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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Five years after the US-led invasion of Iraq, the US military is flagging under long and repeated deployments that have taken a toll on troops and hurt its readiness to deal with other crises. "People are tired," is the way Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, summed it up at a congressional hearing last month. The third longest war in US history -- after the Revolutionary War and Vietnam -- has forged a battle-hardened ground force with bitterly won experience in counter-insurgency warfare. But military leaders and experts say it also has left...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2007 – It will take 10 years to breed Iraq’s noncommissioned officer corps, the general who oversees training for Iraq’s security forces said today. Often described as “the backbone of the Army,” a noncommissioned officer, or NCO, is an enlisted member of an armed force who has been given authority by a commissioned officer. The NCO corps includes all grades of sergeant, in addition to corporals. “Growing an NCO corps is not a month-long deal; it’s a decade-long deal,” Army Lt. Gen. James M. Dubik, commander of Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, told online journalists and “bloggers”...

BRUSSELS (AFP) - Global warming could create tens of millions of climate refugees, although numbers are hard to predict with accuracy and the definition itself is open to debate, experts say. "According to some estimates, there are already almost as many environmentally displaced people on the planet as traditional refugees," said Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). "As the impacts of climate change strike home, the numbers are likely to rise considerably, possibly as high as 50 million by 2010," de Boer said on Friday on the sidelines of a meeting in...

JERUSALEM (AFP) - The Palestinian Hamas movement has grown stronger since its shock election a year ago despite Israeli and Western efforts to weaken the group, a top Israeli military commander said Wednesday. "The strength of Hamas is increasing ever since it won the election (in January 2006)," Major General Yoav Galant, who heads the Israeli southern command, told reporters. "Even if we don't like the situation, this is the situation right now." At the same time, the moderate secular Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is gradually getting weaker, he said. The Islamic Resistance Movement is building up...

TOKYO - Anyone who doubts that the Japanese army forced Asian women into sexual slavery in World War II should "face the truth," South Korea's foreign minister said Friday as outrage grew over comments by Japan's prime minister that there was no evidence of the enslavement. Women's rights activists in the Philippines and a group of lawmakers in South Korea also denounced the remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday that there was no proof that so-called "comfort women" were forced into prostitution during the war. But one of the harshest comments came from 81-year-old Hilaria Bustamante of...

WASHINGTON - The welfare state is bigger than ever despite a decade of policies designed to wean poor people from public aid. The number of families receiving cash benefits from welfare has plummeted since the government imposed time limits on the payments a decade ago. But other programs for the poor, including Medicaid, food stamps and disability benefits, are bursting with new enrollees. The result, according to an Associated Press analysis: Nearly one in six people rely on some form of public assistance, a larger share than at any time since the government started measuring two decades ago. Critics of...

SAN FRANCISCO - An aging U.S. population faces a looming crisis in hearing loss, researchers said Saturday. Some research holds promise, but much is in the early stages. By 2050, there could be as many as 50 million people in the United States with impaired hearing, Steven Greenberg of Silicon Speech in Santa Venetia, Calif., told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Hearing loss results in social and psychological isolation, "which makes their life hell," Greenberg said. Thanks to loud music and a generally noisy environment, young people have a rate of impaired hearing...

Iraqi workers prepare to place concrete at the Academy of Health and Science in Baghdad. Department of Defense photo by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Learning, Teaching and Growing in Iraq Capacity building and community involvement define reconstruction efforts By Norris JonesGulf Region Central DistrictU.S. Army Corps of Engineers BAGHDAD, Dec. 7, 2006 -- Projects under the U.S.-led reconstruction program in Iraq were initiated in the understanding that in an asymmetric war, progress is most clearly witnessed at the local level. For both the Iraqi people and the Coalition engineers and soldiers involved, reconstruction efforts to restore essential services...

