Texas teen Ethan Couch gets 10 years' probation for driving drunk, killing 4

(CNN) -- To the families of the victims, Ethan Couch was a killer on the road, a drunken teenage driver who caused a crash that left four people dead.

To the defense, the youth is himself a victim -- of "affluenza," according to one psychologist -- the product of wealthy, privileged parents who never set limits for the boy.

To a judge, who sentenced Couch to 10 years' probation but no jail time, he's a defendant in need of treatment.

The decision disappointed prosecutors and stunned victims' family members, who say they feel that Couch got off too easy. Prosecutors had asked for the maximum of 20 years behind bars.

"Let's face it. ... There needs to be some justice here," Eric Boyles, who lost his wife and daughter, told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" on Wednesday night.

"For 25 weeks, I've been going through a healing process. And so when the verdict came out, I mean, my immediate reaction is -- I'm back to week 1. We have accomplished nothing here. My healing process is out the window," he said.

Lawyers for Couch, 16, had argued that the teen's parents should share part of the blame for the crash because they never set limits for the boy and gave him everything he wanted.

According to CNN affiliate WFAA, a psychologist called by the defense described Couch as a product of "affluenza."

He reportedly testified that the teen's family felt wealth bought privilege, and that Couch's life could be turned around with one to two years of treatment and no contact with his parents.

Couch was sentenced by a juvenile court judge Tuesday. If he violates the terms of his probation, he could face up to 10 years of incarceration, according to a statement from the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office.

Judge Jean Boyd told the court she would not release Couch to his parents, but would work to find the teen a long-term treatment facility.

"There are absolutely no consequences for what occurred that day," said Boyles. "The primary message has to absolutely be that money and privilege can't buy justice in this country."

His wife, Hollie Boyles, and daughter, Shelby, left their home to help Breanna Mitchell, whose SUV had broken down. Brian Jennings, a youth pastor, was driving past and also stopped to help.

All four were killed when the teen's pickup plowed into the pedestrians on a road in Burleson, south of Fort Worth. Couch's vehicle also struck a parked car, which then slid into another vehicle headed in the opposite direction.

Two people riding in the bed of the teen's pickup were tossed in the crash and severely injured.

One is no longer able to move or talk because of a brain injury, while the other suffered internal injuries and broken bones.

"There is nothing the judge could have done to lessen the suffering for any of those families," said defense attorney Scott Brown, CNN affiliate KTVT reported.

"(The judge) fashioned a sentence that is going to keep Ethan under the thumb of the justice system for the next 10 years," he said. "And if Ethan doesn't do what he's supposed to do, if he has one misstep at all, then this judge, or an adult judge when he's transferred, can then incarcerate him."

Earlier on the night of the accident, June 15, Couch and some friends had stolen beer from a local Walmart. Three hours after the crash, tests showed he had a blood alcohol content of 0.24, three times the legal limit, according to the district attorney's office.

"We are disappointed by the punishment assessed but have no power under the law to change or overturn it," said Assistant District Attorney Richard Alpert. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and we regret that this outcome has added to the pain and suffering they have endured."

It is very rare, but not impossible, for prosecutors to challenge the sentence on the ground that it was too lenient, CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin said.

"To give him a pass this time given the egregious nature of his conduct -- four deaths -- is just incomprehensible," she said.

It is unfair that other young defendants without the same wealth could end up in jail for a lot less, said Hostin, of CNN's "New Day" morning show.

"I think in terms of policy, this really flies in the face of our criminal justice system," she said. "There have to be consequences to actions, and that is what our system is about, even for juveniles."

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Albania.Vehicle of the prefect of Vlora attempts to enter the government building with C4 explosives in it

Tirana, December 13, 2013/ Balkan Independent News Agency
A car containing explosive substances (photo) has been parked near the government’s building thus causing police to be alarmed and panic amongst people.
The 2007 Peugeot type vehicle with registration number TR 5066 N, was the property of Besnik Rrapo Dervishi, 50 years of age, resident in “Mustafa Matohiti” st. in Tirana.
Police sources said for balkaneu.com that a small amount of explosives was found in the car, but there are still no details on the type of explosive.
A large number of police forces surrounded the government’s building and entire personnel were evacuated from the building located in the “Martyrs of the Nation” boulevard in Tirana.
Special Forces and bomb squad carried out a controlled explosion of the suspected car.
Minister of Interior, Saimir Tahiri and Minister of Defense, Mimi Kodheli arrived at the scene. Prime Minister Edi Rama has been on an official visit in Italy since Thursday.
Currently police is not providing accurate information as to the causes why the car filled with explosives has been parked near the government meeting.
Police issues a press release on the event
On December 13, 2013, at around 9:30 am, a “Peugeot” type vehicle with registration number “TR 5066 N”, property of Besnik Dervishi, prefect of Vlora, was making its way in the premises of the government building.
After carrying out a specialized inspection at the entry of the building, Republican Guard officers noticed an object suspected of being explosive substance underneath the vehicle.
Officers of the Republican Guard asked the driver and the passenger of the vehicle to get out of the vehicle and blocked the movement of vehicles in and out of the government’s building.
Specialized forces of the State Police along with the Bomb Squad from the RENEA unit and Prosecution of Serious Crimes were called in immediately.
Police immediately ordered and took prompt measures for the evacuation of all persons in the vicinity of the building, closing the necessary perimeter in order for the Bomb Squad to operate.
From the detailed inspection carried out by the Bomb Squad on the vehicle, it was seen that an amount of 200 gram of C4 explosive connected to two detonating fuses and a mobile phone, had been mounted on the vehicle.
Bomb Squad from the State Police has taken all measures to neutralize the amount of explosive.
An enquiry team continues its investigation in order to fully clarify the circumstances and motives for this event. /ibna/

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Nelson Mandela "I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight it now, and will do so until the end of my days."

