Cooperation

[benorbeen]

This journal shows examples of cooperation and how it shows up in our everyday lives.

• Cooperation is the result of your getting what you want, and my getting what I want. It is a win-win situation.

On occasion, I may even show examples of competition and how it shows up in our everyday lives.

• Competition is the result of your getting what you want, but my not-getting what I want. Or it is the result of my getting what I want, but your not-getting what you want. It is a win-lose situation.

With cooperation as the aim, in the end there are no losers.

The aim is to cooperate competitive information in our scenework and in our Harolds.

Competing is easy; cooperating is hard.

 

[benorbeen]

Sadr Militia to Quit Holy Cities if U.S. Does So

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - The militia of rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr will end their armed presence in Najaf and Kerbala as soon as it is clear that U.S. troops have withdrawn from the holy Iraqi cities, a top aide to Sadr said on Saturday.

"We are prepared to end our armed presence the moment the occupation forces leave the holy cities and give guarantees of that," Qais al-Khazali told reporters. "There are no guarantees up to now that the occupying forces will not go back to the holy shrines."

On Friday, U.S. troops pulled back from the center of Kerbala after days of heavy fighting with militiamen. U.S. Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt said on Saturday the troops were repositioning and not withdrawing.

Dan Senor, spokesman for the U.S.-led administration, said there had been no contact with Sadr, who the authorities want in connection with the murder of another Shi'ite cleric. "There is not any...truce to my knowledge," he said.

"If he is prepared to submit himself to justice and if he is prepared to disband and disarm his illegal militia, we are prepared to reach a peaceful resolution to this," Senor added.

Earlier in the week Iraq (news - web sites)'s most revered Shi'ite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, called on both U.S. forces and Sadr's Mehdi Army to withdraw from the holy cities.

The U.S. military has repeatedly said it will not negotiate with Sadr, who is wanted in connection with the murder of a rival cleric in Najaf last year.

 

[benorbeen]

Clinton prescribes a dose of cooperation for politics

By STEVE KRASKE The Kansas City Star

LAWRENCE — From the applause ringing through Allen Fieldhouse on Friday, you might have thought that former President Bill Clinton had just hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer.

Instead, Clinton gave an adoring crowd a 45-minute address on the partisanship gripping the nation, race relations and America's role in the world.

The speech marked the first Dole Lecture sponsored by the new Lawrence institute that bears the name of the former senator from Kansas.

Bob Dole himself, Clinton's 1996 presidential opponent, sat at his side. Although both men engaged in the partisan warfare that marked much of the 1990s, the two teamed up Friday and took turns bemoaning its excesses in the new century.

In his remarks, Clinton offered a prescription for bridging the nation's political divide. He urged lawmakers of both parties to focus their rhetoric on legitimate policy disagreements instead of name-calling and one-upmanship.

“It's under stress now,” Clinton said of the political system. “If you want it back, you've got to demand it.”

Said Dole in introducing Clinton, “What unites us is greater than what divides us in election-year politics.”

Never once did the two mention a thought on the minds of virtually all 12,000 people packed into the unairconditioned fieldhouse — the sweltering heat that had hundreds of people waving hand-held fans and wearing loose T-shirts and shorts.

The former president originally was to speak at the university's Lied Center, but its 1,900 seats were snapped up within minutes. Demand was so great that Clinton and University of Kansas officials agreed to the fieldhouse site, even though they expected a sweat storm.

In the audience was a large contingent of officials from both political parties, including Democratic Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Republican U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran of Hays.

Dole, who reportedly has agreed to return Clinton's favor by appearing at the opening of his presidential library this fall, said their joint appearance Friday was a reminder that one-time political foes need not be personal enemies.

In trademark fashion, Dole quipped that his institute, which opened last summer on the KU campus, was not a presidential library.

“But it'll have to do,” the former Senate majority leader said.

When it was his turn, Clinton said with a smile that 90 percent of the Kansans who backed him for president had gathered in the fieldhouse.

Clinton waived his usual $100,000 speaking fee for the event, KU officials said.

Clinton put forth that a focus on policy would ease some of the bitterness now dominating the political process. Much of the division is due to the era of change now enveloping the nation. The United States has entered a global marketplace, he said, and is struggling to handle its unprecedented ethnic diversity and seeking a solution to terrorism.

“America is in one of those periods where we're trying to come to grips with fundamental questions,” Clinton said.

Massive change tends to initiate eras of heavy partisanship, he said. The nation saw such a split before, he noted, when George Washington left the presidency and Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were partisans in a bitter dispute over how the nation should be led in the post-Washington era.

“When we have understood our mission, we've enjoyed a high level of bipartisanship,” he said.

Clinton noted that his and Dole's joint gig as commentators on CBS' “60 Minutes” ended when they refused to turn their minutes-long dialogues into a political mud-slinging match.

The former Arkansas governor refrained from making virtually any comment about the performance of the Bush administration that succeeded his. One exception was his remark that he thought President Bush's decision to cut taxes was a mistake.

At another point, he told the crowd that many might disagree with Bush's decision to wage war in Iraq rather than rooting out al-Qaida in Afghanistan. When the crowd began to cheer, Clinton admonished them, saying disagreements with America's leaders were part of the American experience.

“This is thinking time, not cheering time,” he said.

“If immediately you decide that somebody who sees a whole new situation differently than you must be a bad person and is somehow twisted inside, then we're not going to get very far in forming a more perfect union.”

But Clinton also noted that America will need more world partners in the years ahead. Despite its standing as the world's lone superpower, Clinton said, the United States cannot defeat all of its adversaries alone.

One of Clinton's themes was the astute language that the Founding Fathers' used to describe America's goal of forming a “more perfect” union. That the founders used the qualifying word of “more” is significant, he said, because it acknowledges that no individual or political party will ever have a formula for making a perfect union.

America will always be on a journey that requires input from many people, Clinton said, adding that no one possesses enough knowledge to impose his or her will on the entire population.

The result is a system that will always require compromise, he said.

“Compromise is honorable, not dishonorable,” Clinton said.

On the topic of race, Clinton offered a favorable forecast about race relations in America, saying they would improve. The key, he said, is increasing contact between people of different races. When that happens, he said, divisions tend to disappear.

“We're going to get better on race, because it's stupid not to,” Clinton said to ringing applause.

He pointed out that a leading scientist once told him that humans, regardless of race, are 99.9 percent identical.

“The next time you start to feel like you really need to demonize somebody, think about that,” Clinton said.

The Star's John Petterson contributed to this report.

 

[benorbeen]

Too Much Information?

The recent trend of retailers demanding personal information like your phone number or ZIP code is more cumbersome than troubling. Information is priceless these days but its pursuit can be annoying. If you're already in a store with money at the ready they already have you as a customer. It doesn't make sense for them to try to shoo you away.

By Rick Aristotle Munarriz (TMF Edible)
May 13, 2004

"Your phone number, please?"

Your eyes dart around. Your palms get sweaty. You feel vulnerable. If you had just met the love of your life or had just caught up with a childhood friend that you hadn't seen in ages, this would have seemed like an appropriate query.

Unfortunately, that's not the case this time. You are wedged at the head of a long checkout line and you know absolutely nothing about the cashier lobbing the question your way. But the lack of familiarity isn't mutual. The retailer knows a lot more about you than you think. Your phone number linked to your buying patterns is gold in enterprising, merchandising hands. You still want my phone number? Not until you buy me breakfast, snookums.

The art of the deal
Checking out of a store shouldn't be a trying experience. You have something that you want to buy. The retail establishment clearly wants to sell it to you. The price is agreed upon by your willingness to lug it over to the cashier. Shouldn't there be less barriers getting in the way of closing the transaction? In theory, sure. But there is a hidden markup in the mix. It's called information. Knowing your identity -- or, at the very least, knowing your ZIP code -- will help the company's marketing efficiency.

RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) was an early arrival to the telephonic inquisition. Yes, the same company sporting the "You've got questions, we've got answers" jingle once had a beefy question for you. That phone number, again?

But shoppers didn't bargain on opening up to the company just to pick up a pair of fresh batteries. Perhaps that's why the 7,000-unit consumer electronics chain gave up on the practice two years ago. However, new retailers are rising from the RadioShack's marketing research ashes.

Popular chains like Toys "R" Us (NYSE: TOY), Linens 'n Things (NYSE: LIN), and Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) have taken a shot at asking patrons for either their ZIP code or their phone number. Mined over matter, the Better Business Bureau isn't about to condemn the practice, but it won't stop the complaints from pouring in. It's invasive. Is it really necessary?

Mined over matter
Clark Howard, the host of a consumer action radio show in Atlanta, Ga., recently tackled the growing trend of info-hungry retailers. It spawned an active thread on our own animated consumer credit discussion board. While noting that ZIP codes are now being used to help authorize credit card transactions, that doesn't explain why I've been asked the same thing even as my outstretched hand is holding greenbacks.

Am I setting up my neighbors to be junk-targeted for the retailer's next mass mailing? Am I hurting my chances of securing a location closer to my home if the parent company thinks the expansion may cannibalize existing locations? Are frustrated shoppers willing to fudge, assuring that the tony 90210 district in Beverly Hills will be up to their Hummers and toy poodles in spam?

When the object of your market research affection becomes defiant doesn't it all just flat-out fall apart? The only thing worse than a lack of information is a plethora of wrong information. What are you left with? ZIP.

Yet telephone numbers are clearly even more invasive. That's an open admission. That's you raising your hand to say "here" when a marketer takes roll. While it can be argued that circling the bull's-eye to your home can be a positive if it means that you will be receiving special discount mailings from retailers you frequent geared towards products you typically purchase, when exactly did you sign off on the retailer's privacy policy?

Asking for phone numbers and ZIP codes? That's just wrong. Try earning that trust. Don't take the customer out of the customer service. So, are you still here asking me for my phone number? Can I scribble it on a cocktail napkin for you? Ha! I'm just teasing you, sweetie. I'm sorry. I'm just not that easy. You haven't even met my parents! Oh, that's right. You have. You know everything about them.

Drats!

Five Ways Out
So what will you do the next time that a persistent cashier asks you for your phone number? Will you give in? Here are five suggestions to keep you from blurting out the seven numbers that are dear to you.

1. Tell the sales clerk that your number is unlisted. If you are told that it is for security reasons, take them to task. While some credit card companies will use billing zip codes to verify transactions, there isn't a single one that will demand your phone number. Flash some other form of ID to the cashier.

2. If your concern isn't so much the retailer knowing you are, but rather some unsavory characters behind you memorizing your phone number, just jot it down and hand it over to the cashier. If you have a business card, that will probably do.

3. Your area code followed by 555-1212 isn't a complete fib. It is the number for directory assistance. If your number were listed it would be one way to reach you.

4. Refuse on principle. Do you really think that they will turn away the sale? It's a more honest approach than just making up a number like 867-5309.

5. Give them the store's phone number. After all, that is where they can reach you at the moment, right?

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Aristotle Munarriz hates giving out his phone number, and he's never found a cashier willing to spring for breakfast. He does own shares in Netflix. Rick's stock holdings can be viewed online, as can the Fool's disclosure policy.

 

[benorbeen]

Continental Airlines Rescinds Fare Hike

NEW YORK - Continental Airlines Inc. on Monday again rescinded a fare hike, after trying more than a dozen times to boost overall fares.

Earlier this month, the Houston airline raised fares worldwide by $10 or $20 one-way, depending on the length of the flights. The airline said at the time it is suffering because of high fuel costs, but intense airline competition has left the carriers unable to pass along fuel costs to customers.

"If we are not successful in passing along these exorbitant fuel costs through higher fares, we will ultimately be forced to seek significant wage and benefit concessions and furloughs ... in order to survive," chief Executive Gordon Bethune said in a statement earlier this month.

Low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines Co. last week added a nearly network-wide fare hike for the first time since November 2000.

Brandy King, a spokeswoman for Southwest, said the Dallas carrier boosted fares by $1 each way on 90 percent of its routes. Southwest has declined in the past few months to go along with any of the dozens of fare hikes attempted by other carriers.

Continental's fare hike attempt had followed a familiar drill. Nearly every week for the past few months, one airline or another has attempted to hike fares. Some airlines go along with the hike, but a few — including Southwest — have resisted, causing most of the fare hikes to fail.

An industry source said the most recent fare hike was resisted by some low-cost carriers, making the lowest fares immune to the hike.

The inability of the airlines to pass along fuel costs to passengers is putting the squeeze on the major carriers. Last week, UAL Corp. Chief Executive Glenn Tilton said his airline, which continues to restructure under bankruptcy protection, would be profitable this quarter if not for the high fuel prices.

Earlier this month, oil prices rose above $40 a barrel. A few airlines, such as Southwest and JetBlue Airways Corp. have contracts, called hedges, that keep their cost of most of the fuel steady and low. But other airlines, like Continental, waited too long to hedge their fuel supply, hoping fuel prices would drop.

Southwest spokeswoman King said the airline is paying full price for a portion of its fuel, which was part of the reason the airline hiked fares.

Southwest shares were closed Monday up 4 cents at $15.27 while Continental fares ended down 5 cents at $10.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.

 

[benorbeen]

Refusing to co-operate with health authorities is unlawful

25 May, 2004

GABORONE - Batswana have been warned that people who refuse to co-operate with health authorities in the immunisation campaign against polio may be contravening the Constitution of Botswana.

While some religious sectors are alleged to have expressed unwillingness to co-operate with health authorities in the national drive to inoculate children under the age of five against polio, some have categorically refused to co-operate.

Ombudsman Lethebe Maine says in a statement that it is against the spirit of the Constitution of Botswana for any person to hinder or obstruct authorities in the inoculation exercise against polio.

Maine says that while Section 11 of the Constitution of Botswana guarantees freedom of religion, the subsequent section makes it lawful for authorities to act in the interest of public health in appropriate circumstances.

"It is thus our considered opinion that health authorities are acting within the spirit of Section 11 of the Constitution of Botswana and in the interest of public health by inoculating children under five," said Maine.

He adds that public safety demands that appropriate health measures be taken to avoid the spread of any disease, particularly of a contagious nature. Maine says the Office of the Ombudsman, as one of the national institutions mandated by law to protect fundamental human rights and freedoms of individuals, is concerned that certain religious sectors within the country are reluctant to co-operate with health authorities in the polio campaign.

