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NEW DELHI, June 5, 2006 – The top U.S. general spent today meeting with India's defense and military leaders to consider ways for the United States and India to further expand their military partnership. Marine Gen. Peter Pace (right), chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, takes part in a briefing in New Delhi on June 5, along with his Indian counterpart, Adm. Arun Prakash (center). The visit to India is Pace's first as chairman. Photo by Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen, USAF  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "We want to explore possibilities that allow us to have...

GENERAL COUNSEL SWEPT UP IN WIDENING PROBE OF BACKDATINGThe stock options scandal in Silicon Valley widened Tuesday as software maker McAfee said it fired its general counsel during an internal review of options-granting practices. Separately, chip design company Rambus said it has launched an internal investigation into how the company doled out options in 2003 and before. McAfee, the Santa Clara-based maker of anti-virus software, fired general counsel Kent Roberts during an internal review of how the company gave out stock options to executives and employees during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The dismissal of Roberts, who had been...

LONDON - Oil hit a record $74 a barrel Wednesday on fears Iran's intensifying dispute with the West may hit oil supplies and after U.S. gasoline stocks dropped. London's Brent crude settled $1.22 higher at $73.73 a barrel after peaking at a record $74. U.S. gasoline stocks slumped more than 5 million barrels last week, government data released Wednesday showed. It was a larger fall than analysts polled by Reuters expected, and supplies are now nearly 5 percent below last year's level. "The EIA (inventory) data are bullish in light of expectations," said Kyle Cooper, analyst at IAF Advisors in...

Dubai Mercantile Exchange Oman has agreed to supply crude oil to back the planned launch of the Middle East’s first oil futures contract. The government of Oman is working with the new Dubai Mercantile Exchange to launch the crude futures contract this year as oil prices in other markets stand near record levels. The decision by Oman, one of the few Middle East producers not in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is a significant step forward for the DME, as it gives potential users of its crude oil contract the option to take physical delivery or settle financially....

WASHINGTON, March 15, 2006 – The first Quadrennial Defense Review undertaken during a time of war provides the military more options and more capabilities, a senior defense official said here today. A large portion of those options and capabilities come in the form of special operations forces, Ryan Henry, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, told the audience assembled for the 17th Annual National Defense Industrial Association Special Operations/Low-intensity Conflict Symposium and Exhibition. "QDR, I think, represents not something new in a shift toward the emphasis of special operations, but a continued realization of how that has to be...

SAN FRANCISCO - The California Attorney General's office has a month left to decide whether it will fight to see Gregory Allen Sturm die. On March 8, the California Supreme Court overturned the 35-year-old's death sentence for the August 19, 1990 robberies and murders of Darrell Esgar, Chad Chadwick, and Russell Williams. Death penalty opponents tout the court's decision as another example of increasing tensions over methods of criminal punishment in California. According to the court, however, the 5-2 decision overturning the death sentence focused on the trial judge's misconduct. Sturm is still convicted of the crimes, which occurred at...

What’s the most effective way of dealing with the threat posed by Iran’s radical leaders? Vote! Initiate more dialogue 6 % (4) Launch surgical military strikes 32 % (21) Impose Security Council sanctions 7 % (5) Support Iranian dissidents as agents of change 53 % (35) Total Votes as of This Posting: 65 Vote!

PHOENIX (AP) -- As public frustration grows over the state's porous border with Mexico, the once-rejected notion of using state police to supplement federal patrols is gaining traction. One state lawmaker's plan includes $20 million for the Arizona Department of Public Safety to run a 100-member squad to operate surveillance equipment, construct border barriers, target drug and immigrant smugglers and perhaps patrol the border. "I'm not putting the handcuffs on. Whatever they need to do, they need to be doing," said Republican Rep. Russell Pearce, the plan's sponsor. Another proposal by Gov. Janet Napolitano would have two state police squads...

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif. (Oct. 28, 2005) -- In preparation for the depot's Marine Corps Birthday Ball, the Marine Corps Family Team Building office hosted its annual Ball Gown Giveaway and Fashion Show Oct. 19 at the Bay View restaurant. The show kicked off at 5:30 p.m. with opening remarks made by headquarters and service battalion's commanding officer's wife, Mrs. Sheila Redfern. Civilian depot employees and female Marines waltzed the catwalk in a display of 520 gently used ball gowns and a few rental gowns from local businesses. "It was different than last year; there were less...

NEW YORK: Oil prices fell Tuesday for the third straight session amid signs of weakening demand and the prospect President George W. Bush's administration will tap the nation's heating oil emergency reserve. U.S. oil consumption has weakened significantly in recent weeks amid high pump prices produced in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in late August, with many drivers switching to mass transit among taking other measures. "The demand losses that have happened vastly exceed the seasonal decline," said Kyle Cooper, an analyst with Citigroup in Houston. At the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for November ended $1.57 lower at $63.90...