• NAME: Nelson Mandela
• OCCUPATION: Civil Rights Activist, World Leader, Writer
• BIRTH DATE: July 18, 1918
• DEATH DATE: December 05, 2013
• EDUCATION: Clarkebury Boarding Institute, Wesleyan College, University College of Fort Hare, University of London, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
• PLACE OF BIRTH: Mveso, Transkei, South Africa
• PLACE OF DEATH: Johannesburg, South Africa
• FULL NAME: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
• AKA: Nelson Mandela
• AKA: Rolihlahla
• NICKNAME: Madiba
• ORIGINALLY: Rolihlahla Mandela
• NICKNAME: Black Pimperne

BEST KNOWN FOR

Nelson Mandela became the first black president of South Africa in 1994, serving until 1999. A symbol of global peacemaking, he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, in Mveso, Transkei, South Africa. Becoming actively involved in the anti-apartheid movement in his 20s, Mandela joined the African National Congress in 1942. For 20 years, he directed a campaign of peaceful, nonviolent defiance against the South African government and its racist policies. In 1993,

Mandela and South African President F.W. de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to dismantle the country's apartheid system. In 1994, Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa's first black president. In 2009, Mandela's birthday (July 18) was declared "Mandela Day" to promote global peace and celebrate the South African leader's legacy. Mandela died at his home in Johannesburg on December 5, 2013, at age 95.

Early Life

Nelson Mandela was born Rolihlahla Mandela on July 18, 1918, in the tiny village of Mvezo, on the banks of the Mbashe River in Transkei, South Africa. "Rolihlahla" in the Xhosa language literally means "pulling the branch of a tree," but more commonly translates as "troublemaker."

Nelson Mandela's father, who was destined to be a chief, served as a counselor to tribal chiefs for several years, but lost both his title and fortune over a dispute with the local colonial magistrate. Mandela was only an infant at the time, and his father's loss of status forced his mother to move the family to Qunu, an even smaller village north of Mvezo. The village was nestled in a narrow grassy valley; there were no roads, only foot paths that linked the pastures where livestock grazed. The family lived in huts and ate a local harvest of maize, sorghum, pumpkin and beans, which was all they could afford. Water came from springs and streams and cooking was done outdoors. Mandela played the games of young boys, acting out male rights-of-passage scenarios with toys he made from the natural materials available, including tree branches and clay.

At the suggestion of one of his father's friends, Mandela was baptized in the Methodist Church. He went on to become the first in his family to attend school. As was custom at the time, and probably due to the bias of the British educational system in South Africa, Mandela's teacher told him that his new first name would be Nelson.

When Mandela was 9 years old, his father died of lung disease, causing his life to change dramatically. He was adopted by Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo, the acting regent of the Thembu people—a gesture done as a favor to Mandela's father, who, years earlier, had recommended Jongintaba be made chief. Mandela subsequently left the carefree life he knew in Qunu, fearing that he would never see his village again. He traveled by motorcar to Mqhekezweni, the provincial capital of Thembuland, to the chief's royal residence. Though he had not forgotten his beloved village of Qunu, he quickly adapted to the new, more sophisticated surroundings of Mqhekezweni.

Mandela was given the same status and responsibilities as the regent's two other children, his son and oldest child, Justice, and daughter Nomafu. Mandela took classes in a one-room school next to the palace, studying English, Xhosa, history and geography. It was during this period that Mandela developed an interest in African history,

CONTENTS

• Synopsis
• Early Life
• Mandela's Imprisonment
• Prison Release and Presidency
• Retirement and Later Career
• In Recent Years
• Death and Legacy
• Personal Life

from elder chiefs who came to the Great Palace on official business. He learned how the African people had lived in relative peace until the coming of the white people. According to the elders, the children of South Africa had previously lived as brothers, but white men had shattered this fellowship. While black men shared their land, air and water with whites, white men took all of these things for themselves.

When Mandela was 16, it was time for him to partake in the traditional African circumcision ritual to mark his entrance into manhood. The ceremony of circumcision was not just a surgical procedure, but an elaborate ritual in preparation for manhood. In African tradition, an uncircumcised man cannot inherit his father's wealth, marry or officiate at tribal rituals. Mandela participated in the ceremony with 25 other boys. He welcomed the opportunity to partake in his people's customs and felt ready to make the transition from boyhood to manhood. His mood shifted during the proceedings, however, when Chief Meligqili, the main speaker at the ceremony, spoke sadly of the young men, explaining that they were enslaved in their own country. Because their land was controlled by white men, they would never have the power to govern themselves, the chief said. He went on to lament that the promise of the young men would be squandered as they struggled to make a living and perform mindless chores for white men. Mandela would later say that while the chief's words didn't make total sense to him at the time, they would eventually formulate his resolve for an independent South Africa.

