The Farewell dossier was the collection of documents that Colonel Vladimir Vetrov, a KGB defector (code-named "Farewell"), gathered and gave to the French DST in 1981–82, during the Cold War.

An engineer, Vetrov had been assigned to evaluate information on Western hardware and software gathered by the "Line X" technical intelligence operation for Directorate T, the directorate for scientific and technical intelligence collection from the West. He became increasingly disillusioned with the Communist system and decided to work with the French at the end of 1980. Between the spring of 1981 and early 1982, Vetrov gave almost 4,000 secret documents to the DST, including the complete list of 250 Line X officers stationed under legal cover in embassies around the world.

As a consequence, Western nations undertook a mass expulsion of Soviet technology spies. The CIA also mounted a counter-intelligence operation that transferred modified hardware and software designs to the Soviets. Thomas Reed alleged this was the cause of a spectacular trans-Siberian pipeline disaster in 1982.

Klaus Meine (born May 25, 1948, Hannover, Germany) is a German singer, best known as the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of the heavy metal band Scorpions. Besides guitarist Rudolf Schenker, he is the only member of the group to appear on every album, despite the fact that he did not join until 1970.

Meine is well-noted for his unique tenor voice, strong German accent and polished delivery which ranges from high notes to soft ballads.

Meine writes most of the lyrics to Scorpions' songs. He also shares the authorship of some lyrics with Herman Rarebell (former drummer of Scorpions) on some songs like the major hit "Rock You Like a Hurricane", among others. Meine composed some songs alone like "Wind of Change" and "A Moment in a Million Years".

In 1981, after a world tour and during the recording of the Blackout album, Meine lost his voice so badly he could not even speak properly. Meine was advised by his doctor to consider another profession because of his voice problems. However, Scorpions stuck together and after therapy and 2 vocal cord surgeries, Meine's voice recovered. Meine was ranked by Hit Parader as the twenty-second greatest heavy metal vocalist of all time.

August William "Bill" Ritter (born September 6, 1956) is an American politician of the Democratic Party, and was the 41st Governor of the state of Colorado, from 2007 to 2011. Before his election in 2006, he served as the district attorney for Denver. He is the first native-born governor of Colorado since 1975, as well as being the first Democratic governor to serve with a Democratic majority in the Colorado General Assembly in 50 years. Ritter did not run for a second term as Governor in 2010.

Ritter was born in Denver and raised on a farm in far eastern Aurora among his 11 brothers and sisters (he was born sixth). He attended Gateway High School while he lived in Aurora. He also attended St. Anthony Catholic High School in San Antonio, Texas from 1970–1972. His father, Bill, was a heavy equipment operator in the construction industry. His mother, Ethel, was a homemaker until the family began to struggle economically^{[citation needed]} and she found work as a bookkeeper when Ritter was a young teenager. At 14 years old, he went to work full time in the construction industry, and joined a local labor union. He continued to work in the construction field, which ended up financing his college education (along with student loans). He enrolled in Colorado State University and completed a bachelors degree, and then pursued a degree at the University of Colorado School of Law in Boulder. By 1981, he had earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) and was hired as a Deputy District Attorney for the City and County of Denver.

Narada Michael Walden (born Michael Walden on April 23, 1952 in Kalamazoo, Michigan) is an American producer, drummer, singer, and songwriter. He was given the name Narada by guru Sri Chinmoy in the early 1970s and his musical career spans three decades, in which he was awarded several gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards. Walden has also owned and operated Tarpan Studios, a well-known recording studio in San Rafael, California, since the mid-1980s.

His stage career included appearances with John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra (where he replaced legendary drummer Billy Cobham),Jeff Beck (on Beck's album Wired) and Tommy Bolin Band.

His first album, Garden of Love Light, was released in 1976 and included the track "Delightful", song from Tommy Bolin Band setlist. The lone single released from the album, it charted at #81 on the R&B charts in the spring of 1977.

His 1979 album Awakening peaked at #15 on the R&B charts, spawning a Top 10 hit with "I Don't Want Nobody Else (To Dance With You )". Later that year, his album The Dance of Life yielded the Top 5 single "I Shoulda Loved Ya", which also made the UK Top 10 in 1980. "Gimme Gimme Gimme", his 1985 duet with Patti Austin, reached #1 in Sweden. In 1988, he scored another UK top 10 hit and a #1 US Dance hit, with "Divine Emotions" under the name Narada.

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American recording artist, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all-time. Houston was one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. She released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts, as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know", influenced several African American female artists to follow in her footsteps.

Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits. She is the second artist behind Elton John and the only female artist to have two number-one Billboard 200 Album awards (formerly "Top Pop Album") on the Billboard magazine year-end charts. Houston's 1985 debut album Whitney Houston became the best-selling debut album by a female act at the time of its release. The album was named Rolling Stone's best album of 1986, and was ranked at number 254 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Her second studio album Whitney (1987) became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart.