"Strong" Passwords

Holy freak of nature! These people are getting out of control! I found the following message this morning from our company IT department:

"Beginning April 5, strong passwords will be required by the network. If your existing password doesn’t expire until April 20, for example, you can continue to use that password until a new password is required.

Users should remember that strong passwords:
-Must be between six and eight characters long;
-Must contain a combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters and numbers;
-Must begin with an alphabetic character;
-Cannot contain a username;
-Cannot mimic a user’s past 13 passwords; and
-Must be changed every 45 days. You will automatically be prompted for this."

I know this idea had to come from some conglomerate of meetings where people sat around and actually discussed the pros and cons of enforcing uppercase/lowercase requirements in addition to alpha-numeric requirements. If any member of a non-IT department had been present, they would have loudly protested this horrific act of torture. Don't these people have any mercy??!?!?!