From the time Mandela came under the guardianship of Regent Jongintaba, he was groomed to assume high office, not as a chief, but a counselor to one. As Thembu royalty, Mandela attended a Wesleyan mission school, the Clarkebury Boarding Institute and Wesleyan College, where, he would later state, he achieved academic success through "plain hard work." He also excelled at track and boxing. Mandela was initially mocked as a "country boy" by his Wesleyan classmates, but eventually became friends with several students, including Mathona, his first female friend.

In 1939, Mandela enrolled at the University College of Fort Hare, the only residential center of higher learning for blacks in South Africa at the time. Fort Hare was considered Africa's equivalent of the University of Oxford or Harvard University, drawing scholars from all parts of sub-Sahara Africa. In his first year at the university, Mandela took the required courses, but focused on Roman Dutch law to prepare for a career in civil service as an interpreter or clerk—regarded as the best profession that a black man could obtain at the time.

In his second year at Fort Hare, Mandela was elected to the Student Representative Council. For some time, students had been dissatisfied with the food and lack of power held by the SRC. During this election, a majority of students voted to boycott unless their demands were met. Aligning with the student majority, Mandela resigned from his position. Seeing this as an act of insubordination,

CONTENTS

• Synopsis
• Early Life
• Mandela's Imprisonment
• Prison Release and Presidency
• Retirement and Later Career
• In Recent Years
• Death and Legacy
• Personal Life

the university's Dr. Kerr expelled Mandela for the rest of the year and gave him an ultimatum: He could return to the school if he agreed to serve on the SRC. When Mandela returned home, the regent was furious, telling him unequivocally that he would have to recant his decision and go back to school in the fall.

Mandela's Imprisonment

A few weeks after Mandela returned home, Regent Jongintaba announced that he had arranged a marriage for his adopted son. The regent wanted to make sure that Mandela's life was properly planned, and the arrangement was within his right, as tribal custom dictated. Shocked by the news, feeling trapped and believing that he had no other option than to follow this recent order, Mandela ran away from home. He settled in Johannesburg, where he worked a variety of jobs, including as a guard and a clerk, while completing his bachelor's degree via correspondence courses. He then enrolled at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg to study law.

Mandela soon became actively involved in the anti-apartheid movement, joining the African National Congress in 1942. Within the ANC, a small group of young Africans banded together, calling themselves the African National Congress Youth League. Their goal was to transform the ANC into a mass grassroots movement, deriving strength from millions of rural peasants and working people who had no voice under the current regime. Specifically, the group believed that the ANC's old tactics of polite petitioning were ineffective. In 1949, the ANC officially adopted the Youth League's methods of boycott, strike, civil disobedience and non-cooperation, with policy goals of full citizenship, redistribution of land, trade union rights, and free and compulsory education for all children.

For 20 years, Mandela directed peaceful, nonviolent acts of defiance against the South African government and its racist policies, including the 1952 Defiance Campaign and the 1955 Congress of the People. He founded the law firm Mandela and Tambo, partnering with Oliver Tambo, a brilliant student he'd met while attending Fort Hare. The law firm provided free and low-cost legal counsel to unrepresented blacks.

In 1956, Mandela and 150 others were arrested and charged with treason for their political advocacy (they were eventually acquitted). Meanwhile, the ANC was being challenged by Africanists, a new breed of black activists who believed that the pacifist method of the ANC was ineffective. Africanists soon broke away to form the Pan-Africanist Congress, which negatively affected the ANC; by 1959, the movement had lost much of its militant support.

In 1961, Mandela, who was formerly committed to nonviolent protest, began to believe that armed struggle was the only way to achieve change. He subsequently co-founded Umkhonto we Sizwe, also known as MK, an armed offshoot of the ANC dedicated to sabotage and guerilla war tactics to end apartheid. In 1961, Mandela orchestrated a three-day national workers' strike. He was arrested for leading the strike the following year, and was sentenced to five years in prison. In 1963,

CONTENTS

• Synopsis
• Early Life
• Mandela's Imprisonment
• Prison Release and Presidency
• Retirement and Later Career
• In Recent Years
• Death and Legacy
• Personal Life

Mandela was brought to trial again. This time, he and 10 other ANC leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment for political offenses, including sabotage.

Nelson Mandela was incarcerated on Robben Island for 18 of his 27 years in prison. During this time, he contracted tuberculosis and, as a black political prisoner, received the lowest level of treatment from prison workers. However, while incarcerated, Mandela was able to earn a Bachelor of Law degree through a University of London correspondence program.

A 1981 memoir by South African intelligence agent Gordon Winter described a plot by the South African government to arrange for Mandela's escape so as to shoot him during the recapture; the plot was foiled by British intelligence. Mandela continued to be such a potent symbol of black resistance that a coordinated international campaign for his release was launched, and this international groundswell of support exemplified the power and esteem that Mandela had in the global political community.