Growing fears over North Korea nuclear test Jonathan Watts in Beijing Wednesday August 30, 2006 The Guardian (UK) Kim Jong-il. Photograph: AP International concerns about a possible North Korean nuclear test increased today with reports that Kim Jong-il may have crossed the border into China to explain his military provocations to uneasy allies in Beijing. According to the South Korean media, satellites have tracked a special North Korean train, the usual form of transport for Mr Kim, entering Chinese territory. If confirmed, it would be his second trip to Beijing in less than a year - an unheard-of flurry of...

WASHINGTON - America's growing diversity has reached nearly every state. From South Carolina's budding immigrant population to the fast-rising number of Hispanics in Arkansas, minority groups make up an increasing share of the population in every state but one, according to figures released Tuesday by the Census Bureau. "This is just an extraordinary explosion of diversity all across the United States," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. "It's diversity and immigration going hand in hand." West Virginia is the exception, with its struggling economy and little history of attracting immigrants. Frey said states...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 7, 2006 – The coalition and Iraqi security forces presence in Baghdad is growing, and soon residents will notice an improvement, a senior defense official said here today. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the added U.S. and Iraqi forces in the capital should tamp down the sectarian violence that concerns leaders in the country. “Those forces will be applied to the current security challenge that exists in Baghdad in a way to bring some stability to the area,” Whitman said. “I think over time you will see the increased presence have an effect on the region.” The 172nd...

Growing lack of English in schools By Julie Henry, Education Correspondent (Filed: 06/08/2006) At least half the children in more than 1,000 primary schools in England do not have English as their first language. New statistics show that six per cent of primaries and five per cent of secondaries have intakes where 50 per cent or more of pupils do not have English as their mother tongue. In inner London, 50 per cent of primaries and more than a third of secondary schools are heading for, or already have, a majority of children with English as a second language. The...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press Secretary(St. Petersburg, Russia)July 15, 2006 President's Radio Address       Audio      Jobs & Economy      THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This weekend, I am in Russia meeting with other world leaders at the G8 summit. This annual summit gives us a chance to talk about key issues facing all our nations, such as energy security and the threat of infectious diseases like avian flu. At this year's summit, we will also discuss how to promote the spread of freedom and democracy, and how our countries can work together to expand trade and prosperity for all our...

Wikipedia is the online encyclopedia that "anyone can edit." Unless you want to edit the entries on Albert Einstein, human rights in China or Christina Aguilera. Wikipedia's come-one, come-all invitation to write and edit articles, and the surprisingly successful results, have captured the public imagination. But it is not the experiment in freewheeling collective creativity it might seem to be, because maintaining so much openness inevitably involves some tradeoffs. At its core, Wikipedia is not just a reference work but also an online community that has built itself a bureaucracy of sorts...

If the skies are clear as forecast, volcano watchers who turn out for the reopening of the Johnston Ridge Observatory on Friday will get a spectacular view of a hulking slab of rock that's rapidly growing in Mount St. Helens' crater. It's jutting up from one of seven lobes of fresh volcanic rock that have been pushing their way through the surface of the crater since October 2004. The fin-shaped mass is about 300 feet tall and growing 4 feet to 5 feet a day, though it occasionally loses height from rockfalls off its tip, said Dan Dzurisin, a geologist...

WASHINGTON - A recent Tank McNamara comic strip featured two ex-Transportation Security Administration screeners working security at a Major League baseball stadium. "I miss pawing ladies' underwear like I could when I was screenin' for the TSA," one says to the other. It was hardly the first time someone took a comic shot at the agency hastily created to take over airport security after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. During its short existence, TSA has been mocked in newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, comic strips, a parody song, even a Super Bowl commercial. Screeners themselves maintain a Web site that collects...

  For Immediate ReleaseApril 15, 2006 President's Radio Address       Audio      In Focus: Jobs and Economy      THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Monday is Tax Day, and that means many of you are busy finishing up your tax returns. The good news is that this year Americans will once again keep more of their hard-earned dollars because of the tax cuts we passed in 2001 and 2003. An important debate is taking place in Washington over whether to keep these tax cuts in place or to raise your taxes. For the sake of American workers and their families, and for our...

