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* The protests in New York during the Republican convention flopped, despite the impressive turnout at Sunday’s mass perambulation. In their tolerant and open-minded way, organizers had promised to shut down the convention, to send the delegates home, to cause huge disruptions, and to occupy Central Park.

None of these events transpired. The thousands of journalists reporting from New York hardly bothered, after Sunday’s march, to cover the Left’s antics, or their “street theater,” or their “die-ins.” That stuff is so Battle of Seattle 1999. Had the New York Police Department not adopted preemptive tactics to arrest suspected troublemakers en masse, deployed officers on nimble scooters and bikes, and kept anarchists off the streets by penning them well away from the convention–all the while keeping a sense of humor and giving directions to confused delegates from outta town–the city would have looked more like Fort Apache, The Bronx than Miracle on 34th Street. Kudos to the NYPD.

The Oxfordshire schoolboy Bradley Smith claimed yesterday that he would not be fazed when he races on the same track as the seven times world motorcycle champion, Valentino Rossi, in 10 days’ time.

Smith, 15, will make his debut in the 125cc class on a factory Repsol Honda at the opening round of the MotoGP Championship in Jerez, Spain.

Rossi will set about winning his eighth world title on his Camel Yamaha in the big race for 990cc, 215mph bikes. But Smith would be happy with a single point for 15th place when he rides his 145mph machine. “It’s going to be great to race in the same series as Rossi in front of 125,000 people,” he said at the British launch of the MotoGP championship in London.

“But I’m there to do my job. Obviously I will hear the noise of the fans through my helmet when we line up on the grid, but once the race starts I’ll get tunnel vision and I’ll only be aware of the rider in front.”

Smith was selected to handle the Honda from hundreds of rivals by the Spanish motorcycle legend Alberto Puig.

Bradley’s father, Alan, a courier company manager, said Puig had selected his son because he had not yet developed bad riding habits. “Puig says that Bradley is like clay and not a vase,” Alan Smith said. “There’s plenty of time to mould him into a better rider.”

Smith has surprisingly mature ambitions. “Everyone in racing says he wants to be world champion,” he said. “But if you set a big target for yourself and you don’t get there, you fall flat on your face.

“So I’m not predicting where I will finish in the championship points table. I just want to set my bike up properly for the Jerez race, improve my lap times and see what I can do.”

Sete Gibernau has been given the all clear to ride in Germany this weekend after breaking his collarbone last month and missing three races, his Ducati MotoGP team said.

The championship runner-up in 2003 and 2004 with Honda picked up the injury when he was involved in a multiple collision at the first corner of the Catalan Grand Prix in Barcelona on 18 June. The race was restarted without Gibernau and he missed the following two rounds as well.

Ducati said that a medical on Monday had confirmed the injury had healed enough for the Spaniard to make his comeback at the Sachsenring. “The shoulder is recovering well and I have been working to get fit as fast as possible. It is a pity that I’ve lost three races but now I just want to ride my Desmosedici again,” the Spaniard said.

“Sachsenring won’t be the most comfortable circuit to ride with a collarbone injury,” he added. “It’s physically demanding because it’ s tight and slow, that’ s why the 250s can do similar lap times to MotoGP bikes.

“Anyway, I like the circuit and it holds good memories because I won there in 2003 and got second last year after a great race. I hope that all will go OK this time and that my shoulder won’t be too much of a problem.”

Gibernau returns in 13th place in the MotoGP standings, 109 points behind the American leader, Nicky Hayden. He had been ninth and 55 adrift of his Italian team-mate Loris Capirossi before his accident.

It was 0345 on 23 February 2006 when two divers from the 86th Engineer Team (Dive) (based out of Fort Eustis, Virginia) departed in a 26-foot moving truck packed with scuba and surface-supplied diving equipment for a cross-country trip to Astoria, Oregon. The two reached their destination after four days of driving and met up with seven other divers from the 86th Engineer Team (Dive) who flew in the day before. The team was on a mission in support of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center to inspect the hull of a United States Coast Guard vessel called the Fir, a 225-foot seagoing buoy tender.

The air temperature was cold and the water temperature even colder, topping off around 40 degrees Fahrenheit. For the next five days, the divers had to overcome less than optimal diving conditions to complete the job. Work consisted of removing, cleaning, and replacing metal grates on the vessel’s hull (which weighed 70 to 80 pounds); inspecting the entire hull and running gear (which consisted of the propellers, shafts, and stave bearings) for any damage; documenting specific areas of the hull with underwater video and photography; and conducting a paint thickness analysis along the entire hull. The team spent nearly 75 hours working underwater to complete the job. The low visibility underwater increased the difficulty level, but the cold water was the limiting factor of each dive evolution. On average, the most a diver spent in the water at one time was around 90 minutes.

By 4 March, the work was completed on the Fir. But a similar Coast Guard vessel, the Hickory, was docked 2,700 miles away in Homer, Alaska. The Hickory was scheduled to have the same hull inspection. This time, all nine divers spent four days driving north through Washington, Canada, and Alaska. Once they arrived on the jobsite, they were faced with working in 26- to 28-degree-Fahrenheit water with small ice sheets floating nearby.