In 1982, Mandela and other ANC leaders were moved to Pollsmoor Prison, allegedly to enable contact between them and the South African government. In 1985, President P.W. Botha offered Mandela's release in exchange for renouncing armed struggle; the prisoner flatly rejected the offer. With increasing local and international pressure for his release, the government participated in several talks with Mandela over the ensuing years, but no deal was made. It wasn't until Botha suffered a stroke and was replaced by Frederik Willem de Klerk that Mandela's release was finally announced—on February 11, 1990. De Klerk also unbanned the ANC, removed restrictions on political groups and suspended executions.

Prison Release and Presidency

Upon his release from prison, Nelson Mandela immediately urged foreign powers not to reduce their pressure on the South African government for constitutional reform. While he stated that he was committed to working toward peace, he declared that the ANC's armed struggle would continue until the black majority received the right to vote.

In 1991, Mandela was elected president of the African National Congress, with lifelong friend and colleague Oliver Tambo serving as national chairperson. Mandela continued to negotiate with President F.W. de Klerk toward the country's first multiracial elections. White South Africans were willing to share power, but many black South Africans wanted a complete transfer of power. The negotiations were often strained and news of violent eruptions, including the assassination of ANC leader Chris Hani, continued throughout the country.

Mandela had to keep a delicate balance of political pressure and intense negotiations amid the demonstrations and armed resistance.

In 1993, Mandela and President de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work toward dismantling apartheid. And due in no small part to their work, negotiations between black and white South Africans prevailed: On April 27, 1994,

CONTENTS

• Synopsis
• Early Life
• Mandela's Imprisonment
• Prison Release and Presidency
• Retirement and Later Career
• In Recent Years
• Death and Legacy
• Personal Life

South Africa held its first democratic elections. Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the country's first black president on May 10, 1994, at the age of 77, with de Klerk as his first deputy.

Also in 1994, Mandela published an autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, much of which he had secretly written while in prison. The following year, he was awarded the Order of Merit.

From 1994 until June 1999, Mandela worked to bring about the transition from minority rule and apartheid to black majority rule. He used the nation's enthusiasm for sports as a pivot point to promote reconciliation between whites and blacks, encouraging black South Africans to support the once-hated national rugby team. In 1995, South Africa came to the world stage by hosting the Rugby World Cup, which brought further recognition and prestige to the young republic.

Mandela also worked to protect South Africa's economy from collapse during his presidency. Through his Reconstruction and Development Plan, the South African government funded the creation of jobs, housing and basic health care. In 1996, Mandela signed into law a new constitution for the nation, establishing a strong central government based on majority rule, and guaranteeing both the rights of minorities and the freedom of expression.

Retirement and Later Career

By the 1999 general election, Nelson Mandela had retired from active politics. He continued to maintain a busy schedule, however, raising money to build schools and clinics in South Africa's rural heartland through his foundation, and serving as a mediator in Burundi's civil war. He also published a number of books on his life and struggles, among them No Easy Walk to Freedom; Nelson Mandela: The Struggle is my Life; and Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales.

Mandela was diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer in 2001. In June 2004, at the age of 85, he announced his formal retirement from public life and returned to his native village of Qunu.

On July 18, 2007, Mandela convened a group of world leaders, including Graca Machel (whom Mandela would wed in 1998),Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan, Ela Bhatt, Gro Harlem Brundtland,Jimmy Carter, Li Zhaoxing, Mary Robinson and Muhammad Yunus, to address some of the world's toughest issues. Aiming to work both publicly and privately to find solutions to problems around the globe, the group was aptly named "The Elders." The Elders' impact has spanned Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and their actions have included promoting peace and women's equality, demanding an end to atrocities, and supporting initiatives to address humanitarian crises and promote democracy.

In addition to advocating for peace and equality on both a national and global scale, in his later years, Mandela remained committed to the fight against AIDS—a disease that killed Mandela's son, Makgatho, in 2005.

In Recent Years

Nelson Mandela made his last public appearance at the final match of the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. He remained largely out of the spotlight in his later years, choosing to spend much of his time in his childhood community of Qunu, south of Johannesburg. He did, however, visit with U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, wife of President Barack Obama,

CONTENTS

• Synopsis
• Early Life
• Mandela's Imprisonment
• Prison Release and Presidency
• Retirement and Later Career
• In Recent Years
• Death and Legacy
• Personal Life

during her trip to South Africa in 2011. 

After suffering a lung infection in January 2011, Mandela was briefly hospitalized in Johannesburg to undergo surgery for a stomach ailment in early 2012. He was released after a few days, later returning to Qunu. Mandela would be hospitalized many times over the next several years—in December 2012, March 2013 and June 2013—for further testing and medical treatment relating to his recurrent lung infection. Following his June 2013 hospital visit, Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, canceled a scheduled appearance in London to remain at her husband's his side, and his daughter, Zenani Dlamini, Argentina's South African ambassador, flew back to South Africa to be with her father. Jacob Zuma, South Africa's president, issued a statement in response to public concern over Mandela's March 2013 health scare, asking for support in the form of prayer: "We appeal to the people of South Africa and the world to pray for our beloved Madiba and his family and to keep them in their thoughts," Zuma said.

Death and Legacy

On December 5, 2013, at the age of 95, Nelson Mandela died at his home in Johannesburg, South Africa. Zuma released a statement later that day, in which he spoke to Mandela's legacy: "Wherever we are in the country, wherever we are in the world, let us reaffirm his vision of a society ... in which none is exploited, oppressed or dispossessed by another," he said. For decades to come, Nelson Mandela will continue to be a source of inspiration for civil rights activists worldwide.

