3 Headlines to Bring Forward

1) Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and Russian prime minister Vladmir Putin have said that they back Bush.

2) Jesse Ventura in his own unique and bristly way sort of signaled that he is favoring Kerry for this upcoming election. (Note: Republicans begin spinning. Democrats begin boasting. But really, not much happened.)

3) Christopher Reeve is appearing in an ad for support of a California ballot measure that would devote $3 billion to stem cell experiments. He shot this ad just before he died. This is a measure that Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger supports.

An Elephant Never Forgets? Or a Donkey Feels Duped?

BUSH: UH...I made mistakes?

AT LEAST HALF OF AMERICA: Yes.


.................................................................................

KERRY: I voted for the authorization of Iraq before I voted against it.

AMERICANS: What?

KERRY: Yes, see... It looked like a good idea but then Bush abused it.

AMERICANS: That makes no sense. You should've known that he would mislead America.

KERRY: Oops...So I don't have an eye for corruption.

Come Again JasonH

1) How long have these "other wars" lasted?

The Iraqi conflict has only been going on for about two years. Vietnam lasted longer. As did, WWI, WWII, and the Korean conflicts. Unfortunately, the conflict will not be ending in the next 6 months, which only means more deaths.

2) People will die during wars. I understand that, but major military operations have ended. We are in the peace process and most of the deaths have occurred in this portion of the conflict. This tells me that the Bush administration isn't doing a good enough job of keeping the peace and are endangering soldiers' lives.

Better...what are the soldiers fighting for if the country is divided over the form of government we are suggesting?

Guantanamo

This is bad news. Our government controlling terrorists. Things can and will go wrong. All I can say is I recommend that you check up on the recent events in Cuba...

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=575233

'Duh'bya Bush Revelations

According to a survey conducted by the International Republican Institute , a government-funded body that promotes democracy around the world and which is helping oversee efforts to build political parties in Iraq, about 45 percent think Allawi has been effective since taking office in June which is down from 66 percent; support for government is down from 62 percent to 43 percent

REVELATION #1: Iraqis skeptical about new government

The survey also found out that religious leaders carry more political weight than tribal leaders, the government, or political parties with potential Iraqi voters.

The Washington Post, reporting figures not publicly released by the institute, said the survey also found that the most popular politician in Iraq was Abdel Aziz Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. Fifty-one percent said they want him in the national assembly, which will pick a new government. Allawi was second, with 47 percent of Iraqis supporting him for a seat in the new parliament if elections were held now, and rebel Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was a close third, with 46 percent, the newspaper said. An institute spokesman would not confirm the Post figures.

REVELATION #2: Iraq wants government to include Islamic religion

REVELATION #3: al-Sadr still has followers (and it's all because we let him go)


http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=190158

Iraq By Numbers

1,104 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003

At least 844 died as a result of hostile action, according to the Defense Department. The figures include three military civilians.

British 67 deaths
Italy, 19
Poland, 13
Spain, 11
Ukraine, nine
Bulgaria, six
Slovakia, three
Thailand, two
Netherlands, two
Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Hungary and Latvia have reported one death each.

Since May 1, 2003, when President Bush declared that major combat operations in Iraq had ended: 966 U.S. military members have died (includes at least 735 deaths resulting from hostile action, according to the military's numbers)

All numbers are according to Associated Press unless I stated otherwise

Clone Wars

Members of U.N. come together to discuss human cloning. I'll provide the article. You decide what to think of this international issue.


http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=190340

I Don't Want to Go...

...I'm retired.

An Army captain sued the government Friday to block his pending deployment to Iraq, saying he resigned in June after completing eight years of service in the Army and Army Reserve.

Jay J. Ferriola, 31, said in the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld unlawfully continues to exercise control over him even though he properly resigned and was asked to turn in his equipment.

The New York resident has never received a written, official response to his resignation request, said the lawsuit, which asks a judge to process and approve the resignation.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office declined comment.

Ferriola this week received orders to report Monday for active duty with the 306th Military Police Battalion, which will leave for a year and a half "on a dangerous mission in Iraq," the lawsuit said.

It was not fear that prompted Ferriola to take legal action, but a desire to get on with his life, said his lawyer, Barry I. Slotnick.

Last month, a judge ruled that an Army reservist from North Carolina must report to active duty. Todd Parrish had argued he had fulfilled his military obligation and sent the Army a letter resigning his commission, but the judge agreed with the Army that he could be recalled to duty because he failed to sign a resignation line on a letter asking for an update on his personal information.

(Copy of an ABC News article)

I want to bring this to your attention. Government is encouraging more and more people to join the military. Also, don't think you can serve for three years and be done. Overextension is imminent unless we ask former members of the military to return to duty. The next step: An actual draft