Opec President Shaikh Ahmad Al Fahd Al Sabah said yesterday he will propose the cartel raise its output by 500,000 barrels per day when the group meets in September in an attempt to help cool oil prices at record highs. Shaikh Ahmad, also Kuwaiti oil minister, said he will also propose a 500,000 bpd increase in the group's official output ceiling at the September 19th meeting. "We hope that the resolution to the board to increase production and the ceiling, 500,000 (bpd) and 500,000 (bpd), and to refresh the dialogue with all the main consumers, I hope this will...

US crude oil prices surged to a new record high of above 70 US dollars a barrel in opening trade on Monday amid concerns about supply shortages caused by coming Hurricane Katrina. Oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange soared to 70.8 dollars a barrel, beating the previous record of 68 dollars set last week, after producers and refiners shut down operations ahead of the Category 5 hurricane. Katrina, measured as one of the four strongest storms on record, was expected to hit land at sunrise on Monday. Seven southeast Louisiana refineries with a combined daily capacity of...

JERUSALEM - In a stern warning to Iran, President Bush said "all options are on the table" if the Iranians refuse to comply with international demands to halt their nuclear program, pointedly noting he has already used force to protect U.S. security. Bush's statement during an interview on Israeli TV late Friday was unusually harsh. He previously said diplomacy should be used to persuade Iran to suspend its nuclear program and if that failed then the U.N. Security Council should impose sanctions. The U.S. government and others fear Iran's nuclear work is secretly designed to produce nuclear weapons. Iran's leaders...

Crude oil futures hit more record highs Monday, nearing US$64 a barrel, reflecting market fears over the U.S. embassy closure in Saudi Arabia and concerns that shutdowns of U.S. oil refineries would reduce supply. Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose to a high of US$63.95 on the New York Mercantile Exchange before falling back a bit to US$63.75, up US$1.44 at midday. Prices had settled at US$62.31 a barrel on Friday, a record close for crude since Nymex trading began in 1983. "The market clearly has the jitters," said Deborah White, energy analyst at SG Securities in Paris....

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) - Sixty years after the first atomic bomb was tested in the New Mexico desert, the United States still has some 2,000 nuclear weapons on hair trigger alert and is considering new weapons such as earth-penetrating bunker busters. The US administration has agreed to pare back its nuclear arsenal from about 10,000 warheads today to about 6,000 in 2012 under the Moscow Treaty reached with Russia in 2001. But even as it moves to retire much of its Cold War arsenal, it has pressed a reluctant Congress for funds for nuclear bunker-buster studies, refurbished nuclear testing...

London: Oil prices may increase to US$80 a barrel this year, options contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange show. Investors are speculating the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) would not produce enough oil to compensate for any disruption to supplies. New York Mercantile Exchange data show 6,900 options contracts outstanding that allow buyers to purchase oil for December delivery at US$80 a barrel, compared with an average of 77 contracts in January. There is a 21% chance that oil will top US$75 when the December contract expires, according to Adam Sieminski and Michael Lewis, strategists at Deutsche...

NEW YORK - Crude oil futures topped $55 US a barrel Monday afternoon, as concerns about tight American refined-product inventories held their grip on the market. "The market's continuing to climb on all the same supply worries," said Tom Bentz, a broker in New York for French bank BNP Paribas. Fears of ever-tighter global supplies, especially distillate stockpiles, were exacerbated Monday by comments from Saudi Arabia's oil minister, who said a lack of refining capacity worldwide lay behind concerns about distillate inventories. More recently, Algerian Oil Minister Chakib Khelil said he would support a decision by the Organization of...

In November, the American people faced a clear choice on Social Security. George W. Bush proposed creating voluntary personal retirement accounts and permanently fixing Social Security’s finances. By contrast, John Kerry committed to preserve the current program, charging that the Bush plan would cut Social Security benefits. The voters rejected the status quo and endorsed Social Security reform. Social Security’s fiscal problems start as soon as millions of baby boomers begin to draw Social Security checks for the first time. In 2018, Social Security begins spending more than it takes in; annual inflation-adjusted deficits will rise to $100 billion after...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Strip the Army of those Bradley Fighting Vehicles[1] used in the Golf War. And take away the big M-1 Abrams Tanks[2] the Army likes so well. Strip the Navy of the last few fancy Aircraft Carriers[3] so popular to provide air cover. Then, scrap the Aegis anti aircraft system[4] the Navy depends on to search, track and guide missile functions. Scrap those P-3 Orion[5] upgrades, too. The Navy doesn't really need the better anti-submarine warfare aircraft. Over at the Air Force, let's get rid of the B2 stealth bomber[6] that sneaks in on targets and wages destruction. Also get rid...