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To: j_b who wrote (13981)	8/21/1998 10:56:00 AM
From: bananawind	Respond to of 152472

All... The analog crowd looks ready to rock and roll.... Cellular Churn Amoung U.S. Mobile Family Subscribers to Cost Operators Nearly $4 Billion Says Strategy Analytics New Study Reveals 38% of Subscribers 'Up for Grabs' BOSTON, Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- 38% of Mobile Family subscribers are at risk for churn over the next 12 months, representing potential revenue displacement of nearly $4 Billion for the US Cellular/PCS industry. The findings are published in a new report, ''Targeting the Mobile Family', from Strategy Analytics Mobile Communications Service North America. ''The Mobile Family segment which generates $10 Billion in annual service revenues is a key battlefield for US Cellular operators and handset vendors'', noted David Kerr, Director of Wireless Communications at Strategy Analytics. ''In addition to service pricing, customer service is a major driver of churn in this segment''. Mobile Family subscribers cited poor customer service as a reason for churn twice as often as average subscribers in the Strategy Analytics study. The report also revealed low usage levels of Value Added Services among U.S. Mobile Family subscribers, with nearly 83% never using voicemail and only 2 - 4% using facilities such as email and fax. Mobile Family subscribers represent a potential handset replacement market of almost 4 million units and $400M in retail sales. ''We found that more than 22% of Mobile Family subscribers are likely to replace their cellular phones in the next 12 months,'' commented Kelly Quinn, an analyst for Strategy Analytics' Mobile Communications Service, North America. ''Planned handset replacement among Mobile Family subscribers is 46% higher than among average users.'' Calling Party Pays, Frequent Number Discount and Landline charges for cellular calls from home are the leading requirements for Mobile Families. ''Mobile Family subscribers want streamlined services and functional ease, not complicated gadgets,'' said Quinn. ''Nearly 60% expressed interest in a 'Home & Road' phone, and nearly 70% would like a single personal phone number for all their telecom equipment.'' ''We believe the consumer needs from Mobile Family subscribers could be met by promoting second and third cellular lines for spouses and teenage children,'' said Quinn. ''Additional lines, combined with money-saving service plans, such as Calling Party Pays and Prepaid, could provide a feasible opportunity for landline substitution.'' Currently, only one-third of all U.S. Mobile Family households has two or more cellular service subscribers. SOURCE: Strategy Analytics

To: j_b who wrote (13981)	8/21/1998 11:24:00 AM
From: Gregg Powers	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 152472

Where do terrorists come from? Why do people view America as "the Great Satan"? Why does terrorism exist? Broadly speaking, I would put terrorists into three camps: those that are pathologically impaired, i.e., crazy, those that are politically motivated, i.e., of the belief that their stature can be enhanced or sustained by pandering to a violent constituency, and those who honestly and sincerely feel wronged but powerless. With the latter, the issues are almost never black and white. Think about Palestine and Israel. After WWII, Palestine is carved into two pieces to create a Jewish homeland. A world horrified and disgusted by the abomination inflicted on the Jews by Hitler sought to ease its conscience by restoring the biblical Jewish homeland. A modest reparation...if you weren't a Palestinian living in what would become Israel or a Moslem who believed that the West had just handed one the world's most holy cities to the "infidels". Who's was right; who was wrong? Maybe everybody was right and everybody was wrong. That moral debate is now secondary to the decades of hatred and murder and anger that has arisen. The result is human tragedy. During the American revolution, were we terrorists or freedom fighters? Kind of depends on your perspective. To what extent does tyranny lie in the eyes of the beholder? Pathological terrorists deserve no quarter and need to be eradicated down to the last animal. The same can be said for political terrorists. However, I believe it is necessary to understand those who feel sincerely wronged and powerless ...because unless we are willing to kill them all, right down to the last woman and child, it is unlikely that bombing a few weapons factories will do much to dissuade their attacks or mitigate their anger. Which begs the question, what is the purpose of a military response to a terrorist action? Are we attempting to punish those involved, prevent subsequent attacks or to diminish the capacity to undertake the same? What confuses me is why we don't seek out the leaders. Why bomb a weapons factory, staffed by underlings who immediately become martyrs, while allowing the ostensible leader (Osama bi Laden) to roam free? Bombing Iraq back into the stone age DID get Saddam out of Kuwait, DID kill several hundred thousand rank-and-file Iraqis, but DID NOT get him out of power. Someone please explain to me why the "rules of war" codify killing thousands of conscripted solders but protect the sociopath that precipitated and perpetuated the conflict? Generations of Iraqis will hate America long after Saddam is mole food. I am always amazed by the sanctity of an individual human life, but our indifference to wholesale slaughter. Fall down a well, get buried under a landslide or carried off by rising water and the nation prays for your welfare and virtually unlimited resources are made available to rescue you. But starve anonymously on the streets of NYC, or live in a country ruled by a dictatorial nutcase, and your life isn't worth a plug nickel. Strange. By the way...I am not trying to vent some deeply held political agenda...this topic is just more interesting than watching my entire portfolio depreciate. Best regards, Gregg

To: j_b who wrote (13981)	8/21/1998 1:09:00 PM
From: limtex	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

jb and all **OT** I've lost track of how many people were killed in Kenya and Tanzania never mind how many THOUSANDS were injured. The World Trader center bomb was apparently aimed at toppling one of the buildings into the other in order to kill as many as possible. As well as the missile strike which received a lot of publicity there were actions taken by US special forces in Albania this week which netted a bunch of terrorists wanted by the Egyptians for murder. These actions, which received less publicity but may have netted a great deal of helpful information could not have been timed for political reasons and have to do with intelligence available as a result of the help given by the Pakistani government amongst others. The "terrorist convention" going on in Afganistan this week was arranged and timed by the terrorists not by anyone else. There is no doubt that the terrorists are waging war against the United States. It is conventional war and Mr Bin Laden even announced it. The reason that everyone is having a problem recognizing it as such is that it doesn't look like a conventional war because the soldiers are called terrorists and don't look or behave like our traditional idea of soldiers and their weapons aren't their tanks and planes and submarines. Their weapons are very small and very lethal and what is worse these weapons are getting smaller and more lethal by orders of magnitude. These people lets not call them terrorists for a moment lets call them "forces" will use whatever weapons they can to attack us and our most vulnerable places. If they can get hold of serviceable chemical or biological weapons the government has to believe they will use them against us in our most vulnerable point(s). The Government has to act as if we are at war becasue we are at war with an enemy who has declared war. Anyone who protects or aids such forces can and should be expected to be considered an enemy. Regards, L