Monday's massive gathering of immigrants and their supporters in San Jose and across the country inaugurated what some are calling ``a new civil rights movement'' -- not just for Latinos but for all immigrants, marking the emergence of a new voice in American politics. And this week, organizers will begin planning another national gathering on May 1, by encouraging immigrants and their supporters to go a day without spending money, a symbolic gesture to underscore immigrant contributions to the economy. In some cities, workers may choose to skip work, but labor leaders are not calling a general work stoppage. ``The...

Construction at Kandahar Airfield looks to futureBoardwalk, runway extensions in the works at growing base By Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Monday, March 6, 2006 KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — So what if the nearest ocean is hundreds of miles away? That doesn’t mean coalition troops and civilians stationed at the largest military base in southern Afghanistan can’t enjoy a (sometimes bouncy) walk on the boardwalk, and grab some American fast food while they’re at it. The wooden structure, located near the geographic center of the base, was a pet project of Lt. Col. Jim Hardy, the recently departed...

Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) failed today to address rumors that Nevada Senator Harry Reid will step down next month as Senate Minority Leader. Reid has been stung by revelations that his political action committee (PAC) accepted more than $60,000 in contributions from Indian tribes linked to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Appearing on CNN's Late Edition, Biden avoided discussing either the Reid situation or any upcoming changes in Senate Democratic leadership. Reid is no stranger to scandal, having been the subject of a 1979 Justice Department probe into allegations that Reid — then Nevada Gaming Commission chairman — had received bribes...

China's communist leadership is trying to paint a smiley face over its most recent brutal suppression of dissent. Five days ago, protestors were gunned downed by police in a village not far from Hong Kong. The authorities blame a "few instigators" for the violence, but this event is indicative of growing socio-economic shifts in mainland China; namely the disparity between those profiting from communist experimentation with capitalism, and those left on the sidelines. China's government is trying to put lipstick on the pig. From MSNBC.com: The government said three people died in Tuesday’s violence in this coastal village northeast of...

SACRAMENTO - California will face a shortage of up to 100,000 teachers in the next decade as retirements crest even while schools cope with tougher federal requirements for student learning, according to a report released Wednesday. At the same time, enrollment has been dropping in teaching-preparation programs in the state - from 76,000 in 2002 to 67,500 in 2004, according to the report from the nonprofit Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, based in Santa Cruz. Center director Margaret Gaston said the 2005-06 school year could be one of the last in a long time when the supply...

Pro-Israel Advocate Highlights Growing Anti-Semitism at U.S. Schools By Jim Brown December 2, 2005 (AgapePress) - A pro-Israel advocate is warning of an intensifying anti-Semitic climate on university campuses in the United States. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights recently heard testimony from Jewish groups troubled that tax dollars are being used to fund university Middle East studies programs that have a radical outlook on the U.S. and Israel. Sarah Stern of the American Jewish Congress (AJC) testified at the hearing. She says anti-Semitism is a virus that is spreading on U.S. campuses and seems to be immune to any...

CAMP ANACONDA, Iraq — Work occasionally stops at this former Iraq air base near Balad, where mortar rounds land as insurgents try to disrupt soldiers’ jobs. But even though shelling is a major concern, what really bothers some 69th Signal Company cable dogs is going down manholes into water-filled concrete tunnels where rats, lizards, snakes, wasps and mosquitoes abound. The section is working two shifts a day to complete the task requiring a portion of the company’s 3rd Platoon to run telephone cable for a new area. “Anaconda is growing, and more people means more phone lines,” said Sgt. Victor...

Malta fears it will sink under growing tide of migrants from Africa By David Rennie in Valletta (Filed: 21/09/2005) The holiday island of Malta is in the grip of an accidental tragedy: it is directly in the path of a growing and potentially vast flow of asylum seekers from sub-Saharan Africa to southern Europe. Caught: exhausted boat people from Africa await their fate Its proximity to Libya, 180 miles to the south, threatens the identity and culture of the islanders. Thousands of refugees have made the crossing in recent months. Libya has said that there are 1.5 million sub-Saharan Africans...

