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Politics : Moderate Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: epicure who wrote (8739)	3/19/2004 7:34:44 PM
From: tsigprofit	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20773

X, I am glad you are back posting today. Even good friends can differ on some issues. Hell - some of my best friends are Republicans - in fact most are - go figure. The outsourcing issue hit right to the core of me, I don't mind telling you. I just talked to a good friend today in Texas. He has 20 years of IT experience also. Was an early adopter of things before people even had PCs at home. Anyway - he is re-employed now - just this month - but he has worked exactly 2 months total since January 2002. I have seen it over and over. There are undoubtedly pockets where things have not been as bad - but it has been bad in many places. It has left a bitterness - no doubt about it. Anyway - good to see your posts. My feelings were personal. I guess I felt it would be like if you told me say that a half dozen veteran teachers - many that had won awards - and worked over 20 years - that you knew personally - had lost their jobs in the last few years (even if rehired) - and I then told you - well - it's just the marketplace. We can't stop it - don't try. That is emotional - but that cuts right to the bone. That's how I felt - and how I think many who have seen it felt. I worked from 1985-2000 without any breaks until March 2000 came - then lost 3 jobs at various times. I've seen it among almost all I know. These are not low level IT jobs either - but all require bachelor degrees, plus experience. I've seen people promoted to supervisor - working 70-80 hours a week - weekends,etc. - only to have someone in, and let the entire dept. go - with people crying as they are forced to leave the job they had. So - it is an emotional issue - but a real one too. Sorry for this rant on Friday night. t

To: epicure who wrote (8739)	3/20/2004 7:57:45 AM
From: Ron	Respond to of 20773

FORMER WHITE HOUSE TERRORISM ADVISOR: BUSH ADMIN WAS DISCUSSING BOMBING IRAQ FOR 9/11 DESPITE KNOWING AL QAEDA WAS TO BLAME Fri Mar 19 2004 17:49:30 ET Former White House terrorism advisor Richard Clarke tells Lesley Stahl that on September 11, 2001 and the day after - when it was clear Al Qaeda had carried out the terrorist attacks - the Bush administration was considering bombing Iraq in retaliation. Clarke's exclusive interview will be broadcast on 60 MINUTES Sunday March 21 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Clarke was surprised that the attention of administration officials was turning toward Iraq when he expected the focus to be on Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. "They were talking about Iraq on 9/11. They were talking about it on 9/12," says Clarke. The top counter-terrorism advisor, Clarke was briefing the highest government officials, including President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, in the aftermath of 9/11. "Rumsfeld was saying we needed to bomb Iraq....We all said, 'but no, no. Al Qaeda is in Afghanistan," recounts Clarke, "and Rumsfeld said, 'There aren't any good targets in Afghanistan and there are lots of good targets in Iraq.' I said, 'Well, there are lots of good targets in lots of places, but Iraq had nothing to do with [the 9/11 attacks],'" he tells Stahl. Clarke goes on to explain what he believes was the reason for the focus on Iraq. "I think they wanted to believe that there was a connection [between Iraq and Al Qaeda] but the CIA was sitting there, the FBI was sitting there, I was sitting there, saying, 'We've looked at this issue for years. For years we've looked and there's just no connection,'" says Clarke. Clarke, who advised four presidents, reveals more about the current administration's reaction to terrorism in his new book, "Against All Enemies." cbsnews.com