He has urged such religious groups to heed advice and requirements of health authorities.

 

[benorbeen]

The Ultimate Mistake Men Make With Women

I want to share an interesting insight with you that not 1 in 100 men ever realize on their own. It's actually TWO insights, but they're two sides of the same coin.

It's an amazingly OBVIOUS double insight, and once you know what it is, you'll see evidence of it all around you, in every interaction between a man and a woman.

And it goes a little sumthin' like this:

1. Most men behave like WUSSIES when it comes to women and dating.

2. Women NEVER feel the powerful and magical emotion called ATTRACTION for WUSSIES.

So let's take them one at a time.

WHAT exactly IS a WUSSY?

A Wussy is a guy who kisses up to women.

A Wussy is a guy who does whatever a woman wants him to do, and doesn't even know if or when a woman is testing him.

A Wussy is a guy who accepts manipulative behavior from women, and doesn't care if a woman flakes out on him, takes advantage of him, or acts overly dramatic around him.

A Wussy is a guy who has no backbone, and caves when challenged by a woman.

A Wussy is a guy who feels that he needs to BUY or PAY FOR a woman's attention and affection with gifts, dinners, compliments, and other forms of payment and flattery...because he can't imagine that a woman would want to be with him just for HIM.

In short, a WUSSY is a submissive man who tries to compensate for his lack of ability to attract women by being overly accommodating and generous.

NEWS JUST IN: MOST MEN ACT LIKE WUSSIES!

And if that wasn't bad enough, here's the REALLY bad news: Women will NEVER feel ATTRACTION for this kind of behavior, or this kind of guy!

(If you even doubt what I'm saying for a SECOND, then try this simple test: Find 3 attractive women, and ask them if they ever feel a gut-level ATTRACTION for guys who kiss up to them and act like Wussies, and watch what they say.)

Want some even WORSE news?

When this kind of tactic doesn't work for a guy, he'll usually TRY HARDER, and become even MORE of a WUSSY to make a girl like him... and the more a girl runs away, the more a WUSSY most guys become.

YOU DO THE MATH and figure out the outcome of this equation.

It totally blows my mind how a guy will kiss up to a woman and watch with HIS OWN TWO EYES as she becomes more and more distant... and instead of him realizing that it's his own WUSS behavior that's causing the woman to run away he just keeps doing it... AND EVEN INCREASING IT!

And how do I know this so well?

Because I, my friend, used to be a BIG TIME Wuss Bag.

Of course, when I think back about situations in my life where I behaved like a Wuss and caused a woman to lose her attraction for me, I slap my head and say "DUH!"

For whatever reason, it just wasn't obvious to me in the moment.

And I think that MOST guys go their whole lives without realizing this critical insight.

Let me tell you something else that is VITALLY important for you to remember:

WOMEN HAVE MILITARY GRADE WUSS-DETECTION RADAR SYSTEMS.

Notice that I didn't say "Women are pretty good at figuring out whether or not you're a Wuss".

No no noooooo.

I said that women have MILITARY GRADE WUSS-DETECTION SYSTEMS.

I'm talking special forces navy seal top gun covert ops here.

I'm talking INSTANT WUSSY DETECTION.

A woman can tell if you're a Wussy, in most cases, BEFORE YOU EVEN OPEN YOUR MOUTH.

So if women aren't attracted to Wussies, then why is it that they sometimes accept invitations to dinner, gifts, flowers, and attention from guys who are Wussies, only to reject them later on?

Well, think about it.

1. Free food is free food, and free gifts are free gifts...I mean, when the price is right, it's right.

2. Women say to themselves "I really SHOULD date a nice guy instead of all these SEXY JERKS that I've been seeing. I'll let Mr. Girly Man take me out to dinner a few times and maybe I can learn to like him".

3. If a woman doesn't have anything going on at all, dinner with a Wussy and a constant stream of compliments and attention is better than nothing.

4. Men are NOTORIOUS for showing their "non-Wuss" side early on, but then somehow turning into a woman's worst nightmare Wuss Boy as the relationship progresses.

What to do, what to do?

Well, sometimes these things are like a substance abuse problem. The first step is ADMITTING that you've been being a WUSS all your life, and that you were doing the best you could with what you had to work with.

I often make fun of guys who act like Wussies, and bust on them unmercifully... but the fact is that I've been there, and I get it.

So step one is accepting yourself as you are, and making a commitment to yourself to improve from here on out.

Next, you need to learn how to EVICT your inner Wuss, and then it's time to get down to business and learn how to create that magical feeling called ATTRACTION inside of women.

It's not magic, and it's not voodoo. Making women feel a powerful, gut-level ATTRACTION for you doesn’t require looks or money, and I honestly believe that almost ANY man can learn how to do it.

The amazing part about it is that we all have the NATURAL ability to communicate with women in a way that makes them feel ATTRACTION... but most of us guys never DEVELOPED this natural skill.

We either didn't have good role models, we were programmed wrong by mom or other well-meaning people in our lives, or whatever.

But just because you haven't yet learned how to use and develop these natural talents doesn't mean that you can't start NOW.

How do I know?

Because I used to have ZERO SKILL with women.

Just a few short years ago, I couldn't even start a CONVERSATION with a woman I didn't know... nevermind get dates and have success with UNUSUALLY ATTRACTIVE women.

But NOW I can. And it's all because I spent the time it took to find and learn the secrets of the "naturals", or the guys who had already figured out the skills that it takes to attract women.

If you're ready to shed your past Wussy self, and learn the secrets of how to attract women that most men will NEVER learn in their entire lives, then I invite you to take advantage of the powerful products that I've put together.

In my "Double Your Dating Advanced Dating Techniques" program, I take the time to explain everything from the ground up.

Starting with the basics of evolution and animal behavior, I reveal how and why women act the way they do, and detail the critical mistakes that most men make with women... and what to do about it.

Later, I go into dozens and dozens of my personal favorite techniques for approaching, meeting, and dating women... everything from exact words to use to introduce yourself, all the way to what to do to take things to a "physical" level, all smoothly and easily.

This program is over 12 full hours of either CD Audio or DVD Video, and it's full of information that you won't find in ANY other single course on how to be successful with women and dating.

The best part? I'll send it to you at zero risk.

Try it out for yourself... if it doesn't get you more dates IMMEDIATELY, just send it back, and pay nothing. I'll even send it to you without you paying ANYTHING up front. Only pay me if it really works for you...

And, of course, I will send my program to you in a plain box... no big logo or "This guy needs help with chicks!" message on the outside... really. Go here to get it:

http://www.datingtechniques.com/alt/advancedseries

And if you'd like to get an introduction to the main concepts, then download a copy of my online eBook "Double Your Dating". You can go and download it right now and literally be reading it within a few minutes. It's here:

http://www.datingtechniques.com/alt/

I'll talk to you again in a couple of days.

Your Friend,

David D.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2004 David DeAngelo Communications Inc., All Rights Reserved.

 

[benorbeen]

Bush Offers Plan to End Chaos in Iraq

Tue May 25, 7:55 AM ET

By Maura Reynolds and Mary Curtius Times Staff Writers

CARLISLE, Pa. — Seeking to shore up eroding public confidence in his leadership, President Bush told the American people Monday night that he has a strategy to turn Iraq's violence and chaos into stability and democracy.

