The Lexicographer's Rules

Iron Triangle is an ad hoc Beltway group made of military contractors, and like-minded individuals in the Pentagon and Congress, who are successfully resisting sweeping changes from a Cold War military mindset to a lighter, more lethal, fighting force.

“We must do everything possible to prevent Saddam from using his weapons. “Does this mean war? Not necessarily. Since our intelligence services, which seem to be well informed, know where the plants in question are located (at least, I hope so), I am naÔve enough to believe that a kind of James Bond operation would be best. “I imagine American, British and Israeli commandos, the best trained in the world, would one night parachute into Iraq. They would destroy all the missile bases and centres for weapons production and set out again at dawn, if possible, without killing a single Iraqi. “Am I too romantic? Why wouldn’t I be? After all, I am also a novelist. Only I must admit that the military professionals to whom I proposed my plan did not find it very realistic. And the fact that I know nothing about war strategies did not strengthen my position.” (Observer." title="Go to linked article off-site.">Source Link)

As many as 16,000 people lived in what is now Cahokia, Illinois, as of 1100 AD.

Hashing is a pastime with origins in 19th-century British schoolboy culture which involves running from place to place and drinking alcohol, but is not a race.

“In East Europe, criminals on all levels, from the organized to the petty, often substituted for the dysfunctional, or ideologically hidebound organs of the state… “Crime is a growth industry and sustains hordes of professionals: accountants and lawyers, forgers and cross border guides, weapons experts and bankers, mechanics and hit men. Expertise, know-how and acumen, amassed over centuries of practice, are taught in the criminal universities known as penitentiaries: roads less traveled, countries more lenient, passports to be bought, sold, or forged, how-to manuals, goods and services on offer and demand. “Profit margins in crime are outlandish and lead to feverish wealth accumulation. The banking system is used both to stash the proceeds and to launder them. Tax havens, offshore financial institutions and money couriers—all form part of a global web. Thus cleansed and rendered untraceable, the money is invested in legitimate activities. In some countries—especially on the drug path, or on the trail of white slavery—crime is a major engine of economic growth.” (United Press International." title="Go to linked article off-site.">Source Link)