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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (221677)	3/3/2005 6:53:32 AM
From: steve harris	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1572789

rushlimbaugh.com "In early September 1993, Christopher Simmons, then age 17, discussed with his friends, Charlie Benjamin (age 15) and John Tessmer (age 16), the possibility of committing a burglary and murdering someone. On several occasions, Simmons described the manner in which he planned to commit the crime: he would find someone to burglarize, tie the victim up and ultimately push the victim off a bridge. Simmons assured his friends that their status as juveniles would allow them to 'get away with it.'"

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (221677)	3/3/2005 6:55:36 AM
From: steve harris	Respond to of 1572789

catsprn.com "Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process." Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998 and many others...

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (221677)	3/3/2005 11:16:07 AM
From: Road Walker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1572789

I think I feel a draft in here! Loren Thompson, a military analyst with the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va., said several Army generals told him last year that recruiting was likely to "fall off a cliff" in 2005. "I think this spells a major recruiting shortfall for the Army," he said. Army misses recruiting goal Thu Mar 3, 6:30 AM ET By Dave Moniz, USA TODAY WASHINGTON - In what could be a troubling sign for the military, the active-duty Army missed its February recruiting goal by more than 27%. It was the first time in almost five years that the Army has failed to meet a monthly target. The Army signed up 5,114 recruits in February, 1,936 fewer than its goal of 7,050. The last time the Army missed a monthly target was in May 2000. The February shortfall is especially worrisome because it comes as the Army is trying to lure recruits with the largest enlistment bonuses it has ever offered: up to $20,000 to some recruits willing to sign on for four years. The Pentagon (news - web sites) has also been adding thousands of recruiters for the Army and other branches. Doug Smith, a spokesman for U.S. Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox in Kentucky, attributed the shortfall in part to competition from the improving economy and parents' fears that their children could be injured or killed in Iraq (news - web sites). As of Wednesday, nearly 1,500 U.S. servicemembers had died in Iraq since the invasion in March 2003. Smith also said the Army has used up many of its "delayed entry" recruits - people who agree to sign up, but whose enlistment is delayed until later for their convenience or the Army's. Last year, the Army rushed several thousand recruits in the delayed entry program into basic training to meet its 2004 recruiting target. Normally, those recruits would have been available this year to boost recruiting numbers. "It's just going to be a rough year," Smith said. The Marine Corps missed its monthly target in January for the first time in nearly 10 years, but it met its February goal. David Segal, a military sociologist at the University of Maryland who monitors personnel trends, said the Army's February numbers reflect the extraordinary demands on the nation's ground forces and the uneasiness many Americans feel about the war in Iraq. "We all knew this was coming if you looked at what is happening in the Army Guard and Army Reserve," Segal said, pointing to recruiting problems in those two part-time military forces. "The question was not whether it would happen to the Army, but when." The active-duty Army needs to recruit 80,000 new soldiers this year - 3,000 more than last year - to replenish its ranks. Segal said he does not think the Army will achieve that goal. Guard and reserve recruiting has lagged. Through January, four months into a recruiting year that runs from October 2004 through September 2005, the Army Guard was almost 24% behind its recruiting target. Figures were unavailable for February. The Army Reserve was about 10% below its recruiting target through February. The Army National Guard and the Army Reserve are part-time forces made up of soldiers who train typically one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer in peacetime. That has changed dramatically, however. Guard and reserve troops now make up about 40% of the full-time U.S. troops in Iraq. February's results are the first sign that recruiting problems plaguing the Guard and reserve are spreading to the active force. Loren Thompson, a military analyst with the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va., said several Army generals told him last year that recruiting was likely to "fall off a cliff" in 2005. "I think this spells a major recruiting shortfall for the Army," he said.

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (221677)	3/3/2005 1:10:48 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1572789

Ted, So what........you believed Bush when he said Saddam had WMDs. "We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction." - Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002. "The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..." - Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002 "We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction." - Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002 And all that took was just a few minutes using Google ... ;-) And yet, I did not believe Mr. Bush........you do remember, don't you? Sometimes we have to learn to think for ourselves. ;~) ted

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (221677)	3/3/2005 1:12:02 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1572789

For some Central Europeans, US losing luster Political, economic future is seen to lie with Europe By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff \| March 3, 2005 BUDAPEST -- Frustrated by travel restrictions and uneasy about the war in Iraq, Central European citizens who once pledged unstinting allegiance to the United States are now recalling their European roots and looking to a united Europe for their economic and political futures. Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic -- what Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called ''new Europe" in an apparent slap at Western European nations which opposed the war in Iraq -- still profess affection and appreciation for the United States because of its role in bringing down the Soviet empire that long dominated them. The governments of the three Central European nations all supported the war in Iraq and provided troops and assistance there. But some of their citizens are more skeptical, worrying that their role as new NATO members might draw the region into further armed conflicts just as the nations are emerging from decades of communist rule. And the ease of traveling and working in fellow European Union nations -- compared with the difficulty of securing visas to travel to the United States -- is making ''old Europe" a more attractive ally, analysts and local residents say. ''It's changing. Central Europeans are waking up to the reality that from here on out, their bread is going to be buttered more in Brussels than in Washington," said Charles Kupchan, director of European studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. A decade ago, Central Europe was heavily focused on getting into the US-dominated North Atlantic Treaty Organization and assuring their security in the region. Hungarians, Poles, and Czechs spoke worriedly then of the possibility that Russia might one day menace its neighbors again. But now, Central Europeans are paying attention to building their economies and making their mark in a united Europe, Kupchan said. That trend is apparent in the Hungarian capital. Prices in Hungary, which were once listed in Hungarian forints and US dollars, are now displayed in forints and Euros, the pan-European currency that has been steadily strengthening against the dollar. Western Europeans are buying real estate here, and the local newspapers are owned largely by Swiss and German interests. And while Central Europeans -- especially the Poles -- have a historical fondness for the United States, the cultural and political differences between Europe and the United States are present here as well, European analysts note. Europeans in general are at odds with the United States on matters such as the death penalty, the role of international institutions, religiosity, and the environment, said James Goldgeier, a Europe expert at George Washington University. The war in Iraq, Budapesters say, underscored the disenchantment some have here with their longtime friend. Andras Rado, a 25-year-old student at Central European University in Budapest, said the image of the United States has suffered among members of his generation, who are looking instead to places like Germany, Scandinavia, and Great Britain for higher-paying jobs and international experience. Continued... boston.com