Five weeks before the crucial transfer of sovereignty to an interim government, and five months before he faces reelection, Bush enumerated five steps that he pledged would end with national elections for Iraq in January.

"Our coalition has a clear goal understood by all: to see the Iraqi people in charge of Iraq for the first time in generations," Bush told an audience of 450 senior officers at the U.S. Army War College. "America's task in Iraq is not only to defeat an enemy; it is to give strength to a friend — a free, representative government that serves its people and fights on their behalf."

The president did not dwell on the prison abuse scandal, which has eroded U.S. credibility around the world and sapped morale at home. But in a symbolic gesture, Bush pledged to demolish the notorious Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad, where Saddam Hussein tortured thousands and U.S. soldiers took part in abuse of prisoners that the Red Cross has called "tantamount to torture."

"Under the dictator, prisons like Abu Ghraib were symbols of death and torture. That same prison became a symbol of disgraceful conduct by a few American troops who dishonored our country and disregarded our values," Bush said, twice stumbling over the pronunciation of the prison's Arabic name.

"America will fund the construction of a modern maximum-security prison. When that prison is completed, detainees at Abu Ghraib will be relocated. Then, with the approval of the Iraqi government, we will demolish the Abu Ghraib prison as a fitting symbol of Iraq's new beginning," he said.

The 32-minute address was the first of a likely half-dozen, the rest expected in coming weeks — part of an effort to convince the American public that Bush was wise to invade Iraq to depose Hussein. The speech was carried live by cable TV news but not broadcast by major networks, because White House officials did not ask them to preempt their regular programming.

Bush's demeanor exuded confidence, but his words expressed more humility than in past speeches. Several times he acknowledged errors or miscalculations. Estimates of the number of needed troops were too low, he said. Iraqi forces "fell short" in their performance and have needed more training. And Saddam Hussein's loyalists, instead of being killed or captured on the battlefield, "melted into the civilian population" to regroup later.

"There are difficult days ahead and the way forward may occasionally appear chaotic," Bush acknowledged. "Yet our coalition is strong. Our efforts are focused and unrelenting and no power of the enemy will stop Iraq's progress."

Bush did not announce a change in course or provide new details of how he expected the transition to proceed. But for the first time, he personally described his approach.

"There are five steps in our plan to help Iraq achieve democracy and freedom," Bush said. "We will hand over authority to a sovereign Iraqi government, help establish security, continue rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure, encourage more international support, and move toward a national election that will bring forward new leaders empowered by the Iraqi people."

The ongoing prison abuse scandal and persistent violence in Iraq have helped sink the president's approval rating to the lowest levels since he took office.

In an ABC/Washington Post poll released Monday, half of Americans surveyed — an even 50% — said they disapproved of the president's job performance, and only 47% approved. Bush's rating for handling the situation in Iraq was likewise at its worst of his career, with 58% disapproving.

Bush said he was speaking both to Americans and Iraqis. For Iraqis, he stressed that the occupation was temporary.

"I sent American troops to Iraq to defend our security, not to stay as an occupying power," Bush said. "I sent American troops to Iraq to make its people free, not to make them American. Iraqis will write their own history and find their own way. As they do, Iraqis can be certain, a free Iraq will always have a friend in the United States of America."

For Americans, the president warned of more difficulty and longer troop deployments. He acknowledged that commanders had underestimated when they said a troop level below 115,000 would be sufficient at this point.

"Given the recent increase in violence, we'll maintain our troop level at the current 138,000 as long as necessary," Bush said.

If commanders need more troops, he said, "I will send them."

As he has in the past, Bush described the choices facing the United States as a duality: perseverance or failure.

"History is moving, and it will tend toward hope or tend toward tragedy," Bush said.

He said terrorists had one vision of the world, and the United States had another. "These two visions have now met in Iraq and are contending for the future of that country. The failure of freedom would only mark the beginning of peril and violence. But, my fellow Americans, we will not fail. We will persevere and defeat this enemy and hold this hard-won ground for the realm of liberty," the president said.

A Western diplomat praised the president's performance, saying he spoke successfully to both the domestic and international audiences.

"In the past, that's a task that has proved quite difficult for the administration," the diplomat said. "The speech emphasized what was happening in the region and in doing so was attempting to explain to the American people that there is a strategy. And the president also said that they have learned from their failures and would take steps to address them. That was a recognition that there have been failures."

But Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, an independent Washington think tank, said, "There's a difference between being self-confident and being inspirational." The president, Alterman said, "was really self-confident, but I'm not sure how many people outside the U.S. he inspired tonight."

Alterman noted that both at the beginning and end of the speech, Bush tried to tie Iraq to the "war on terror," an effort that has been a pillar of the president's reelection campaign. "But what he needs is to have Iraq work," Alterman said. "This isn't something that can be solved by nice words. If the president doesn't want Iraq to be an election issue, he needs for things to go well."

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, praised the speech.

"It did accomplish the important points that the president needed to make," he said. "The first was that the administration has a plan for transition of authority to the Iraqi government, and that we are moving ahead with that plan on schedule. And he laid out enough detail to show the American people that the plan has substance and to let the American people and the Iraqi people know about the formation of this new government."

"He's still trying to make lemonade out of a lemon," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). "I had hoped that he would be sending in at least another division, and he clearly indicated that he would not."

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said she was disappointed not to hear "either a change of heart or a change of course."

"It took 25 minutes before he even focused on the United Nations, and even longer before he focused on Iraqi elections, which are a long one and a half years away," Boxer said. "And I ask how many of our people will die until then? How much terror will we have to fear until then? And how many more billions of dollars will we have to spend?"

Bruce Buchanan, a professor of government at the University of Texas in Austin, said what the president did not say was as important as what he said.

"One thing that didn't happen tonight that would have signaled more resolve was to set a date by which we expect to pull [troops] out. He wasn't able to give that," Buchanan said.

Instead, Buchanan said, the president tried to prepare the nation for more bad news. "This won't be the last reassurance he has to offer."

The president gave the speech in the War College gymnasium, with curtains obscuring an indoor running track and other athletic equipment. The backdrop was decorated with the official seal of the college, which is the Army's premier service school, providing degrees in military strategy to high-ranking officers. It was the first visit to the college by a sitting president since George Washington.

It was not the first time Bush has tried to use a speech to halt a slide in the polls. In September, as attacks on U.S. forces rose, Bush asked for national TV network time to speak to the nation. He announced that he would ask for an additional $87 billion to support the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

However, the White House did not consider that speech a success, because the president, who spoke from the Cabinet Room, delivered his remarks largely in a monotone and appeared uncomfortable. The choice of a location outside Washington, before a live audience, was apparently designed to avoid those pitfalls.

 

[benorbeen]

Iraqi Cleric Sadr, U.S. Cease Fire in Najaf

By Suleiman al-Khalidi

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. troops called off an offensive against an Iraqi Shi'ite militia in the holy city of Najaf on Thursday after militant cleric Moqtada al-Sadr began pulling his fighters from their strongholds and offered a truce.