In 2009, Mandela's birthday (July 18) was declared Mandela Day, an international day to promote global peace and celebrate the South African leader's legacy. According to the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, the annual event is meant to encourage citizens worldwide to give back the way that Mandela has throughout his lifetime. A statement on the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory's website reads: "Mr. Mandela gave 67 years of his life fighting for the rights of humanity. All we are asking is that everyone gives 67 minutes of their time, whether it's supporting your chosen charity or serving your local community."

Personal Life

Mandela was married three times, beginning with Evelyn Ntoko Mase (m. 1944-1957). The couple had four children together: Madiba Thembekile, Makgatho (d. 2005), Makaziwe and Maki. Mandela wed Winnie Madikizela in 1958; the couple had two daughters together, Zenani and Zindziswa, before splitting in 1996. Two years later, Mandela married Graca Machel, with whom he remained until his death in 2013.

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Vatikani: Me konfliktin në Siri rrezikohet Lufta e Tretë Botërore

“Udha e zgjidhjes së problemeve në Siri nuk mund jetë ajo e një ndërhyrjeje ushtarake. Konflikti përmban të gjithë përbërësit për të shpërthyer në një luftë me dimensione botërore dhe në çdo rast, askush nuk do të dalë nga konflikti dhe nga një eksperiencë dhune i paprekur”, këto janë fjalët e Monsinjor Mario Toso, sekretar i Këshillit Papal “drejtësi dhe Paqe” në një intervistë për radio Vatikanin.

“Përdorimi i dhunës nuk sjell asnjëherë paqe. Lufta thërret luftë”, thotë ai duke sjellë edhe një herë në vëmendje fjalët e Papa Françeskut gjatë meshës së djeshme.

Sipas klerikut rrezikojmë që situata e dhunshme në Siri të përhapet edhe në vende të tjera. Ndërhyrja ushtarake nuk do të zbuste situatën. Sipas tij alternativa e vetme është arsyetimi dhe iniciativa të bazuara në dialog dhe negociata.

Të dielën Papa Françesku vendosi datën 7 shtator një ditë argjërimi dhe lutjeje për paqen në Siri, në Lindjen e Mesme dhe në të gjithë botën.

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Death

Write for you .....
[Spirit destroyed]!
My poems extracted from my blood 
From the days of my pain, and life destroyed
flesh of my heart, .... the fact seeeeeeeeeeeeee
My poetry comes from torture .....
My poetry is my sighs!!!
O my friend!! ..
O friend of wounds,
O promise and meeting beautiful!!
O my friend!

Dies only once!!!

I know it will come ..
without warning
As sudden lightning
Us to take us .. one by one ..
On the back of the earth
And innocent face
No No No-
I feel pain ...
Papers silent write poetry ...
but can they really who is on the threshold of death that awaits you?!!.
. while un to death and dare I speak for ...
She is not dead!! ..
But .. is the harshness of this time!! : (

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Adolf Hitler And The Third Reich: The Top 10 Conspiracy Theories

According to a new book Grey Wolf: The Escape Of Adolf Hitler, Hitler did not commit suicide in Berlin in 1945, but actually ended his days in Argentina in 1962. Just one of many intriguing stories that still exist about the Third Reich.

1) Hitler Died In Argentina
The latest rumour to be circulating is that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler did not commit suicide in Berlin in 1945, but actually ended his days in Argentina.
According to British journalist Gerrard Williams and Simon Dunstan in their new book Grey Wolf: The Escape Of Adolf Hitler, they claim they have discovered overwhelming amount of evidence “to suggest Hitler died an old man in South America.”
The new book claims that Hitler lived in Argentina for 17 years and could have been raised two daughters before he died in 1962.
They also claim that the Hitler skull fragments which are previously used to confirm his death of a gunshot wound to the head are actually that of a young woman.