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To combat the effects of the freezing water, one of the divers put his engineering skills to work and devised a system that would pump hot water into their wet suits. Using a garden hose, plumbing fittings, and aquarium tubing, the divers were supplied with a constant flow of hot water–pumped from the vessel’s water supply–to surround their entire body while they worked in the cold water. This invaluable system allowed the divers to double, even triple, the average time they had spent underwater while in Astoria. One of the divers spent a total of 410 minutes in the water during one working dive.

When inspecting the Hickory, the team supervisors implemented lessons learned from the work they did on the Fir. The divers also knew exactly what needed to be done and how to do it more efficiently the second time around. The knowledge gained, combined with the newly implemented work strategies, greatly reduced the total time required to complete the mission. It took the divers only 30 hours of combined diving time to complete the hull inspection on the Hickory.

The scenery surrounding the bay was one of a kind, from the snow-covered mountains to the dozens of bald eagles flying around the area. Having the opportunity to dive in Alaska is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most divers, but for one dive supervisor, it was the second trip to Alaska for a dive mission, and he was able to take what he learned from diving in cold water and share it with the rest of the team.

This type of work is fairly routine for Army divers. These missions reinforced the team’s ability to work underwater (particularly the ships husbandry aspect), but more importantly, it reinforced the importance of working relationships with other services and agencies–not only the Coast Guard but also the Navy, Marines, Air Force, and any other government agency having a need for divers, both stateside and overseas.

Sergeant Dodd is a team leader/lead diver (salvage diver) with the United States Army Dive Company (Provisional)–86th Engineer Team (Dive). Previous assignments include Delta Company, 577th Engineer Battalion, Panama City Beach, Florida (Second-Class Diver School), and he has 3 1/2 years experience as an Army diver.

First Lieutenant Mitroka is a platoon leader with the United States Army Dive Company (Provisional)–86th Engineer Team (Dive). Previous assignments include Delta Company, 577th Engineer Battalion, Panama City Beach, Florida (Basic Diving Officer Course), and he has 14 months experience as a diving officer. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy.

Corporate Structure: Headquarters: Warrenville, III. Chairman, President and CEO: Daniel C. Ustian. Sales and revenue (2004): $9.6 billion. Web site: www.internationaldelivers.com. Telephone: 630-753-5000.

International Truck and Engine Corp., an operating company of Navistar International Corp., is a leading producer of commercial trucks and mid-range diesel engines. As part of its more than 100-year history, International has provided the U.S. military with logistical and engine solutions to operate and perform in the challenging combat environment.

During World War II, International produced the M-series of military trucks that served as weapons carriers, cargo transporters and light artillery transportation.

During this time, the International brand of trucks earned the reputation of being durable, reliable trucks able to traverse difficult terrain under fire, carrying over-capacity loads.

This reputation continues today, reflected in the diversity of vehicles International Truck and Engine Corp. offers the commercial and military markets-from service vehicles, delivery trucks, tow trucks and heavy long-haul trucks to over-the-road tractors and armored military logistical transport vehicles.

International’s military vehicles are built on a tested, proven and recognized commercial platform. This provides unique advantages to the military, including lower development, procurement and maintenance costs, increased troop-transport capabilities and exceptional engine performance. International’s military vehicles are designed specifically to protect troops and to handle challenging military applications that emerge in today’s combat environment.

International’s most recent advanced military vehicles include the International® 4200 MV and the militarized version of the commercial MXT(TM). The International® 4200 MV, built with a special emphasis on protecting soldiers, represents the latest in commercially available engine and truck technology. Designed to handle a 360-degree fully armored cab for soldier protection without degrading power, speed and handling, the truck has 7.62 ballistic protection and is 4-pound-mine resistant.

For added protection, it features a shielded .50-caliber machine-gun mount. With a spacious crew cab that seats five to six fully equipped soldiers, the International® 4200 MV can help reduce the number of vehicles required for missions. International is working with the Army and U.S. Congress to test and evaluate the International® 4200 MV against Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom threats-and-performance measures.

Continuing its commitment to the armed forces, International recently developed the militarized version of the commercial MXT. Specifically designed for today’s military applications, a traditional crew cab pairs with rough terrain tires, low step-in height and outstanding 4×4 capability for troop transport. Scheduled for late 2005 production, the model is intended for use on military bases and as a versatile performer for other government applications such as the Department of Homeland Security.

Both of these new military vehicles can be configured to include the International Aware(TM) Vehicle Intelligence, a commercial telematics product that can be leveraged for military use. This platform would allow the military to monitor the vehicle’s performance remotely and help the command center always know its location via wireless or satellite communications. In addition, Aware(TM) offers monitoring and prognostics capabilities to improve uptime and optimize operations.

In the last two years, International has won contracts for projects in Afghanistan and Iraq and has substantially expanded its presence in the military market. It is fulfilling 10 contracts with the U.S. Army’s Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, which include providing heavy wreckers, buses, dump trucks, water tankers and cargo buses for local reconstruction efforts in Iraq, and International® 7000-series trucks to the Afghan National Army.

With operations and dealerships in more than 80 countries and global parts availability and manufacturing facilities in North and South America, the scale and scope of International’s network positions the company to meet the needs of a global military operation. International’s tested and proven commercial platform offers the U.S. military a product that returns exceptional performance and cost-effective transportation. International is committed to addressing and serving the needs of the Army and other branches of the U.S. armed forces to meet the demanding requirements of the 21st century.