U.S. officials welcomed the move brokered by Shi'ite elders as a good first step toward ending an uprising that has cost hundreds of lives across southern Iraq over the past two months.

But they rejected Sadr's demands to be let off a murder charge and insisted he fully disband his Mehdi Army militia.

A deal with the radical young preacher could staunch a major source of trouble for U.S. troops in Iraq as Washington prepares to hand over to an Iraqi interim government on June 30.

But it remains to be seen if the truce marks the end of Sadr's ambitions or rather a bid to survive and keep his forces intact to influence the new Iraqi politics after the occupation.

"We are cautiously optimistic. This is a good first step," said Dan Senor, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition. Once Iraqi police had moved into areas vacated by the militia, U.S. troops would keep to their bases and some strategic locations, he said.

"Until that time coalition forces will suspend offensive operations but will continue to provide security," Senor said.

HOLIEST SHRINES

Najaf, home to the holiest Shi'ite shrines where Sadr sought sanctuary from the U.S. offensive, was quieter than for weeks.

Mehdi Army fighters had pulled back from frontline positions and loaded heavy weapons like mortars onto trucks. There were many fewer militiamen on the streets and they were more lightly armed, carrying only rifles rather than grenade launchers.

But it was not clear how many had left town, as Sadr had said those not normally resident in Najaf would do. Local fighters appeared simply to be staying out of sight indoors.

Sadr has seen hundreds of his young, poorly trained fighters killed by U.S. tanks and warplanes over the past few weeks as the uprising has been contained, town-by-town, to Najaf alone.

U.S. troops also seized a Sadr relative and senior lieutenant Riyad al-Noury in a raid in Najaf early on Wednesday.

It was not clear how far such reverses pushed him to the negotiating table.

An aide to Iraq's senior Shi'ite cleric, Ali al-Sistani, said the ayatollah took a lead on the deal to avert what he feared was an imminent U.S. assault on sacred sites.

The reclusive Sistani has been largely unheard of during the uprising, despite his standing among Iraq's long oppressed 60 percent Shi'ite majority. But growing irritation among Shi'ite elders with both Sadr and U.S. attacks seemed to come to a head.

PILGRIM TRADE

Local people in Najaf have complained bitterly at the loss of their normally lucrative pilgrim trade due to the violence.

Sadr said in a statement: "To end the tragic situation in Najaf and the violation...of the holy places, I announce my agreement to the following: an end to all armed demonstrations ...and the withdrawal of all Mehdi Army fighters."

But, crucially for the Americans who want him arrested and the Mehdi Army disbanded, Sadr offered only "broad talks" with fellow Shi'ites on the future of his forces and on the legal proceedings and said: "No steps will be taken until that time."

He is wanted by an Iraqi judge over the death of a cleric, who was murdered in Najaf last year after returning from exile.

Senor said: "We have not changed our positions one iota on whether he must meet the requirements in his arrest warrant. We have not changed our position one iota on the dissolution, disarming of Moqtada's militia. That stands."

U.S. forces' options, however, are crimped by the fact that attacking Sadr on holy ground would spark religious outrage not just in Iraq but around the Middle East, notably in Shi'ite Iran, which has already issued angry calls to Washington.

U.S. commanders cut a deal with local Sunni Muslim leaders in the city of Falluja earlier this month that saw Marines pull back and leave Iraqis, including former guerrillas, in charge.

FALLUJA-STYLE SOLUTION?

The U.S. general commanding troops around Najaf has said a similar solution might be found that could include bringing former Mehdi Army fighters into a local security force. Mahmoud Othman, a Kurd on Iraq's U.S. appointed Governing Council, said Sadr and his men should be assured a place in Iraqi politics.

"If you exclude him there will be more problems," Othman said.

There is concern, however, that such compromises could mean trouble in future, leaving armed militias across a religiously and ethnically divided country with no tradition of democracy.

Among others involved in negotiations in Najaf were three Shi'ite Governing Council members, including Ahmad Chalabi.

Chalabi, a former U.S. favorite who has criticized the U.S. offensive and spoken of a need to negotiate with Sadr, said he expected more discussions with U.S. military commanders.

The U.S. military said on Thursday three Marines were killed in western Iraq on Wednesday.

Britain, Washington's main ally over Iraq, said it would send 370 more troops, bringing its total to about 8,900 in southern Iraq.

(Additional reporting by Michael Georgy in Baghdad)

 

[benorbeen]

Iran rules out cooperation with US on Iraq

TEHRAN: Iran on Sunday ruled out any cooperation with the United States in its occupation of neighbouring Iraq, and demanded that any new Iraqi government be given "full sovereignty".

Foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi refused to say if the Islamic republic, which recognises the US-appointed interim Governing Council, will also offer recognition to the new caretaker government due to take power by June 30.

He also complained that a US-British draft resolution on Iraq being considered by the UN Security Council contained "a number of ambiguities". "There is no question of any cooperation between Iran and the United States in Iraq," Asefi told reporters.

"Iran does not want to cooperate with an occupying force which now commits barbaric acts against holy sites," he said, referring to US military operations in Karbala and Najaf.

 

[benorbeen]

Iran warns UN nuclear watchdog that cooperation is conditional

TEHRAN (AFP) May 30, 2004

Iran warned the UN nuclear watchdog Sunday not to put too much pressure on the Islamic republic lest its clerical rulers end their cooperation altogether.

"Iran is still bound by its commitments," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters.

"There is no sign from our side that we will question our cooperation, but the agency should not create an atmosphere that pushes our leadership to doubt this cooperation," he cautioned.

His comments came two weeks before the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is due to again examine Iran's dossier amid ongoing suspicions that Iran is using a bid to generate nuclear power as a cover for secret weapons development.

Iran insists that its nuclear programme is purely peaceful, and last year signed an additional protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treatyallowing tougher IAEA inspections.

The country has also suspended uranium enrichment, amid widespread international concern that it was close to producing weapons-grade material.

"We have shown the greatest cooperation with inspectors and have placed no restrictions on their work. We have nothing to hide," Asefi said, dismissing reports from diplomats that IAEA teams have been prevented from visiting some military sites.

IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said last week that Iran's cooperation with the agency had been insufficient, but added that he had not drawn any conclusions over the nature of the country's nuclear programme.

If Iran comes under renewed criticism on June 14 and more doubts emerge over its cooperation, the IAEA's board could refer the matter to the UN Security Council, which in turn could choose to impose sanctions.

Asefi said Iran was still hoping that during its June meeting the IAEA would examine the Islamic republic's case "without politicising it and so that the dossier can be closed as soon as possible".

"There is pressure on the agency," he added, referring to lobbying from the United States, "but if the (IAEA) board of governors work diligently, there is no reason why the dossier should not be closed."

Although Iran has been urging the IAEA to pull Iran's case off the top of its agenda, President Mohammad Khatami has acknowledged that no such step will be taken during the June meeting.

The spokesman also called on European states to counter US pressure, reminding them of the commitment of Britain, France and Germany last year to offer technical support to Iran if it bows to IAEA demands.

"If the Europeans do not keep their promises, we see no reason to continue cooperating with them," he warned.

On Thursday, President Khatami repeated warnings Iran could resume uranium enrichment if the UN watchdog gives in to pressure from the United States. However Asefi said the president's comments "do not signify Iran will disengage from the NPT."


