the production value."

MONEY MADE

Top five Westpac Stadium ticket prices:

1. The Rolling Stones, April 18, 2006.

Most expensive: $350
Cheapest: $55

2. Elton John, December 6, 2006

Most expensive: $325
Cheapest: $80

3. The Police, January 17, 2008

Most expensive: $250
Cheapest: $100

4. Rock2Wgtn, March 22-23, 2008

Most expensive: $200 (one day)
Cheapest: $75

5. David Bowie, February 14, 2004

Most expensive: $175
Cheapest: $95

Michael Jackson reportedly gorged on family-size buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken before making himself sick.

The pop legend - who died of a suspected cardiac arrest last month - allegedly suffered from eating disorder bulimia for years. He would regularly eat large amounts of junk food before making himself ill just moments later.

Talking about Michael's memorial service, in which basketball legend Magic Johnson recalled a time when the 'Thriller' singer ordered a whole bucket of KFC to himself, a family friend told the Chicago Sun Times newspaper:

"Michael was bulimic. It hit me when Magic Johnson was talking about Michael sitting on the floor with him eating Kentucky Fried Chicken. Everyone thought that was a great thing at the memorial service, and it was. Only thing, what Magic - and everyone else - didn't realise was that Michael then would have gone and thrown up all of that.

"He would down unbelievable amounts of things like KFC extra-crispy chicken - like a whole family-size bucket by himself - or a couple of large Domino's pizzas or two or three whole Marie Callender's pies - and then go throw them up."

In the last images taken of Michael before his tragic death, the star looked increasingly frail and gaunt. It has also been claimed he was suffering from anorexia.

One of Michael's friends, David Gest, has previously spoken of the 50-year-old star's love for KFC, but said he thought it was healthy removed the skin.

David said: "When we hang out we visit antique stores, play frisbee and go to KFC.

"He thinks if you peel the skin off the chicken, it makes it organic. He cracks me up."

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama told the nation Saturday his health care overhaul is financially sound, but a new analysis by congressional budget experts of emerging House legislation said it would increase deficits by $239 billion over a decade.

"I want to be very clear: I will not sign on to any health plan that adds to our deficits over the next decade," the president said in his weekly address. "And by helping improve quality and efficiency, the reforms we make will help bring our deficits under control in the long-term," he added.

It was the sixth consecutive day Obama sought to keep the focus on his chief domestic priority in the face of mounting resistance on Capitol Hill, including from conservative Democrats. Republicans also renewed their criticism.

The president's remarks were released late Friday, a few hours before an update by the Congressional Budget Office said the overall cost of the House bill would "result in a net increase in the federal budget deficit of $239 billion over the 2010-2019 period." The estimate included the cost of higher Medicare fees for doctors, an important ingredient of the measure for the American Medical Association. The AMA, which represents physicians, endorsed the bill late last week.

The CBO analysis said the bill would result in a reduction in the deficit from 2010-2014 before it began to add red ink in gradually increasing amounts for the next five years.

In a statement issued Saturday evening, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the leadership did not intend to find savings to offset the estimated $245 billion cost of higher Medicare fees for doctors.

The money is not "increased spending for a new policy, but rather the costs of maintaining our existing policy to prevent a cut in physician rates," they said. Without a change, doctor fees would fall by 21 percent.

The statement said the legislation taking shape "is deficit neutral for all of the increased costs from new and expanded programs under the health reform section" of the bill.

Administration officials did not respond to a request for comment on whether that complied with Obama's vow that health care overhaul would not add to the deficit.

Obama has said consistently the current drive for health care could be the last for the foreseeable future if it does not succeed.

"This is what the debate in Congress is all about: whether we'll keep talking and tinkering and letting this problem fester as more families and businesses go under and more Americans lose their coverage," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address. "Or whether we'll seize this opportunity — one we might not have again for generations — and finally pass health insurance reform this year, in 2009."

Through the week, Obama tried to project confidence about his approach to cover millions of uninsured people. During a private meeting with Jewish leaders on Monday, he joked that the only thing more difficult than passing health care legislation might be negotiating Mideast peace.

At a late scheduled White House appearance Friday, he appealed to lawmakers not to "lose heart" and asked for deeper cost cuts to calm concern over the huge expense.

Republicans were not swayed.

"The president and some Democrats insist we must rush this plan through," said Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. "Why? Because the more Americans know about it, the more they oppose it. Something this important needs to be done right, rather than done quickly."

Two House committees on Friday approved their parts of the bill over Republican objections. That left one more to act. But Democrats facing tough re-election bids or representing conservative districts demanded additional measures to hold down costs.

HAILEY, Idaho – A soldier from Idaho who disappeared from his base in Afghanistan has been captured, the Pentagon confirmed Sunday, a day after he was seen in a Taliban video posted online.

