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Politics : Right Wing Extremist Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (50656)	9/18/2005 5:10:24 AM
From: CYBERKEN	Respond to of 59480

Anyone who USES this disaster to pump the global warming fraud should be behind barbed wire until New Orleans is rebuilt...

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (50656)	9/18/2005 6:54:25 AM
From: GROUND ZERO™	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 59480

Where's the proof? TIA GZ

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (50656)	9/18/2005 8:48:04 AM
From: Hope Praytochange	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 59480

move to juneau - get off DUI lot easier

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (50656)	9/18/2005 8:48:42 AM
From: Hope Praytochange	Respond to of 59480

Polls Show Merkel With Edge in German Vote By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 8:26 a.m. ET BERLIN (AP) -- Germans voted Sunday in a tight race between Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who touts his country's role as a European leader and counterbalance to America, and conservative challenger Angela Merkel, who pledges to reform the moribund economy and repair ties with Washington. Polls for the parliamentary election suggest Merkel, leader of the conservative Christian Democrats, will become the nation's first female chancellor, although she likely will lead a coalition government. Merkel's plan to patch up relations with Washington, which frayed after Schroeder's refusal to back the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, has resonated with voters, as has her position that Turkey should not be allowed full membership in the 25-nation European Union. ''A country like Turkey just doesn't belong in the European community,'' voter Torsten Quade, 41, said. ''We're already going to let in countries like Romania and Bulgaria, and this is already too much because of how far behind they are.'' But other voters said they supported Schroeder and his Social Democrats because of his efforts to keep Germany out of the Iraq war and his push for diplomacy to resolve international concerns about Iran's nuclear program. Germany is one of three nations representing the EU in talks with Tehran. ''When you have a son coming of military age, this makes it even more important to vote for a government that isn't eager to go to war,'' said Stefan Deutscher, a 38-year-old business consultant voting in Berlin. He said he blamed Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, or CDU, for the high unemployment in Germany -- currently at 11.4 percent -- saying: ''I dislike the CDU because they passed on a messed-up country to the current government and are now blaming them for it.'' The CDU, with Helmut Kohl as its chancellor, led Germany from 1982-1998, during which the country was reunited and unemployment rose. Voters will choose lawmakers for the 598-seat lower house of parliament, which elects the chancellor to head the government. If no party wins a majority, as is expected, party leaders negotiate trying to form a coalition representing more than 50 percent of the seats. Schroeder and his wife, Doris, voted in his hometown of Hannover at a school near their home. Doris Schroeder said the good weather was an omen of victory for her husband's party. ''My husband always says if the sun is happy, then the SPD has it made,'' she said. The chancellor did not speak to reporters after voting. Merkel, a physicist by training, voted in Berlin with her husband, chemist Joachim Sauer. Neither spoke to reporters. If the Christian Democrats cannot win a majority with their preferred partners -- the small, pro-business Free Democrats -- Merkel could be forced to share power in a ''grand coalition'' with Schroeder's party, which likely would tame her plans. The most recent poll, carried out by the Forsa institute between Monday and Friday, put support for the Christian Democrats at between 41 and 43 percent, with the Free Democrats between 7 percent and 8 percent. Merkel's party already controls the upper house of parliament. If it gains control of the lower house, it will be able to move ahead with proposals to streamline the tax system, make it easier for small companies to fire people and loosen the rigid labor market in a bid to tackle unemployment and the troublingly low rates of economic growth. There also is a chance the Social Democrats could deny Merkel the chancellorship by teaming up with other parties. The Forsa poll showed some 25 percent of voters were still undecided. Schroeder called for the election a year ahead of time in frustration at resistance to his attempts to fix the economy, as unemployment in Europe's biggest economy hit record highs in his seven years in power and growth was sluggish. His limited measures cutting taxes and long-term jobless benefits have been slow to show convincing results. It also would mean a significant change to Germany's stance on Turkish membership in the European Union -- a cause that Schroeder has championed. Merkel opposes Turkey's bid, instead advocating a ''privileged partnership'' with the predominantly Muslim country. An estimated 500,000 of the 2.6 million people of Turkish origin in Germany are German citizens with the right to vote. Turks have traditionally supported the Social Democrats, though recently they have been angered by his social welfare and unemployment reforms, which have cut benefits. ------ Associated Press reporter Vanessa Gera contributed to this report.