All rights reserved. Copyright 2003 Agence France-Presse.

 

[benorbeen]

Public, private schools cooperate to give parents options

JULIET WILLIAMS
Associated Press

Posted on Mon, May. 31, 2004

MILWAUKEE - Leaders at an inner-city Lutheran church were tired of seeing hundreds of children on buses leave the neighborhood for school every day.

They set out in 2000 to bring them home, going door-to-door handing out flyers on the weekends to let parents know about a unique cooperative of schools that gives them choices in their own community.

"We said, 'Take your kid off the bus. Why are you sending your kid on the bus outside the community when you have a great community school right here?'" said Allen Sorum, pastor of Garden Homes Evangelical Lutheran Church.

At the Garden Homes Community of Schools, advocates for voucher schools and public schools work together to steer parents toward schools that meet their needs, instead of competing for students or debating the politics of school choice.

The cooperative includes a private Lutheran elementary-middle school with a public Montessori school in the same building, a thriving public elementary school, a public high school for at-risk students and a soon-to-open Christian high school - all in the same central-city neighborhood.

It's one of Milwaukee's poorest areas, but church leaders hoped the schools might spur change.

The cooperative appears to be the only one of its kind in the country, said Susan Mitchell, president of School Choice Wisconsin. She considers it a model for the future.

"When you're a parent choosing a school, you aren't looking for a private school or a public school, you're probably looking for a school that suits the child," Mitchell said.

The Lutheran and Baptist schools are in the city's voucher program, the country's oldest and largest, allowing low-income neighborhood parents to send their children there with public money.

Milwaukee Public Schools leaders see the cooperative's three public schools as a way to fulfill the district's neighborhood schools initiative, in which the district cut busing to bring students home.

Although the Garden Homes Community School, the public elementary, lost a few students with the change, its connection to the community was reinvigorated, principal Terry McKissick said.

"We're trying to work collaboratively to offer this community what it wants," he said.

McKissick hands out flyers to area businesses and community groups that provide services or sponsor programs at his school. His students consistently exceed state expectations on standardized tests.

"They're 98 percent black and poor and they (teachers) teach their kids to read better than anyone else," said Ken Johnson, the area's Milwaukee School Board member.

Johnson said unlike in other inner-city neighborhoods, children here walk to school and stop to say hello to neighbors.

"Schools are the anchor for development in this neighborhood," rather than large stores or malls, Johnson said.

Delegations from as far away as Texas and Arizona have come to see the public-private partnership.

Penny Reynen, director of education for the city of St. Paul, Minn., came with a group in late April. "It's just a wonderful model. They're in the exact same neighborhood, working together," she said.

The experiment works because the schools don't compete, Johnson said. They offer parents options and say they don't take it personally if someone picks another school.

"There are three of the top styles of schools in this little pocket of Milwaukee, all with high standards and with high expectations," Johnson said.

The pre-kindergarten Montessori program started after the door-knockers found about 50 parents willing to sign up their kids. A private nonprofit group operates the school with MPS funding in the same building as the Lutheran school, which scrapped its gym and squeezed into other classrooms to make way.

Now, eighth-graders navigate the hallways around tiny 3-year-olds reciting their A-B-Cs.

"We proved there was a huge need for this," Sorum said.

Across the street at the Lutheran church, construction is underway on a new $2.9 million school building. The Montessori program will take over the old building when the new one is finished. It will include a gym for all the schools to use.

At another intersection sits New Hope Baptist Church, where an interdenominational Christian high school will open this fall, said pastor Archie Ivy, a former MPS administrator.

Nearby, Cornerstone Achievement Academy takes teens who have dropped out or are likely to quit school. It draws students citywide, but principal Sondra Rhodes said many of the neediest are in the neighborhood.

"In this area, there are a lot of young people that are not in school because there's a lot of negativity that goes on," she said.

The debate over voucher schools often doesn't leave room for consensus, but Mark Johnson, principal of the Montessori school, said leaders here figure the larger debate should really be about serving students.

"There's more kids than we can all serve," he said.

Sharon Wilson was ecstatic when she got her grandsons, Milan, 5, and Michael Cotton, 4, into the Montessori program just blocks from her home. She learned about the school after door-knockers left a flyer.

She said she appreciates the cooperative environment among the different schools.

"This parochial school did not resent them coming here, because they wanted another school here that also valued education," she said.

Barbara Sellett, who coordinates fund raising for the Lutheran school, said the partnership is so novel, would-be donors are often surprised.

"The same way Milwaukee is ground zero for choice, it's going to be ground zero for a community of schools," she said.

 

[benorbeen]

Tribesmen urged to cooperate

By AHSANULLAH WAZIR The Associated Press

Posted on Mon, May. 31, 2004

WANA, Pakistan — Pakistani troops blocked roads Sunday and imposed “economic sanctions” against tribesmen after they failed to help authorities register foreign militants believed to be hiding in the region.

An army spokesman warned that a military operation would be launched in South Waziristan, of which Wana is the main town, unless tribesmen started to cooperate.

Hundreds of Arab, Afghan and Central Asian militants believed to be linked with al-Qaida and the Taliban militia are suspected to be living in the region, which borders Afghanistan.

“If they do not come down to the government stance, there is going to be a military operation,” said Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan. He wouldn't say when that operation might begin.

 

[benorbeen]

Clinton urges Cornell grads to cooperate

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Saturday, May 29, 2004

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Former President Bill Clinton challenged graduating Cornell University students Saturday to pursue "the eternal mission of American democracy" and find solutions to problems through cooperation not conflict.

"If you live in a world where you cannot kill, occupy or imprison all your actual or potential adversaries ... you have to try to build a world with more friends and fewer terrorists," Clinton told more than 21,000 people.

"That is the purpose of politics, to bring people together when they cannot control each other and they must work together," Clinton said in a 30-minute speech interrupted by frequent applause.

The former president's remarks appeared aimed at the Bush administration, which ordered the U.S. invasion of Iraq last year without United Nations backing, though Clinton never mentioned Bush.

He also said the country was at another turning point as Americans grapple over how the United States should use its present moment of unrivaled military, economic and political superiority.

"The great power of the United States through history has not been in our weapons but in the power of our example, and the hope we have held out to others," he said.

Clinton's address was delivered during Senior Convocation. Cornell's commencement address traditionally is delivered by the university president. Cornell students graduate Sunday.

 

[benorbeen]

Army Expanding 'Stop-Loss' Program

By JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The Army will prevent soldiers in units set to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan from leaving the service at the end of their terms, a top general said Wednesday.

The announcement, an expansion of an Army program called "stop-loss," means that thousands of soldiers who had expected to retire or otherwise leave the military will have to stay on for the duration of their deployment to those combat zones.

The expansion affects units that are 90 days away or less from deploying, said Lt. Gen. Frank L. "Buster" Hagenbeck, the Army's deputy chief of staff for personnel. Commanders have the ability to make exceptions for soldiers with special circumstances; otherwise, soldiers won't be able to leave the service or transfer from their unit until they return to their home base after the deployment.

The move will allow the Army to keep units together as they deploy, Hagenbeck said. Units with new recruits or recently transferred soldiers would not perform as well because the troops would not have had time to work together.