The Defense Department released the name of Pfc. Bowe (pronounced BOH) R. Bergdahl, 23, who was serving with an Alaska-based infantry regiment. The private was last seen walking away from his base near the border with Pakistan in an area known to be a Taliban stronghold.

Even before his name became public, two U.S. defense officials confirmed to The Associated Press that the man in that 28-minute video was the captured soldier. The video, in which Bergdahl said he was "scared I won't be able to go home," provided the first public glimpse of the missing American.

The Pentagon statement said Bergdahl's whereabouts became unknown on July 1 and his status was changed July 3 to missing-captured.

It wasn't clear who initially captured Bergdahl, but the U.S. command in Afghanistan said he was being held by the Taliban and condemned the video as a violation of international law.

"I'm glad to see he appears unharmed, but again, this is a Taliban propaganda video," spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Christine Sidenstricker said. "They are exploiting the soldier in violation of international law."

Bob Bergdahl, the soldier's father, told the AP Saturday that the family was requesting media respect their privacy.

"We hope and pray for our son's safe return to his comrades and then to our family, and we appreciate all the support and expressions of sympathy shown to us by our family members, our friends and others across the nation," Bob Bergdahl said in a statement issued through the Department of Defense. "Thank you, and please continue to keep Bowe in your thoughts and prayers."

On the video, which was posted on a Web site pointed out by the Taliban, Bergdahl says he's from Hailey, Idaho, a town of about 7,000 people that lies 160 miles east of Boise. The Pentagon identified his hometown as Ketchum, which is about half the size of Hailey and about 12 miles north. His family says he grew up in Blaine County, closer to Hailey.

Bergdahl entered the Army in June 2008 and went through basic training in Fort Benning, Ga., said Lt. Col. Jonathan Allen, spokesman for Fort Richardson. Bergdahl also took advanced individual and parachute training in Georgia, he said.

Bergdahl reported for duty in Alaska in October, and deployed to Afghanistan in February.

Before enlisting, Bergdahl worked as a barista at a coffee shop in Hailey, Zaney's River Street Coffee House, where a sign on the counter encouraged patrons to keep Bergdahl in their thoughts and prayers.

"Join all of us at Zaney's holding light for our friend Bowe Bergdahl. Bowe has been captured in Afghanistan," the handwritten sign said.

A similar message posted July 8 on the coffee shop's Facebook page suggests many in the small town have known for some time that Bergdahl was in danger.

Friends and former co-workers at the coffee shop declined to speak on the record Sunday to an AP reporter, saying they were abiding by the Bergdahl family's wishes for privacy.

One of the directors of the Sun Valley Ballet School in Ketchum said Bergdahl performed with the group for four or five years up to about 2008.

"He's athletic," Jill Brennan said. "He just had a knack for it. He's a wonderful young man."

In the video, Bergdahl had his head shaved and was seen with the start of a beard. He was sitting and dressed in a nondescript, gray outfit. Early in the video one captor held the soldier's dog tag up to the camera. His name and ID number were clearly visible. He was shown eating at one point and sitting cross-legged.

He said the date was July 14 and that he was captured when he lagged behind on a patrol. It's clear the video was made no earlier than July 14 because Bergdahl repeated an exaggerated Taliban claim about a Ukrainian helicopter that was shot down that day.

He was interviewed in English by his captors. He was asked his views on the war, which he called extremely hard; his desire to learn more about Islam; and the morale of American soldiers, which he said was low.

Asked how he was doing, the soldier said: "Well I'm scared, scared I won't be able to go home. It is very unnerving to be a prisoner."

He later choked up when discussing his family and his hope to marry his girlfriend.

"I have a very, very good family that I love back home in America. And I miss them every day when I'm gone," he said.

He was prompted by his interrogators to give a message to the American people.

"To my fellow Americans who have loved ones over here, who know what it's like to miss them, you have the power to make our government bring them home," he said. "Please, please bring us home so that we can be back where we belong and not over here, wasting our time and our lives and our precious life that we could be using back in our own country. Please bring us home. It is America and American people who have that power."

Bergdahl is a member of 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based at Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Congregants at St. John's Cathedral in Boise prayed for Bergdahl Sunday morning, and Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, who attends the church, told the AP that he had been working to keep the soldier's name quiet until it was officially released.

Otter said he'd been in contact with representatives of Bergdahl's family, but hasn't been part of any efforts to secure the soldier's release.

"I'm sure we'll do whatever we're asked to do," Otter said of himself and other Idaho leaders.

On July 2, the U.S. military said an American soldier had disappeared after walking off his base in eastern Afghanistan with three Afghan counterparts and was believed to have been taken prisoner.

Details of such incidents are routinely held very tightly by the military as it works to retrieve a missing or captured soldier without giving away any information to captors.

