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To: D. Long who wrote (34513)	3/15/2004 7:21:00 AM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 793739

The new PM could at least have waited a dignified period before announcing the troop withdrawal and found a more matter-of-fact way to spin it. The way he handled was so conspicuously cause-effect. Shame on him. The only thing he didn't do was wave a white flag as he made the announcement. Spain has become the new France.

To: D. Long who wrote (34513)	3/15/2004 8:02:55 AM
From: kumar	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 793739

I don't see how anyone of any nationality could consider this a Good Thing. I do see it from a diff perspective, having just come back from a 6 week trip that took me thru Frankfurt, India, Singapore, Aus, NZ, and back to US. Not everyone thinks like many/some US folks do. As an indication : some in those parts percieve CNN as "right of center".

To: D. Long who wrote (34513)	3/15/2004 10:04:14 AM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793739

What a conspicuous act of national cravenness. Appeasement has been on the Euro's books from day one. Spain will be rewarded by a lack of future attacks to show the Euros that if they back off, they get let alone. Denis Boyles at NRO explores it further. The Spanish Apology The results of Sunday's election in Spain, in which the pro-American Popular party was voted out of office in an upset by a Socialist party profoundly at odds with American policy in Iraq and elsewhere, doesn't leave much room for interpretation. Economics wasn't the issue. Job creation and education weren't topics of widespread debate. The war in Iraq, which the conservative Aznar government strongly supported, despite the overwhelming opposition of most Spaniards, had largely evaporated as a factor in the polls before the voting. Not even the horrible terror attacks of Thursday did much to change voters' minds. The thing that made the difference to Spanish voters was the growing apprehension that al Qaeda was responsible for the attacks. In the first few hours after the atrocity, homegrown ETA terrorists were blamed by the government for the attacks. If true, this would have strengthened the government's strong antiterrorist position. But subsequent evidence of possible al Qaeda involvement — evidence mostly unverified and still under investigation — was used by the Socialists in noisy street demonstrations supported by Spain's left-wing press as proof that al Qaeda was targeting Spain because of its support of the U.S. in Iraq and that the government had lied in claiming the ETA was the culprit, despite the fact that potential Arab involvement had been discovered by the outgoing government. BBC reports from Madrid cast the election as a referendum not just on the war, but on whether or not Spanish voters were willing to face the consequences of joining the war on terrorism. They were not. Spanish voters went to the polls to apologize for their government's actions. There was no other issue on the ballot. The results bode ill for America's antiterrorism campaign. As the Daily Telegraph reports today, the new Spanish prime minister has signaled his desire to move away from the U.S.; withdrawing troops from the Coalition in Iraq was one of the Socialists' main campaign promises, and indeed, it was one of the first acts announced by the new government. By the time you have lunch today, reports the BBC with some satisfaction, Spanish troops will be packing their bags to go home. But the reaction in the left-wing European press is predictable. The Guardian had already sounded the note the night before the elections in an editorial that reflected the Spanish mood accurately: "We need to take the fight against terror out of America's hands. We need to get beyond the them and us, the good guys and the bad guys, and seek a genuinely collective response. Europe should seize the moment that America failed to grasp." As Spain's left-wing El Pais celebrated the Socialists' "unprecedented" victory, in Libération, the defeat was seen as the price of Aznar's "lies" about al Qaeda culpability. Suddeutsche Zeitung told readers that Aznar was being punished for supporting America's antiterrorism policies in Iraq and elsewhere. In the Independent, Robert Fisk reminded his readers that "The West was warned." He's not referring to September 11, of course. The ultimate wisdom of allowing al Qaeda terrorism to determine national elections is still to be seen. But as the Socialists in Spain get "beyond the them and us, the good guys and the bad guys," and attempt to find the common ground they have with whomever killed 200 innocent citizens and wounded 1,400 others, that country's apology for supporting the war on terrorism will be heard with appreciation by al Qaeda — and ETA, the IRA, Hamas, and every other terrorist organization in the world. nationalreview.com

To: D. Long who wrote (34513)	3/16/2004 3:48:23 PM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793739

Tech titans give more to GOP By Jim Hopkins, USA TODAY SAN FRANCISCO — The tech industry, which favored Democrats in the 2000 federal elections, is betting more campaign donations on Republicans this year. Bolstered by money from luminaries such as Yahoo CEO Terry Semel, tech has poured 55% of its $8.2 million in contributions into Republican coffers. That's up from 47% in 2000, says the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan watchdog group. Among top givers, only doctors and other health professionals shifted more to the GOP. Despite the shift, tech remains "on the fence" in its party allegiance, says Larry Noble, the center's executive director. Still, the trend is noteworthy, he says, because the tech industry is a growing political player whose allegiance is up for grabs over hot issues such as offshoring of jobs. The trend comes as Republicans and Democrats battle for money. Their hunt is especially fierce because "soft money" contributions — often $100,000 or more — are now banned under federal campaign finance laws. That means candidates are scrounging for coveted smaller gifts. Semel, for one, gave $25,000 to the Republican National Committee in December — one of just 689 committee gifts that big last year. He and others in the tech industry favor the GOP because of: •Key issues. Republicans are viewed as more pro-business on topics of special interest to the tech industry. Companies moving software development jobs overseas worry politicians will clamp down, says Rick White, CEO of TechNet, an advocacy group for Microsoft and other tech giants. John Kerry, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, has slammed "Benedict Arnold" firms for offshoring jobs. A sales tax on Internet access, being debated in Congress, might crimp sales at firms such as eBay if it depressed Net traffic. The Bush administration opposes such taxes. EBay's political action committee has given 64% to the GOP this year, up from 56% in 2000. •Power shift. Money flows to the party in power, and tech is following that trend. Republicans took the White House and Congress after the 2000 election. Tech ranks No. 13 among givers vs. No. 8 in 2000. Lawyers, who favor Democrats, are No. 1, as they were in 2000. But much of the money for the 2004 races won't be raised until later this year, so tech's financial muscle — and political allegiance — could shift again Moreover, the sector doesn't move in lockstep. Democratic givers include Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who gave Kerry $2,000. Find this article at: usatoday.com