"The rationale is to have cohesive, trained units going to war together," Hagenbeck said.

Previously, the Army had prevented soldiers from leaving certain units scheduled for deployment to Afghanistan or Iraq. But Wednesday's move is the first time since Sept. 11, 2001, that the stop-loss program has been ordered so widely.

The announcement comes as the Army is struggling to find fresh units to continue the occupation of Iraq. Almost every Army combat unit has faced or will face deployment there or in Afghanistan, and increased violence has forced the deployment of an additional 20,000 troops to the region, straining units even further.

Some criticize the stop-loss program as contrary to the concept of an all-volunteer military force. Soldiers planning to retire and get on with their lives now face months away from their families and homes.

In an opinion piece in Wednesday's New York Times, Andrew Exum, a former Army captain who served under Hagenbeck in the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan, called the treatment of soldiers under stop-loss programs "shameful."

"Many, if not most, of the soldiers in this latest Iraq-bound wave are already veterans of several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan," he wrote. "They have honorably completed their active duty obligations. But like draftees, they have been conscripted to meet the additional needs in Iraq."

Hagenbeck said the stop-loss move is necessary only because the Army is also undergoing a major reorganization that requires some units to be taken off-line while they are restructured.

Hagenbeck had no numbers on how many soldiers would be affected.

Without the program, an average division would have to replace 4,000 soldiers — perhaps one-quarter to one-fifth of its strength — before or during a deployment, according an Army press release.

 

[benorbeen]

Bush vows cooperation in probe of CIA leak

He meets with attorney on matter 'to determine whether ... I need his advice'

By Terence Hunt
The Associated Press

June 3, 2004, 1:25 PM EDT

WASHINGTON -- President Bush said today he was ready to cooperate in the grand jury investigation of who leaked the name of a covert CIA operative last year and that he had consulted with an attorney to determine if he needs legal advice.

"I've told our administration that we'll fully cooperate with their investigation," Bush said. "I want to know the truth. I'm willing to cooperate myself."

Bush's move suggests the president anticipates being questioned by prosecutors about whether he could shine any light on the case. But there is no indication that Bush is a target of the investigation.

"In terms of whether or not I need advice from counsel, this is a criminal matter, it's a serious matter," the president said. "I have met with an attorney to determine whether or not I need his advice, and if I deem I need his advice, I'll probably hire him."

Earlier, Bush's chief spokesman, Scott McClellan, confirmed that Bush had contacted Washington attorney Jim Sharp. "In the event the president needs his advice, I expect he probably would retain him," McClellan said. There is no indication Bush has been questioned yet.

A federal grand jury has questioned numerous White House and administration officials to learn who leaked the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame, wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, to the news media. Wilson has charged that officials made the disclosure in an effort to discredit him.

Bush has been an outspoken critics of leaks, saying they can be very damaging, but he has expressed doubts that the government's investigation will pinpoint who was responsible. While Bush has said he welcomed the leak investigation, it has been an awkward development for a president who promised to bring integrity and leadership to the White House after years of Republican criticism and investigations of the Clinton administration.

Even though he has a White House counsel, Bush is dependent on outside lawyers for private matters. A memo distributed to the staff last year reminded officials that the counsel's office works solely for the president in his official capacity and is not a private attorney for anyone.

Democrats seized on the news to criticize the president.

"It speaks for itself that the president initially claimed he wanted to get to the bottom of this, but now he's suddenly retained a lawyer," said Jano Cabrera, spokesman for the Democratic National Committee. "Bush shouldn't drag the country through grand juries and legal maneuvering. President Bush should come forward with what he knows and come clean with the American people."

Plame was first identified by syndicated columnist and TV commentator Robert Novak in a column last July. Novak said his information came from administration sources.

Wilson has said he believes his wife's name was leaked because of his criticism of Bush administration claims that Iraq had tried to obtain uranium from Niger, which Wilson investigated for the CIA and found to be untrue.

Disclosure of an undercover officer's identity can be a federal crime. The grand jury has heard from witnesses and combed through thousands of pages of documents turned over by the White House, but returned no indictments.

The probe is being handled by Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, appointed after Attorney General John Ashcroft stepped aside from case because of his political ties to the White House.

Absent a breakthrough from the documents or a cooperating witness, prosecutors may be forced to try to identify the leaker through Novak or other reporters. However, journalists pressed by the prosecution could assert a First Amendment privilege to protect their sources.

Wilson has suggested in a book that the leaker was Lewis "Scooter" Libby, chief of staff to Vice President Cheney. But Wilson's book, "The Politics of Truth," gave no conclusive evidence for the claim.

The White House denied the claim and accused Wilson of seeking to bolster the campaign of Democrat John Kerry, for whom he has acted as a foreign policy adviser.

Wilson also said it's possible the leak came from Elliott Abrams, a figure in the Reagan administration Iran-Contra affair and now a member of Bush's National Security Council. And Karl Rove, Bush's chief political adviser, may have circulated information about Wilson and Plame "in administration and neoconservative circles" even if Rove was not himself the leaker, Wilson wrote.

Another possibility is that two lower-level officials in Cheney's office -- John Hannah or David Wurmser -- leaked Plame's identity at the behest of higher-ups "to keep their fingerprints off the crime," Wilson speculated.

Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press

 

[benorbeen]

NYC Pupils Expected to Repeat Third Grade

NEW YORK - Up to 10,000 third-graders could be held back this year because they did not pass citywide reading and math exams, according to test results released by the Department of Education (news - web sites).

Even though the city spent $8 million preparing for the exams, 11,700 of the 80,000 third-graders in New York City public schools failed one or both of the tests, the department said Thursday.

Officials had predicted as many as 15,000 student would be kept in third grade for another year as part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's new policy to end "social promotion."

"I think it reflects the good work that our parents did, the extra remediation that we did," Chancellor Joel Klein said.

Children who failed can still advance to fourth grade if they successfully appeal their test scores or retake the exams after attending summer school.

In 2003, about 4,800 third-graders were asked to repeat the grade. Teachers were allowed to consider other factors in promotion decisions, including classroom work. This year, factors other than the test results will be considered only during the appeals.

Bloomberg, a billionaire Republican businessman elected in 2001, has staked his re-election in 2005 on resuscitating the moribund school system, which serves 1.1 million pupils.

 

[benorbeen]

Bush Seeks New Iraq Cooperation in Europe

By SCOTT LINDLAW, Associated Press Writer

ROME - Trying to rally skeptics on both sides of the Atlantic, President Bush said Saturday that the war on terrorism is the "challenge of our time" and insisted that bitter disputes among U.S. allies over the war in Iraq were dissolving.

"I believe the world understands the importance of a free Iraq emerging in the Middle East," Bush said, acknowledging that there were "differences of opinion" about the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.

"Now the world understands the importance of working with the Iraqis to encourage the development of a free society."

At a news conference held midway through his trip to Europe to honor historic World War II success and sacrifice, Bush exchanged kisses with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, one of his strongest allies in Iraq. Then, the president flew to Paris where he will meet with French President Jacques Chirac, one of his fiercest critics on Iraq.

"This war on terror we face, Mr. Prime Minister, is the challenge of our time," Bush said. "As freedom advances in the Middle East, more and more people in that region will be inspired — inspired to peace. ... The bitterness and burning hatreds that feed terrorism will fade away, and America and Italy and the rest of the world will be more safe."

