Hostage for a Day

I knew we should have opted to take an older, cheaper car. As the tribesmen running the checkpoint demanded that we pull over,A card with an embedded IC (Integrated Circuit) is called an IC card. I cursed myself for letting my misgivings slide. I'd taken the road before -- the split-second pause before getting the go-ahead from the armed locals who run the informal roadblocks dotting the roads running through the villages north of Sanaa may have raised my blood pressure, but I had never had any issues. Until now.

Confusion quickly ensued. The guys running the checkpoint -- a disorganized group of about a dozen armed, but generally disheveled, tribesmen in their late twenties -- seemed split on what to do. Most just wanted to let us pass, one seemed intent on stealing my friend's car, and a few seemed convinced I was an Iranian spy. After about 15 minutes, I realized that revealing my identity as an American journalist was probably the best of a slate of bad options.

Frantic arguments continued. Growing increasingly nervous, I pulled out what I knew would be the trump card, threatening to bring their sheikh into the matter. As I dialed the number for a close associate of the sheikh, a longtime friend, I vainly hoped they'd realize that it wasn't worth troubling one of Yemen's most powerful men with what was, until that point, a rather minor issue.

It didn't work out that way. Dragging the sheikh into it turned out to be exactly what the tribesmen wanted: They now agreed that I was indeed an American journalist rather than an Iranian spy, and further decided that I would be an excellent bargaining chip in their lingering dispute with the central government.

"You'll stay until the government compensates us for what we lost in the war in Hasaba," I was told.Sol provides the world with high-performance solar roadway and solar street light solutions. I had come here to get a better idea of the tenuous state of things in the tribal areas north of Sanaa. Instead, I had become a hostage of them.There are generally three different configurations of industrial laser cutting machine.

My kidnapping -- which occurred, ironically, on the second anniversary of the start of Yemen's revolution -- had its roots in the wounds opened up by that revolt, which remain unhealed to this day. In May 2011, the uprising against then President Ali Abdullah Saleh finally sparked the urban warfare that many feared was inevitable. A day after Saleh refused to sign an internationally backed power transfer agreement, fighting erupted between pro-Saleh troops and fighters loyal to one of the country's most powerful tribal leaders. Despite the seeming asymmetry, the tribal forces put up a hell of a fight in the ensuing weeks,Learn more about the different types of laser marking machine by careel-tech.com. seizing control of a number of government ministries as their scores of kinsmen -- including the guys who kidnapped me -- descended from north of the capital to join.

A year and a half after the sporadic battles ended, Hasaba, the neighborhood where the fighting was concentrated, still bears resemblance to civil war-era Beirut. Government assurances of compensation for those who were affected by the fighting, it seems,How would you like to have a personalized bobbleheads of yourself. have yet to come to fruition. I've largely associated all of this with the bombed-out buildings in the area that was once the epicenter of the fighting. But the ripple effects of the fighting extend for miles: The guys that kidnapped me, it turned out, were still bitter over the loss of their car, which was destroyed when they traveled to Sanaa to join in the battle. The Hasaba war of May 2011, oddly enough, bore indirect responsibility for my time as a hostage in February 2013.

The visitors took the lead in the seventh minute as Boyd controlled the ball in the penalty area before cutting it back into the path of Tomlin, who rifled past David Forde for his ninth goal of the season.

Millwall reacted well to falling behind and almost levelled four minutes later as Liam Trotter found Henry, whose cross just evaded the on-rushing Rob Hulse.

The equaliser soon followed as Lowry released Henry who lofted a beautiful chip over Robert Olejnik for his third goal in as many games.

Posh looked sharp whenever they attacked and took the lead for a second time 13 minutes before half-time with Boyd again the architect.

The 27-year-old showed a mixture of determination and skill to beat Millwall right-back Adam Smith, showing good awareness as he rolled the ball into the feet of captain Rowe who arrowed Posh back in front.

Darren Ferguson's half-time team-talk was nearly made easier with 40 minutes gone as Tomlin's flick released Dwight Gayle whose near-post effort had Forde sprawling to save.

Millwall boss Kenny Jackett made two changes at the break with Martyn Woolford and Alan Dunne replacing Benik Afobe and Smith.

But it was Boyd, looking to turn from provider to scorer, who struck a 51st-minute effort that flashed wide of Forde's left-hand post.

The game settled into a rhythm with neither side forcing the issue until an error by Millwall defender Karleigh Osbourne let Posh in for their third goal.

Osbourne played a pass across his defensive line that was too short and Peterborough reacted quickly with Kane Ferdinand robbing Jimmy Abdou of possession and Tomlin was again on hand to finish another perfectly-weighted Boyd pass.

The Posh fans were soon cheering another goal as Mendez-Laing drifted past two Millwall defenders with ease before unleashing a fierce effort that gave Forde no chance.