Free Republic

"NEW YORK: New York Times Co yesterday said it would cut about 4 per cent of its work force, or 500 jobs, and warned that weaker newspaper advertising and rising costs could reduce earnings to less than half of Wall Street forecasts this quarter."

TIKRIT, Iraq (AP) -- A car bomb exploded near the police headquarters in the Iraqi city of Tikrit on Thursday, killing at least 10 people, witnesses said. Twenty cars were set ablaze after the massive blast, and at least 10 charred bodies could be scene in the street. Police Lt. Sha'alan Allawi said the bomber drove a vehicle into a parking lot park inside the police building and detonated it. Tikrit, located 80 miles north of the Iraqi capital, is former dictator Saddam Hussein's hometown.

WASHINGTON, July 8 - The Army is looking for a few good sailors and airmen. Actually, more than just a few. In what some military experts see as another sign of how the Army's commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan have strained it, the service for the first time will soon begin aggressively recruiting thousands of sailors and airmen who are otherwise scheduled to leave the Navy and Air Force because of cutbacks. Advertisement Under a new program called Operation Blue to Green, the Army plans to offer bonuses of up to $10,000, in some cases, and four weeks of extra...

<p>Germany and the United States yesterday pledged to coordinate a reduction of American troops and military bases in Germany in the coming years, a further sign that both sides are moving past the divisions over the Iraq war.</p> <p>German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who joined France and Russia in a alliance against the U.S.-led war, makes his first visit to the White House in more than two years later this month.</p>

February 5, 2004 ARLINGTON, Va. — Facing manning excesses, the Air Force has announced it needs to get rid of 16,600 airmen over the next 18 months. Soaring retention rates and stop-loss orders have boosted the service's manning levels beyond the authorized end strength of 359,000, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper said in a Jan. 29 message to the force.As a result, "By the end of [fiscal] 2005, we should reduce the size of our active force by 16,000 people, and we must reshape the force to correct existing skill imbalances and account for a new...