Bush sought to depict U.S. troops in Iraq as guests, not occupiers, twice saying that leaders of the new interim government in Iraq have asked coalition forces to remain there to help secure the country.

"That's why it is important for me to remind people that there will be a transfer of full sovereignty to an Iraqi government and the Iraqi people will be making the decisions as to how to proceed forward and we are there to help them." Some leaders have questioned whether Iraq will have full sovereignty, since the United States will keep about 135,000 soldiers in Iraq.

Rome was calm, yet remained under tight security on Saturday, a day after tens of thousands of people protested the war and Bush's visit in demonstrations brushed off by the president. "Democracy's a beautiful thing," he said.

Berlusconi said Italy was working to ensure that Europe works with the United States in fighting terrorism. "Only through joint action will we succeed in fighting this recent war, the war caused by the terror attacks," he said. "We can win together, we must together, we will win together."

Berlusconi recalled America's sacrifices in World War II and pledged that Italy would stand with the United States and keep soldiers in Iraq. He noted that Italian troops were trying to keep peace in Iraq, much as they have done in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

"If anyone were to think that it would be advisable to withdraw troops from Iraq," Berlusconi said, "then we would have to do the same from all the other countries where we have our troops. And we think that is the opposite of what we should to secure the peace.

Bush's meeting with Berlusconi was carefully choreographed to provide balance to Bush's meeting later with Chirac and the president's meeting on Friday with Pope John Paul II, another war opponent.

The pope referenced how U.S. troops had abused and humiliated Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad.

"Those people stained our honor," Bush said, then quickly contrasted the current investigation into the abuse at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad to unchecked oppression in societies run by tyrants.

"I, like his holiness, I was repulsed by the pictures I saw about the treatment by some of our troops toward Iraqi prisoners." Bush said. "That treatment did not reflect the spirit of America. Those people stained our honor "

Berlusconi rose to Bush's defense.

"I must highlight and stress the deep difference between a dictatorship where torture is usually standard practice and is continuous, and the democracy, which has the ability to denounce it, to report the mistakes and to punish in a very clear way, an open way, the culprits, the perpetrators," the prime minister said.

Bush said the war on terrorism was akin to the struggle against communism after World War II.

"The free world could have either yielded to communism or stood up to communism right after World War II, and fortunately we stood up against communism," Bush said. "Now Europe is free whole and peaceful, and we have the same issue today.

As the United States seeks a U.N. resolution on Iraq that could clear the way for other nations to send troops, France is among nations that have been moving more cautiously than Bush wants.

France, which has a Security Council veto, was no satisfied with the revised resolution offered by the United States and Britain and wanted more changes and ideas from Iraq's interim leaders and the U.N. envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi.

Chirac said last week that the revised resolution offered a basis for discussion, but needed changes "to affirm and confirm the full sovereignty of the Iraqi government" especially regarding the military.

 

[benorbeen]

Exxon Head: Energy Independence Is a Myth

By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The idea of American energy independence is a myth and the United States must maintain "constructive relationships" with oil-producing countries for its own prosperity, the head of petroleum giant Exxon Mobil Corp. said Monday night.

"We do not have the resource base to be energy independent," Exxon Mobil chairman Lee R. Raymond said in a speech in which he outlined some of what he called the "hard truths" about global energy markets.

Raymond, who runs the world's largest publicly traded oil company, said that while other countries, including Russia, will play a growing role in supplying oil to the world, the Middle East will remain the center of supply because it holds as much as half of the world's oil reserves.

"We simply cannot avoid significant reliance on oil and gas from the Middle East because the world's supply pool (of oil) is highly dependent upon the Middle East," Raymond said in a speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

The fact that the United States and the rest of the world will have to depend increasingly for its oil and also for natural gas from Middle East, "is not a matter of ideology or politics," he said. "It is simply inevitable."

Raymond scoffed at suggestions — heard commonly among politicians in Washington — of energy independence.

"We periodically hear calls for U.S. energy independence as if this were a real option," he said. "The fact is, the United States is a part of the world energy market and we must participate and compete in that market."

At a time when relations with some major oil producers such as Saudi Arabia and Venezuela are strained, Raymond said the United States must work to "maintain appropriate and constructive relationships with oil-rich countries in the future. They will be very important for our prosperity and our security."

Responding to a question from the audience about the recent terrorist attacks that killed oil workers in Saudi Arabia, Raymond said they "obviously give us a lot of pause" because Exxon Mobil has workers and investments in petrochemical plants and refineries in the country.

`We're going through a difficult patch right now ... and may for some time," he said.

Exxon Mobil earned a record $21.5 billion last year, nearly double the previous year, and also reported record earnings during the first quarter of this year as crude oil and gasoline prices soared.

Raymond predicted that fossil fuels — coal, oil and natural gas — will continue to provide most of the energy for many decades, even if there are improvement in conservation and efficiency and expansion of other energy sources.

As for global warming, Raymond expressed _as he often has — his skepticism about the science and predicted that in the decades ahead "carbon dioxide emissions from greater fossil fuel use will climb."

Carbon dioxide is the leading "greenhouse gas" that many scientists believe eventually will cause a warming of the earth if allowed to continue to grow.

"We simply do not yet have the economic solutions or technologies that would permit us to meet future energy demands without carbon emissions growth," Raymond said.

 

[benorbeen]

Cities cooperate to lure aviation businesses

Acadiana bureau

LAFAYETTE -- Lafayette, New Iberia, Alexandria and Lake Charles have combined efforts to lure more aviation-related business to southern Louisiana, the groups announced Monday.

The Aviation Partnership of Louisiana has put together joint exhibits at two national trade shows, said Sandy Kaplan, chairman of the Lafayette Economic Development Authority.

In the past, Kaplan said, the four airports have competed for contracts.

The focus of the new group is to work for projects as a team.

"We don't care where in Louisiana the work goes. We just want it here in Louisiana," Kaplan said.

The opportunities are out there, he said. Because of offshore oil activity, more helicopters are based out of the Lafayette Regional Airport and the Iberia Parish Airport Authority combined than any other airport in the country, Kaplan said.

Many workers in industries such as oil could easily be cross-trained to learn similar jobs in the aviation industry, something the partnership is also looking to promote, Kaplan said.

Lafayette City-Parish President Joey Durel said it's time for various areas in Louisiana to work together.

"I have said many times that when it comes to economic development, we are much stronger competing as a region with states such as Texas, Mississippi and Tennessee than we are as individual cities," Durel said.

Lake Charles Mayor Randy Roach pointed to impending layoffs at a company based at the Chennault International Airport Authority as a reason the partnership is needed.

Those workers will be looking for jobs come November.

A strong partnership in southern Louisiana might be able to secure new jobs, even if they are not in Lake Charles, he said.

"We need to get beyond whatever it is that has been keeping us separate," Roach said.

Kaplan said the next step for the aviation partnership is to travel Washington, D.C., to brief the Louisiana delegation on the venture and to set up attendance at more national trade shows.

The two previous trade shows have interested a few companies, which are talking with the partnership about possible business ventures in Louisiana, Kaplan said.