“We didn’t want to re-write history, but the evidence we’ve discovered about the escape of Adolf Hitler is just too overwhelming to ignore,” Williams told Sky News.
“Stalin, Eisenhower and Hoover of the FBI all knew there was no proof of him dying in the bunker,” Williams added.
2) Hitler Only Had One Testicle (With The Other Residing In The Albert Hall)
Possibly the most famous of all the myths about the Nazi leader, that even had its own theme song to accompany it that still gets sung by school children today.
As recently as 2008, there were still claims that proved this theory to be correct, with reports that Hitler may have lost a testicle during the Battle of Somme in 1916, according to a German army medic who saved the life during the First World War.
While many will certainly hope for this persistent rumour to be true, also there are no actually records to suggest as such. Hitler’s physician Dr Theodor Morell, who would have known every inch of the leader’s body, certainly made no mention of it and nor do any subsequent medical records.
3) Hitler Was Possessed By The Devil
This rumour comes straight from the Vatican Church, with claims that released wartime pontiff Pope Pius XII attempted a “long distance” exorcism of Hitler which failed to have any effect.
Father Gabriele Amorth, who is the Vatican’s chief exorcist, made the comments during an interview with Vatican Radio in 2006. He also claimed that Stalin too was also possessed by the Devil.
“I am convinced that the Nazis were all possessed. All you have to do is think about what Hitler – and Stalin did. Almost certainly they were possessed by the Devil,” said Amorth.
“You can tell by their behaviour and their actions, from the horrors they committed and the atrocities that were committed on their orders. That’s why we need to defend society from demons.
“I have no doubt that Hitler was possessed and so it does not surprise me that Pope Pius XII tried a long distance exorcism.”
Amorth has also spoken out against the Harry Potter series of books, suggesting that the novels open children’s minds to a world of black and the occult.
4) Nazis Had A Secret Moon Base
Almost as popular as the myth that the Americans staged the moon landing in 1969, a quick look through the stranger side of the internet will also tell you that not only did the Nazis had a moon base on the dark side of the moon, but they were up there as early as 1942.
If you believe everything you read on blogs, then the Nazi party undoubtedly utilized “larger exoatmospheric rocket saucers of the Miethe and Schriever type” to land on the moon and even offered the base to the Americans and Russians when they secretly joint-landed on the moon in the 1950s.
This had led to even more suggestions that the Nazis have been controlling our tides since the 1950s and that high powered Nazi lasers can also be deployed to strike land based targets.
A new comedy film called Iron Sky is set to be released which plays on the idea that the Nazis have a secret moon based and are set to return to Earth in 2018.

Hitler was using New Swabia, the German-claimed portion of Antarctica, to communicate with Hyperboreans, ethereal beings who he claimed were the ancestors of the Aryan race.

5) Nazi’s Built Fully Functioning UFO From Alien Technology
Many science fiction books, comic books and just plain old conspiracy theories frequently claim that the Nazis built UFOs and currently survive in secret underground bases in Antarctica, South America or the United States, along with their creators
According to the reports, the Nazis destroyed all the paperwork connected with the secret machines, but suggest that they used a form of anti-gravity where able to travel at 2000 km per hour, with Hitler’s main plan to launch a UFO attack on both London and New York.
The theory is further fuelled by the claims of Igor Witkowski,, who claims in his book ‘Prawda O Wunderwaffe’ that a bell-shaped craft was being created by the Nazis and that Hitler wanted the best scientists and engineers at his disposal.
There are also a selection number photographs and eyewitness accounts that apparently offer ‘definitive proof’ that the Nazis were indeed building flying saucers during World War Two.
6) Nazis Tried to Turn Sand Into Gold
This one falls under the section of rumours mill that is actually a little believable, as self-taught alchemist Karl Malchus convinced Heinrich Himmler that he was able to make gold from stones and sand.
This is all according to Helmut Werner, author of Hltler’s Alchemists: The Secret Attempts to Manufacture Gold in Dachau.
“Of course, it was all a huge swindle,” said Werner.
After a short while, Heinrich Himmler stopped attempting to produce gold in this way and Karl Malchus was incarcerated in Dachau. After Malchus was eventually released, he was told that if he attempted to tell anyone about his alchemy con, the Nazis would kill him.
7) Hitler Had A Base In The Antarctic
According to a paper in Polar Record, and a few other conspiracy theory websites here and there, the Nazis built a secret base in Antarctica in which they hid Hitler towards the end of the war and fought of British and US planes using those flying saucers we know so much about.
The US eventually destroyed the base with nuclear weapons, but various governments striving to conceal this.
There are a few facts here and there to justify these claims: There was a German expedition to Antarctica in 1938-39. There was classified British military activity in Antarctica during the war and there was indeed a nuclear explosion in 1958 carried out by the US’ Operation Highjump that was meant to be a secret but got out, but there is no other proof to justify the other suggestions of a secret Nazi base on the icy continent
8) Hitler Was An Avatar Of The Hindu God Vishnu
Yet another myth that connects the Nazis to the occult, this one comes from the 1978 book The Golden Band, in which Miguel Serrano makes the claim that Hitler is in fact an avatar of the Hindu God Vishnu and came to Earth to establish an ultimate Aryan race.
The Golden Band also alleged that Hitler was using New Swabia, the German-claimed portion of Antarctica, to communicate with Hyperboreans, ethereal beings who he claimed were the ancestors of the Aryan race.
This rumour also links nicely to previous myths, as Serrano then goes on to claim that the Nazis used their communications to develop a range of UFOs, which Hitler would have one day used to give him ultimate power.
9) Nazi Gold Buried In Lake Toplitz…
There are many different myths and rumours as to the whereabouts of mullion, possibly billions, of pounds of Nazi gold are buried. One that appears to do the rounds more than others is the suggestion that vast quantities of Nazi Gold are buried in Lake Toplitz high up in the Austrian Alps, 60 miles from Salzburg city in western Austria.
It has also been reported that after the war, former SS members employed divers to try and locate the gold, as well as a number of sealed tubes that were said to contain the details of secret Nazi bank accounts in Switzerland.
The rumours have got so persistent that it is now illegal for divers to attempt to search for the hidden treasure themselves, as around attempt to uncover the secret treasure.
10) …And Nazi Gold Buried In Auckland Island
Another rumour of secret Nazi gold that has appeared to come out of absolute nowhere. The story of a Nazi U-boat burying Nazi gold in the tiny, uninhabited Auckland Island, which lies a few hundred miles of the coast of New Zealand.
Despite there been no evidence of this event ever happening, people still make the long journey to the island in vein attempts to discover the buried Nazi gold.