A former Osceola County fire chief is facing charges of running a million-dollar marijuana-production operation from a house near Holopaw in rural southeast Osceola. A tip led deputies to a house owned by former Fire Chief Jeffrey Ray Hall, 42, who now lives in Melbourne. Hall's partner in the operation told investigators the two were taking in $15,000 a month by growing and selling an especially potent variety of pot known as "crippy," which fetches a higher street value, the Osceola Sheriff's Office said. The sheriff's community-response team found 460 marijuana plants, 18 pounds of pot and several grow rooms...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is looking for a few good workers. A few thousand. Despite his stump speeches about curbing government spending, the state has added 4,983 full-time government jobs this fiscal year. And the Schwarzenegger administration proposes creating 6,288 jobs in the fiscal year that starts Friday, adding up to a net gain of more than 11, 000 full-time jobs in two years, Department of Finance documents show. Overall, Schwarzenegger's budget calls for 329,045 positions next year, up 3.5 percent from two years ago. Lawmakers are scheduled to vote today on a budget that Democratic backers say closely mirrors Schwarzenegger's...

Booming economic growth in 2005 flies in the face of economic “soft patch” WASHINGTON, D.C. – Another good piece of economic news came today as the Commerce Department reported retail sales grew at a torrid 1.4 percent pace in April. The gains far outpaced analyst’s expectations of 0.8 percent growth and continue to paint a picture of long term, sustained economic growth. Many left-leaning pundits and journalists have claimed in recent weeks that the U.S. economy was slowing down, but reality sharply contradicts this pessimistic outlook. “I have to question the intellectual credentials of anyone who looks at this economy...

Quite a claim in that title, isn't it? Anyone who is interested in voting trends and tendencies in the United States electorate is well aware that Jewish Americans usually vote far more often for the Democratic candidate in our presidential elections than they do the Republican. However, a recent survey on Jewish voters in the 2004 election relayed the startling fact that half of American Jews who attend Temple regularly voted for George W. Bush. This is survey was not made by a Republican either, by the way. The man reporting this finding is Democratic candidate John Kerry's pollster, Mark...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - We may not be very far away from a time when dentists offer to help people with damaged or missing teeth grow new ones, according to new research presented on Wednesday. A series of presentations at a dental meeting demonstrate that techniques using stem cells and gene therapy to regenerate teeth are producing promising results, suggesting this technique may not be far off. "I think it's looking like quite an exciting technology for the near future," said Dr. Tony Smith, editor of the Journal of Dental Research, who was not involved in any of the...

When I was a child someone gave me a beautifully illustrated book of children's stories from around the world. My younger sister's favorite was "The Celestial Maiden" and she begged me to read it to her over and over again. In the tale a poor Japanese woman prays for a child. One day she finds a tiny maiden lying on a leaf in her garden. She takes the maiden into her home and cares for her, happy that her prayers have been granted. As nightfall approaches, the maiden reveals that she is a celestial princess who must return home before...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - One of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's appointees is facing a tough confirmation fight because of regulations that opponents say go beyond the sweeping changes lawmakers adopted last year in the state's workers' compensation system. The Republican governor's nomination of Andrea Hoch as director of the Division of Workers' Compensation has drawn strong opposition from labor unions and groups that represent injured workers and workers' attorneys. And a lobbyist for one of Hoch's biggest supporters, the California Chamber of Commerce, says the appointment may be in trouble. "It's in question right now," said Charles Bacchi. "It's hanging in the...

Carlton Guthrie sees bright times ahead. After weathering the 2001 recession, his manufacturing company has made enough money to pay off some debt and position itself to expand. But he's not planning to add jobs. "I don't see us hiring anytime soon," said Guthrie, co-chairman of Detroit Chassis, which makes chassis for motor homes. "I see a tremendous amount of room for us becoming more efficient." Guthrie's ability to expand his business without enlarging the payroll — a feat achieved by many executives across the nation — helps explain why job creation continues to be sluggish even while the economy...