But Afghan Police Gen. Nabi Mullakheil said the soldier went missing in eastern Paktika province near the border with Pakistan from an American base. The region is known to be Taliban-infested.

Afghans in contact with the Taliban told the AP that the soldier was held by a Taliban group led by a commander called Maulvi Sangin, who operates in the area where the American went missing. They said the fighters initially planned to smuggle the soldier across the border into Pakistan but ruled that out because of U.S. missile strikes and Pakistani bombing attacks against militant targets in the area. Instead, they decided to move him north into Taliban-controlled areas of Ghazni province.

The Afghans spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of arrest or reprisal. It was impossible to independently confirm their information.

A brigade commander for the Afghan national army in southeastern Afghanistan, Gen. Asrar Ahmad Khan, said Afghan and coalition forces have been working together for 15 days searching for the missing soldier.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said the militants holding the soldier haven't yet set any conditions for his release.

KABUL – A Russian-owned civilian helicopter crashed and burst into flames shortly after takeoff at southern Afghanistan's largest NATO base Sunday, killing 16 civilians in the latest in a string of deadly aircraft crashes in the country.

A U.S. military helicopter also made an emergency landing in the country's east, causing several injuries. A military spokeswoman said there was no insurgent fire involved.

There were no indications that the crash of the Mi-8 helicopter at southern Kandahar Air Field was caused by hostile fire, military officials said. Sixteen people died in the crash, and five were wounded and were treated on the NATO base, said Capt. Glen Parent, a spokesman for the NATO-led force in Kandahar.

No military personnel were wounded or killed, NATO said. Parent said the helicopter burst into flames when it crashed near the runway only moments after takeoff.

The Russian news agency Interfax said the Mi-8 was owned by the Russian air company Vertikal-T. It cited Russian charge d'affaires Andrei Vadov as saying there were no Russians among the 16 killed.

The Mi-8 helicopter can seat up to 24 people, Parent said. Civilian helicopters help ferry civilian contractors and supplies to small military outposts across Afghanistan.

In a second helicopter incident in the country's east, a U.S. military chopper made an emergency landing in Kunar province, the military said in a statement. U.S. military spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Christine Sidenstricker said no enemy fire was reported near the helicopter.

Personnel on the helicopter were taken to a medical facility for treatment, but no other details were released.

The two incidents came after a spate of recent aircraft crashes in Afghanistan.

A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet crashed early Saturday in central Afghanistan, killing two crew members. U.S. officials say insurgent fire did not bring down the plane.

Last week, Taliban militants downed an Mi-6 transport helicopter in southern Afghanistan, killing six Ukrainian civilians on board and an Afghan child on the ground.

Earlier in July, two Canadian soldiers and one British trooper were killed in a helicopter crash in Zabul province. Officials said that crash did not appear to be a result of hostile fire.

Elsewhere in the country, the Afghan Defense Ministry said 35 militants were killed during a joint operation by Afghan and coalition troops in the Shah Walk Kot district of Kandahar province early Saturday. The mission included the use of airstrikes, it said in a statement.

A spokesman for the ministry, Zahir Murad, said he did not know how defense officials knew that 35 militants had been killed, and there was no way to independently verify the number.

Also in the east, a suicide bomber attacked the Afghan-Pakistan border crossing at Torkham, killing a border police officer and a civilian, said Gen. Ayub Salangi, the provincial police chief of Nangarhar.

Militant violence has risen across Afghanistan in the last three years, prompting President Barack Obama to send 21,000 additional U.S. troops this year. Within months, a record 68,000 U.S. forces will be in the country.

U.S, NATO, and Afghan forces are working to provide security for the country's Aug. 20 presidential election, which Taliban militants have vowed to disrupt.

Gunmen killed a candidate for provincial council in Kunduz province Sunday as he was traveling to a campaign event, said Ahmad Sami Yawar, the spokesman for the provincial governor. Candidate Jan Mohammad and his driver died in the attack, he said.

President Barack Obama made his personal icy cool the trademark of his campaign, the tenor of his White House and the hallmark of an early run of successes at home and abroad. But as the glamour wears off and a long, frustrating summer wears on, he is being forced to improvise — stooping to respond to political foes and adjusting his tactics and demeanor for the trench warfare of a legislative agenda.

The root of the change is one that faces every president: Economic and international realities that resist political charm. Iran and North Korea have shown no interest in the president’s outstretched hand. The economy has delivered a double-whammy, with rising unemployment stirring voters’ concerns while sluggish growth deprives the government of tax revenues Obama would like to spend on new programs.
Health care reform, which once appeared flush with momentum from earlier congressional victories, is now on a slog through no less than five committees, which include Democrats who either aren’t sold on Obama’s expansive vision or can’t figure out how to convince voters to pay for it.

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