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Most Ironic Deaths In History

Death is a normal part of life. While most people die with predictable reasons, some people die rather ironic deaths. The world has seen numerous deaths in which the universe seemed to have conspired with fates to make an ironic statement. Some of these deaths include historical figures, royalties, celebrities and inventors. Remembering these various accounts of ironic deaths never fail to bring an eerie kind of sense.

Hans Steininger

Hans Steininger is known in the history books as the man with the longest beard (4.5 feet). Artists have fondly sketched his glorious expression of facial hair and even immortalized his crowning achievement in stone. However, his hairy asset is what brought him to sudden death. As he was caught in a fire, he accidentally tripped over his long beard, broke his neck and died.

Marcus Licinius Crassus

Marcus Licinius Crassus was a well known general. He was also a very wealthy man- wealthy enough to fund armies and invasions. However, his defeat with the Parthians ended his glory. The Parthians punished him for his greed by pouring molten gold down his throat.

Bobby Leach

In more recent centuries, Bobby Leach was a world-renowned daredevil. He was known to history as the first person to successfully navigate the Niagara Falls (1911). In his lifetime, Leach survived broken knee caps and jaw. A fateful tripping accident caused by a banana peel fractured his leg. He eventually died of gangrene.

Franz Reichelt

Franz Reichelt, an Austrian tailor famous for his overcoat and parachute hybrid, tested his invention by jumping from the first deck of the Eiffel Towel. In front of spectators and media crews, the world witnessed his death as he fell straight down.

Otto Lilienthal

Another glider by the name of Otto Lilienthal, one of the pioneers in human aviation, died in his last aerial glide in August 9, 1896 as he fell 17 meters and broke his spine.

Thomas Midgley Jr

The American chemist Thomas Midgley Jr. was the inventor of leaded petrol and CFC. Needless to say, his inventions caused millions of deaths in human history as well as severe impacts to the environment. Later on in his life, he contracted lead poisoning and polio, causing him to be disabled and tied to his bed. He then created an elaborate system of ropes and pulleys that allow him to move and adjust his body in his bed. At the age of 55, he was accidentally strangled by his ropes and pulleys.

Marie Curie

Another scientist by the name of Marie Curie, a 1903 Nobel Prize winner for her theory of radioactivity and isolation of isotopes, contracted aplastic anemia due to her prolonged exposure to radiation. The disease eventually killed her.

Jerome Rodale

Jerome Rodale is known as the founder of the organic food revolution. As a naturalist, he promoted clean living. He was a huge advocate of the life-extending benefits of organic lifestyle. At the age of 72, he died of a heart attack after claiming in an interview that he is fit enough to reach his 100th birthday.

Clement Vallandigham

Clement Vallandigham was a lawyer known for his dedication in defending his clients. In 1871, while he was demonstrating during a court case, he accidentally shot himself dead.

Myra Davis

The Psycho double, Myra Davis, died similar death to the character she portrayed in the mega-hit movie. In 1988, she was raped and killed by a “psycho”, re-enacting the famous shower scene that she did in this Alfred Hitchcock classic.

George Story

George Story was featured in the cover page of Life Magazine’s “Life Baby” issue. As a newborn baby, his picture was used in the headline “Life Begins”. The magazine published details of Story’s life, from infancy to old age. A week after the magazine announced the release of its last issue, Story died of heart failure. Hence, the last issue of Life Magazine took the headline “Life Ends”.

Jim Fixx

Jim Fixx, was the writer of the 1977 bestseller “The Complete Book of Running”. He was an advocate of the longevity effects of running and even made a fortune out of his fitness campaigns. One day, Fixx had a fatal heart attack while he was running.

Steve Irwin

Lastly, who would even forget the recent death of Steve Irwin, the eccentric and beloved Australian naturalist that hosted a number of wildly popular TV shows? In his career, he had traveled the globe to unravel an adventure in exploring the animal kingdom. In 2006, while swimming above an adult sting ray, the 8-inch barb of the ray’s tail hit Irwin’s heart, which led to his death.

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Merlin’s Immortals

Martyr’s
Fire
Books by Sigmund Brouwer
Merlin’s Immortals
The Orphan King
Fortress of Mist
Fiction
Broken Angel
The Canary List
Flight of Shadows
Evening Star
Silver Moon
Sun Dance
Thunder Voice
Double Helix
Blood Ties
The Weeping Chamber
Pony Express Christmas
The Leper
Out of the Shadows
Crown of Thorns
Lies of Saints
The Last Disciple
The Last Sacrifice
The Last Temple
Fuse of Armageddon
Devil’s Pass
Dead Man’s Switch

Martyr’s Fire
Published by WaterBrook Press
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921
The characters and events in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to actual persons or
events is coincidental.
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4000-7156-2
eBook ISBN: 978-0-307-73209-5
Copyright © 2013 by Sigmund Brouwer
Cover design by Mark Ford
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown
Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York.
WaterBrook and its deer colophon are registered trademarks of Random House Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
[to come]
Printed in the United States of America
2013—First Edition
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Spring, Northern England—AD 1313