PARIS (Reuters) - Some 210,000 public sector workers marched through French cities on Thursday in widening protests over pay, reforms and job cuts that have sent a sharp warning to President Jacques Chirac's conservative government. On the third day of protests, some schools closed because of a one-day strike by teachers, and a stoppage by air traffic controllers grounded flights at Bordeaux in western France. The protests followed a warning strike by rail workers that severely disrupted rail traffic across France on Wednesday and protests by energy and postal workers earlier this week. Unions said 50,000 had joined a protest...

Amid all of the events of Wednesday's Ukiah City Council meeting, one concerned a particular odor. And, no, that odor was not the stench of the homeless in and around the Pear Tree Center. This issue involved the marijuana grown throughout the summer in many Ukiah backyards, as well as the community's worries about the dope. At the Nov. 3 meeting, the council requested City Attorney David Rapport to outline the possible manners of restricting cultivation in the city. He reported back with lots of information and a draft ordinance. Rapport's report incited a substantial discussion, with many new ideas...

Editor's note: Readers may also be interested in Moderate Islam or Fata Morgana? and freemuslims.org Speaks Out.There is good news to report: The idea that "militant Islam is the problem, moderate Islam is the solution" is finding greater acceptance over time. But there is also bad news, namely growing confusion over who really is a moderate Muslim. This means that the ideological side of the war on terror is making some, but only limited, progress.The good news: Anti-Islamist Muslims have found their voice since September 11. Their numbers include distinguished academics such as Azar Nafisi (Johns Hopkins), Ahmed al-Rahim (formerly...

For Immediate Release October 16, 2004 Radio Address of the President to the Nation      Audio THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Over the past four years, I have brought a straightforward approach to the presidency. I tell you what I'm going to do, and I keep my word. When I came into office four years ago, the economy was sliding into recession. Then terrorist attacks cost our nation nearly a million jobs in three months. To help families and to get this economy growing again, I pledged to reduce taxes, and I kept my word.  Radio Address 2004200320022001  Radio Interviews 2004...

Anecdotal stories of individual government officials who game the system to secure outrageous pensions, combined with troubling stories of government budgets pushed to the brink because of excessive public-sector benefits, are propelling the pension issue onto the front burner, especially in California, where abuses are rife. Orange County has, in recent weeks, been debating a recent vote by the Board of Supervisors to dramatically spike pensions for all county workers, even though the county pension system is $1 billion short of meeting its current promises, and even though a new report shows increasing liabilities for retiree medical benefits. On Thursday,...

I have a small nursery where I propagate pachysandra, a perennial groundcover. I have a great over-abundance of my plants, as I've been doing this for over 30 years. Presently, I would like to get together with all the churches in my area in an effort to teach the value of plant propagation and an understanding of nature and the soil to young people (or the older folks too). I am about to begin to send letters and emails out to all the churches, but I need some help. Not being an expert at all about the words of the...

San Jose's unfolding technology scandal grew even stickier Tuesday, with news of a criminal probe involving the city's former chief technology officer and the strongest indications yet that the controversy will boost the cost and delay the opening of the new City Hall. City leaders sought to avoid public discussion of those negative developments, focusing their weekly council meeting on reforming city procedures following revelations of collusion and favoritism in the award of an $8 million contract to install Cisco Systems networking equipment in the new building. But a different, more complicated scenario played out behind closed doors, with enormous...

Tucson forecast: 14,000 new jobs Tucson employers will add up to 14,000 jobs this year, but few are the high-paying jobs that would boost average wages and lift the local economy. Most will be in service industries that make up the...moreJob market is heating up O ptimism - of a guarded, subdued variety - is the message coming from economists and business owners assessing Tucson's employment outlook for the rest of the year. With the recession officially...Compensation is improving As the economy gains momentum, employers are competing for skilled workers by offering them more money. Companies are turning better profits...

