Bomb Disposal

The head of a police bomb disposal unit was killed and four people were wounded in the explosion of a booby-trapped house believed to be a leftist rebel hide-out, police said Wednesday. Three explosions in quick succession ripped through the walls of a rented house and blew off part of the roof as the disposal experts opened the door late Tuesday night, police said.

In a second-grade homework assignment, Stephen J. Dunning wrote about his future in a passage that would be as brief as it was portentous. He wanted to go to college and he wanted to become a United States Marine. His father, Robert, who flew helicopters in the Marine Corps, hadn't stopped to consider its meaning. But after his son's death at age 31 on Oct. 27 in Afghanistan's Helmand province, the elder Dunning said those words, accompanied by a crayon self-portrait on the faded page, took on new, touching significance.

Defusing land mines is dangerous under the best of circumstances; darkness only ups the ante. Such were the conditions in mid-December when, after a battle in Afghanistan's Helmand province, a group of Marines was trying to get back to base overnight to avoid an ambush that was anticipated at daylight. The job of clearing the path belonged to Staff Sgt. Justin E. Schmalstieg 28, an experienced bomb disposal technician from Camp Pendleton who was on his fourth tour of duty.

Chad Regelin surprised his parents at dinner one night in 2006 by announcing that he was joining the Navy. Regelin, of the small Northern California community of Anderson, had been employed by a construction company since he graduated from high school a few months earlier. Working with a road crew, he had become interested in explosives, he told his parents. He planned to enroll in the Navy's explosive ordnance disposal school and learn how to dismantle bombs. "We were like, 'what?

Much has been made of the lack of success -- both at the box office and artistically -- of the topical movies that have come out since the American invasion of Iraq. "The Hurt Locker," a full-tilt action picture directed by Kathryn Bigelow that also ruminates on the psychology of combat, is looking to buck that trend. The people behind the film, which screens today at the Toronto International Film Festival, feel that their picture has some major differences. "The most important distinction that was in our minds is that none of the movies that have come out so far, or were in development when we were in development, were combat movies," said writer Mark Boal.

In a second-grade homework assignment, Stephen J. Dunning wrote about his future in a passage that would be as brief as it was portentous. He wanted to go to college and he wanted to become a United States Marine. His father, Robert, who flew helicopters in the Marine Corps, hadn't stopped to consider its meaning. But after his son's death at age 31 on Oct. 27 in Afghanistan's Helmand province, the elder Dunning said those words, accompanied by a crayon self-portrait on the faded page, took on new, touching significance.

Bomb disposal experts defused a bomb hidden in a computer sent from Paris to Iran's ambassador to the Vatican today, police said. The bomb, containing 10 ounces of plastic explosives linked to the computer keyboard, was powerful enough to kill anyone switching on the machine.

Chad Regelin surprised his parents at dinner one night in 2006 by announcing that he was joining the Navy. Regelin, of the small Northern California community of Anderson, had been employed by a construction company since he graduated from high school a few months earlier. Working with a road crew, he had become interested in explosives, he told his parents. He planned to enroll in the Navy's explosive ordnance disposal school and learn how to dismantle bombs. "We were like, 'what?

Security guards discovered what looked like pipe bombs at two major banks overnight and police said they safely removed them to a bomb disposal area. The devices, which a police spokeswoman said were "clocks with wires," were discovered at the downtown Chase Manhattan Plaza and Morgan Guaranty and Trust Co. Police said no one had called in any threats about the devices.

A bomb dropped out of the sky onto a busy Tehran street but luckily did not explode, an Iranian newspaper reported Wednesday. The daily Salam said "the bomb appeared to have fallen from a plane" but did not suggest it was an attack by enemy aircraft. The incident Monday panicked pedestrians on Mowlawi street but caused no injuries. Bomb disposal experts defused the device, the newspaper said. The report gave no details on the bomb.