One
The man that Isabelle faced was wealthy. And handsome, except for
the stub where his left ear had been, now half-covered by hair. She
could tell by the shift of his shoulders and the intensity of his gaze that he
was enthralled by her, as indeed were nearly all men. Yet he was not
Thomas. She spent hours dreaming that one day, Thomas, too, would be
enthralled.
The man before her now had been on his horse, crossing a pasture that
overlooked the town of York, clustered behind the high stone walls that
protected it. With occasional clouds throwing brief shadows as they crossed
overhead, she’d waited in sunshine, knowing that this was along his regular
path to York from hunting in the moors. She’d been sitting on a blanket like
a woman of leisure, dressed in fine silks, a basket beside her.
He was tall and slim, wearing the clothes of a nobleman. He’d dismounted
and looked around, as if wondering where her servants might be.
She had risen from the blanket and now lifted the basket with food.
“If you’ve been riding long,” she purred, “you must be hungry. And I’ve
been waiting for you.”
She set the basket on the ground and leaned down to lift out a piece of
thick buttered bread and pieces of rich cheese.
As she expected, he took it without hesitation. “You know who I am,
then?”
“Of course,” she answered.
He smiled with pride.
He was Michael of York, the son of the earl who had enlisted Thomas’s
10 Sigmund B rouwer
army to prevail against the Scots not so long ago. As he tore off a chunk of
bread and stuffed it into his mouth, he looked around again. Not with the
eye of a man wary of a trap, but with the sharp glance of a predator. She was
in front of him and so alone. And he was a rich and powerful man, accustomed
to being offered what he wanted—or to taking it whether it was offered
or not. Obvious on her neck was jewelry that was worth a year’s wages
for a working man. If he had the heart of a thief, and she knew he did, his
mind would have been on her apparent helplessness.
Since no noblewoman should be alone in a field because the dangers
were too great, the apparent helplessness should have made him suspicious.
But men were fools.
“Mead?” she asked, holding up a chalice.
He took it without a word, as if he were entitled to it. He rammed some
cheese into his mouth first, then washed it down with the honey wine.
“You’ve been waiting for me,” Michael said, with a grin that came too
close to a leer.
“With a message from those who watched you cut off your own ear.”
His smile froze, just for an instant. Then he laughed.
“From anyone but a lady as lovely as yourself, I would take that accusation
as an insult. And I would answer it accordingly.”
“It is a dangerous accusation,” she agreed. “If your father ever had proof
that you severed your own ear to force him to attack Magnus, you would be
thrown in prison and disinherited.”
“You are very alone here.” He gestured at the open pasture. “You would
be wise not to anger me.”
He placed his right hand on the hilt of his knife, hanging from a sheath
on a gold-studded belt.
“And you would be wise to listen to me,” she said. “After all, your father
already questions your loyalty, does he not? After the trial by ordeal, did he
Mar t y r’s F i re 11
not leave Magnus believing that Thomas is an ally and that you had deceived
him?”
Michael’s face pinched. He was beginning to suspect a trap. But his
next words suggested that he believed the trap came from the earl.
“I will speak to you as I have repeatedly spoken to my father: I do not
know the men who attacked me and cut off my ear. All I know is that I was
given a message to deliver and told it was from Thomas. Obviously, those
who cut off my ear were the ones deceitful about Thomas. Not me. Go back
to my father and tell him this.”
“Your father did not send me,” she said. She tossed him a heavy ring.
“Look closely at the symbol. Those of the symbol are the ones who sent me.”
He caught it in his left hand and studied it. He glanced at her and
closed his fist around the ring. He kept his right hand on the handle of his
knife.
“I don’t believe you.” His words were certain enough, but not the tone.
“Let me repeat what you were told by those of the symbol. You were
promised that if you delivered a letter to your father, along with your ear,
pretending it was a letter from Thomas, that your father would go to war
and take the castle of Magnus. And that Magnus would be yours.”
Isabelle knew this was truth. She’d been hidden behind trees, watching
the discussion, seeing greed cross this man’s face as he calculated what small
price it would cost for him to obtain a kingdom—his deception and his ear.
“Lies,” he said, smiling.
“The man who made you that promise,” she said, “was my father. Richard
Mewburn, who ruled Magnus until Thomas took it from him.”
She watched his smile fade as he thought through the implications.
This was not something that a person could guess—proof to him that she
knew for certain. And if she knew of that secret conversation, then she likely
knew much more.
12 Sigmund B rouwer
Michael lifted his hand away from his knife. “Please tell Lord Mewburn
that I had no intention of harming you.”
“Of course not,” she said. “We are just having a conversation. So tell
me. If my father were to deliver York to you, would you, in return, help him
secure Magnus?”
“York cannot be mine while my father is the earl,” he answered. It was
an oblique answer. Nothing in it openly suggested disloyalty. Yet it was an
invitation to continue.
“A man who is willing to cut off his own ear is a man hungry for
power,” Isabelle said. “This time, however, what we ask of you will be far
less painful.”
Michael’s face reflected obvious relief before once again contorting into
dismay. “But I was already promised that Magnus would fall. It did not.
The trial by ordeal that Thomas faced and survived—”
“Nothing will be asked of you until Magnus falls,” Isabelle said. “But
believe me, it will. Very soon.”
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