<p>When California voters head to the polls on Tuesday, Democrats will select a challenger to President George W. Bush and Republicans will pick their contender against U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer. Equally important, in a state where party control of legislative seats is all but assured by redistricting, it is these same Democratic and Republican voters who will determine which of the current primary candidates will go on to reap lopsided state Senate and Assembly victories in the general election this fall.</p>

San Jose taxpayers' share of retirement costs for police officers and firefighters will jump from $27.8 million annually to $75.6 million over the next three years, largely to compensate for the poor performance of public retirement fund investments, according to city budget officials and forecasts. But police and fire unions say the city still lags behind state standards for retirement benefits. They're demanding the city increase the maximum retirement pay from 85 percent to 90 percent of salaries upon retirement -- an increase that adds $24 million in costs to the city next year. The swelling outlays from the general...

Program targets growing problem of abandoned mobile homes The Associated Press Jan 4, 2004 : 10:14 pm ET RALEIGH, N.C. -- Local officials have asked the mobile home industry to help devise ways to remove abandoned single-wides, a growing eyesore they say can hurt efforts to attract jobs. The N.C. Association of County Commissioners estimates that 40,000 derelict mobile homes lurk in the state's woods and fields. Unlike old tobacco barns that also dot rural North Carolina, single-wides lack rustic charm. "This is an economic development issue," said Paul Meyer, assistant general counsel for the N.C. Association of County Commissioners....

U.S. sees poppy growing double in Afghanistan WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 — Poppy cultivation in Afghanistan doubled between 2002 and 2003 to a level 36 times higher than in the last year of rule by the Taliban, according to White House figures released on Friday. The area planted with poppies, used to make heroin and morphine, was 152,000 acres (61,000 hectares) in 2003, compared with 76,900 acres (30,700 hectares) in 2002 and 4,210 acres (1,685 hectares) in 2001, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy said in a statement. The Taliban was cracking down on poppy production in the...

The huge size of the hole in the ozone layer is at a record level measuring 28 million square kilometres, according to the World Meterological Organisation. Three times the size of the United States, the ozone hole has continued to grow over the last few weeks and is set to reach a maximum size in late September. The consequences are likely to be serious and far-reaching. WMO Professor Obasi warned on Wednesday that the most immediate threat to humankind relate to “increased variability in the intensity and frequency of storms … floods and droughts, heat waves in major urban areas...

<p>Sacramento federal prosecutors lied and misled three judges to conceal dealings between the U.S. attorney's office and a Placer County narcotics detective, a defense attorney alleges in a sealed court document. The charge arises in a marijuana case against a former Rio Linda couple and grew out of attorney William Panzer's four-year quest for information about a federal grand jury subpoena.</p>

Once again, the ranks of overweight children are on the rise.According to the latest report from the National Institutes of Health, although almost every indicator of adolescent health has improved over the last 10 years, America's youth continue to get heavier — to the tune of an estimated 9 million overweight children. What can you do about this junior obesity crisis? Here's a countdown of the top 10 tips from experts on how to prevent your child from putting on too many pounds. 10. A Healthy Beginning The key to getting through the day is to start off on the...

Marijuana columnist goes on trial on charges of illegally growing pot Tue Jan 21, 3:28 PM ET By DAVID KRAVETS, Associated Press Writer SAN FRANCISCO - An author of how-to books and columns on growing marijuana and evading the law went on trial Tuesday on federal charges of illegally cultivating pot. The case against Ed Rosenthal represents the latest clash between federal agents and state and local authorities over the medical use of marijuana. Rosenthal, a former columnist for the pro-marijuana magazine High Times, has said he was growing pot to help the sick, which is legal under California law....

Grizzly Gulch Fire grows to 6,200 acres By Denise Ross, Journal Staff Writer LEAD-- A combined 684 federal, state and local personnel continued to fight the two-day-old Grizzly Gulch Fire Monday, as a federal Type 1 Interagency Management Team took command of the fire. Federal fire information officer Maj. Mark Johnston said the fire grew to 6,200 acres overnight and was 10 percent contained by mid-day Monday. The fire remains the Rocky Mountain Region's number one priority, Johnston said. Three homes have been destroyed by the fire but the occupants were not injured, Lawrence County Sheriff Rick Mowell told the...