Defusing land mines is dangerous under the best of circumstances; darkness only ups the ante. Such were the conditions in mid-December when, after a battle in Afghanistan's Helmand province, a group of Marines was trying to get back to base overnight to avoid an ambush that was anticipated at daylight. The job of clearing the path belonged to Staff Sgt. Justin E. Schmalstieg 28, an experienced bomb disposal technician from Camp Pendleton who was on his fourth tour of duty.

He was only two days away from being reassigned to a base camp administrative job after spending six months in Afghanistan disarming roadside bombs. "Wouldn't it suck if something happens in the next few days?" Marine Corps Reserve Staff Sgt. Joshua Cullins e-mailed his 16-year-old brother, Donovan, two weekends ago. Cullins, a 28-year-old officer with the Los Angeles Police Department, was killed Oct. 18 when a secondary bomb exploded while he was investigating an earlier blast near Marja, in Afghanistan's dangerous Helmand province.

Is there anything more irresistible and more frustrating than seeing your job portrayed on screen? Whether a ruthless lawyer, saintly schoolteacher or cantankerous cop, most fictional working stiffs have one thing in common: They kind of stink at their jobs. At least according to the real-life practitioners watching them. Such appears to be the case with "The Hurt Locker," the movie about bomb-disposal technicians in the Iraq war, which is up for several Oscars including best picture and best director.

In 2004, investigative journalist Mark Boal persuaded Playboy magazine to send him to Iraq for a story about the "practical reality" of the war. He was embedded with a unit of U.S. soldiers who have the most dangerous job in the military -- disarming deadly bombs. The members of the Army's Explosive Ordnance Disposal squad provided the human-interest angle to the story that Boal wanted to tell about the horrors of the occupation and futility of the war. Over the course of his three-week assignment, Boal realized that the harrowing daily accounts of those who risked their lives to save others would also make for a riveting movie with far greater reach.

I first got to know Robert Bucksbaum when I discovered that my favorite neighborhood theater, the Majestic Crest in Westwood, wasn't owned by a corporate theater chain but by one man who was so crazy about movies that he'd bought his own movie theater, making him one of the few individual theater owners in America. Our paths have continued to cross, since Bucksbaum -- who's something of a baseball fanatic as well -- manages our local Little League's summer All-Star team, which, thanks to some stellar play from a great bunch of kids, including his twin boys and my son, ended up winning the District 25 championship.

Much has been made of the lack of success -- both at the box office and artistically -- of the topical movies that have come out since the American invasion of Iraq. "The Hurt Locker," a full-tilt action picture directed by Kathryn Bigelow that also ruminates on the psychology of combat, is looking to buck that trend. The people behind the film, which screens today at the Toronto International Film Festival, feel that their picture has some major differences. "The most important distinction that was in our minds is that none of the movies that have come out so far, or were in development when we were in development, were combat movies," said writer Mark Boal.

Many film critics -- and awards voters -- have praised "The Hurt Locker's" depiction of the U.S. military in Iraq, often singling out the bomb disposal drama for its authenticity. But as the film emerges as a favorite to win the best picture Oscar, a number of active soldiers and veterans say the film is Hollywood hokum, portraying soldiers as renegades while failing to represent details about combat accurately. The criticism, coming just before Oscar ballots are due Tuesday, highlights the delicate relationship between "The Hurt Locker" and the nation's armed forces.

A bomb exploded in a busy passenger terminal at Frankfurt International Airport today, killing two children and one adult, and wounding 32 people, four of them seriously, police said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which came five days after Shia Muslim guerrillas hijacked a TWA jet over Europe. Police said all three killed here were passengers, but their identities might not be known for some time because the bodies were badly mutilated.

A railroad worker found a bomb with seven detonators buried in the bed of a commuter line between France and Switzerland, touching off a massive inspection of the French railroad network. It was the second bomb found in slightly more than a month on a railroad track in France. Bomb disposal experts defused the device, which was in the village of Montieramey, on a train line that runs from Paris to Basel, Switzerland. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.