stange optimizer results

Hello--

Attached is a file containing two SQL queries. The first take
prohibitively long to complete because, according to EXPLAIN, it ignore
two very important indexes. The second SQL query seems almost identical
to the first but runs very fast because, according to EXPLAIN, it does
uses all the indexes appropriately. 

Can someone please explain to me what the difference is here? Or if
there is something I can do with my indexes to make the first query run
like the second?


Thanks Much

Peter