Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Who Are You Voting For in November?

Originally posted by Kremithefrog:

---

You left off the option of not voting? I'm not even gonna register to vote, I don't wanna risk jury duty until I feel real strongly about having a certain president. I think they all screw stuff up, one will screw one thing up, the next will screw something else up.

---

Originally posted by PlatoSVT:

---

He has cut combat pay in half, completely taken away reservist healthcare, cut 10.5 billion from veteran benefits, taken 1.5 billion from military family housing, and made a 20 billion military health care cut. I'm sorry but I see no justification in that, he just can't manage our budget(455 billion defecit), or our country for that matter, worth CENSORED. - Chris

---

Quote:

---

Gee, if he really DID cut military spending that much:
1) the military would hate him - which they do not

---

Quote:

---

UNITED NATIONS, April 14 -- Large amounts of nuclear-related equipment, some of it contaminated, and a small number of missile engines have been smuggled out of Iraq for recycling in European scrap yards, according to the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog and other U.N. diplomats.

Mohammed ElBaradei, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned the U.N. Security Council in a letter that U.N. satellite photos have detected "the extensive removal of equipment and, in some instances, removal of entire buildings" from sites that had been subject to U.N. monitoring before the U.S.-led war against Iraq.

ElBaradei said an IAEA investigation "indicates that large quantities of scrap, some of it contaminated, have been transferred out of Iraq, from sites monitored by the IAEA." He said that he has informed the United States about the discovery and is awaiting "clarification."

After the 1991 Persian Gulf War, U.N. inspectors discovered, inventoried and destroyed most of the equipment used in Iraq's nuclear weapons program. But they left large amounts of nuclear equipment and facilities in Iraq intact and "under seal," including debris from the Osirak reactor that was bombed by Israel in 1981. That debris and the buildings are radioactively contaminated.

The U.N. nuclear agency has found no evidence yet that the exported materials are being sold to arms dealers or to countries suspected of developing nuclear weapons. But ElBaradei voiced concern that the loss of the materials could pose a proliferation threat and could complicate efforts to reach a conclusive assessment of the history of Iraq's nuclear program.

"It is not clear whether the removal of these items has been the result of looting activities in the aftermath of the recent war in Iraq, or as part of systematic efforts" to clean up contaminated nuclear sites in Iraq, ElBaradei wrote. "In any event these activities may have a significant impact on the agency's continuity of knowledge of Iraq's remaining nuclear-related capabilities and raise concern with regards to the proliferation risk associated with dual use material and equipment disappearing to unknown destinations."

Richard Grenell, a spokesman for the U.S. mission to the United Nations, said, "We have seen the reports and are obviously concerned, and as we told the IAEA we are looking into the matter."

ElBaradei's letter is dated April 11 and was circulated privately this week among members of the Security Council.

Evidence of the illicit import of nuclear-related material surfaced in January after a small quantity of "yellowcake" uranium oxide was discovered in a shipment of scrap metal at Rotterdam's harbor. The company that purchased the shipment, Jewometaal, detected radioactive material in the container and informed the Dutch government, according to the Associated Press. A spokesman for the company told the news agency that a Jordanian scrap dealer who sent the shipment believed the yellowcake came from Iraq.

ElBaradei did not identify the European countries where the materials were discovered. But U.N. and European officials confirmed that IAEA inspectors traveled to Jewometaal's scrap yard to run tests on the yellowcake. The search turned up missile engines and vessels used in fermentation processes that were subject to U.N. monitoring. The U.N. Monitoring Verification and Inspection Commission informed the council about the finds in a letter, according to diplomats. The IAEA, meanwhile, ordered up satellite images to assess conditions at Iraq's former nuclear weapons sites. A senior U.N. official said they discovered that two buildings at one former site had vanished and that several scrap piles contained weapons-related materials were also missing. "In Europe, stainless steel goes for $1,500 a ton," the official said. "And that is worth transporting for the purpose of recycling."

Staff writer Joby Warrick contributed to this report.


Washington post 4/14/2004

edit: again very little reporting.

---

Originally posted by Dan Nixon:

---

Pretty sure..but as you say, it is not something that is poled. I served 5 years in the Navy and keep in touch with a number of "squids"...about half are career officers. With one exception (who cannot stand Bush or Kerry) they believe in Bush's aims and find his "follow through" character refreshing. They respect leadership and even the civilian poles acknowlege Bush as much strong leader than Kerry. As far as complaining about pay..well that has been going on since well before I served - and always will.

BTW...."standard of living" or no, Clinton was almost universally despised by military as best I can tell. And it was widely held that he hated the military.

---

Originally posted by FlechaAutoSports:

---

I have found more than enough evidence that Bush has increased funding for military/personell etc..
not that I support him and his personal cause.....

but he is such a dumbass when he speaks he just scares the living CENSORED out of me

is Sharpton still a candidate..?

---