The Veteran's Administration, plagued by recent budget cuts, has had to resort to charging new veterans entering into its system a yearly fee of $250 in order for them to receive treatment. It is a sad irony that the very people being sent to fight the war are going to have to pay to treat the effects of it.

Support the Warrior Not the War: Give Them Their Benefits!

] Iraqi civilians fleeing heavy fighting have stunned and
] delighted hungry US marines in central Iraq (news - web
] sites) by giving them food, as guerrilla attacks continue
] to disrupt coalition supply lines to the rear.

Yahoo! News - Iraqi civilians feed hungry US marines

] In spite of recording artist Sheryl Crow's strong
] protestations, including the wearing of a "No War" guitar
] strap, the U.S. went to war with Iraq last week. "Making
] the decision to go to war is never easy, but it's that
] much harder when you know Sheryl Crow disapproves," White
] House press secretary Ari Fleischer said at a press
] conference Monday.

I'm recommending this weeks whole onion issue... High Quality Journalism.

The Onion | Operation Piss off the Planet

] You can add the Iraq Satellite Channel to your
] 500-channel universe with a little tinkering.

The Saddam Show - How to watch Iraqi TV on the Web.

Jello wrote:

] Russia is angry about getting fucked out of the $8 billion
] Iraq owes it. That's only 8 stealth fighters to the US... but
] its a substantial chunk of change to the ever-ailing Russian
] federal budget.

and herein lies the reason for most of the 'strange' behavior of various countries. Why does France, Germany, and Russia oppose action against Iraq? Because of money. Why will people line up against action on North Korea? Because of money.

It's not WMD, or terrorism, or fundementalism that's killing this world. It's money.

RE: Iraq Chemical Warfare Clues

quoted:
===

San Francisco -- The anti-war demonstrations in San Francisco have proved to be a powerful magnet, drawing law-breaking protesters from as far south as Mexico, as far north as Washington state and as far east as Connecticut -- but only a minority from the city itself, arrest records show.

"Call them tourists with a cause," said Dewayne Tulley, a spokesman for the Police Department.

Officials provided a snapshot Monday of those arrested in the first two days of street-closing demonstrations last week following the start of the U.S.

war on Iraq.

Of the 646 processed by the Sheriff's Department Thursday and Friday, 239, or 37 percent, gave San Francisco addresses. The rest, almost two-thirds, came from out of town.

WAR ON IRAQ: The Home Front / Majority arrested don't live in S.F.

] Saddam Hussein has collected many things in his 24-year
] reign -- palaces, enemies. And the key to the city of
] Detroit.

Saddam received key to city of Detroit in 1980

So there's this 14 year old, "The Boss", and all he wanted to to do was figure out "how he could make money, fast." The plan? "The Boss envisioned making as much as $100,000 by assigning various 'jobs' to his friends, then taking a 25 percent cut for himself. The Boss, according to one of the lists he compiled, envisioned his "family" making money in prostitution, weapons sales, money laundering, recruiting hit men - even candy sales." Well, atleast they new their market with the candy sales. So the story gets better. Another student "arrested on the misdemeanor charge was nicknamed 'The Hacker' because he was supposed to alter grades in the school's computer system." Now, I won't ruin the plot or climax for you but I'm thinking this should be a TV show or movie called Youngfellows.

Middle-school 'mafia boss' arrested on felony charges

] A spokesman for the 101st said two grenades had been
] thrown into a command tent at Camp
] Pennsylvania, one of the desert bases from where U.S.
] forces have launched an invasion to try to
] overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

] Central Command gave no details of the wounded. It did
] not name the suspect or comment on a
] possible motive. U.S. broadcaster Fox News said he was a
] Muslim American and that he had been
] described as "acting strange" before attack.

Swissinfo | Reuters | US 101st Airborne Command attacked at Camp Pennsylvania

Eyewitness account of the bombing a few hours ago:

] Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's main presidential
] palace, a great rampart of a building 20 stories high,
] simply exploded in front of me -- a cauldron of fire,
] a 100ft sheet of flame and a sound that had my ears
] singing for an hour after. The entire, massively
] buttressed edifice shuddered under the impact. Then four
] more Cruise missiles came in.
. . .
] No doubt this morning the Iraqi minister of information
] will address us all again and insist that Iraq will prevail.
] We shall see. But many Iraqis are now asking an obvious
] question: How many days? Not because they want the Americans
] or the British in Baghdad, though they may profoundly wish
] it. But because they want this violence to end: Which, when
] you think of it, is exactly why these raids took place.

ArabNews: Baghdad's Night of Terror