US soldier pleads guilty in Iraq killings

A U.S. soldier pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of accessory to murder and was sentenced to eight months in prison for his role in the killing of four Iraqi prisoners who were bound, blindfolded, shot and dumped in a canal.

Spc. Steven Ribordy, 25, of Salina, Kansas, also will receive a bad conduct discharge from the Army as part of a plea deal. In addition, he agreed to testify against other members of his unit.

"The execution of prisoners is arguably the greatest crime," prosecutor Capt. John Merriam told the court. "It betrays everything soldiers stand for."

Ribordy testified that he had helped stand guard as the …

The immunity bug bites ; India becomes a hot market for optional vaccines.

The paediatrician shrugged: "It's your choice, if you don't wantthe chicken pox vaccine for your daughter. But remember, one day shewill get married and if she has the pox when she is carrying, thechild could be born with brain damage." And what about the son, thefather voiced his and his wife's concern? "Well, you know whatcompetition is like today...what if he has pox before a major exam?"

Choices, choices. The parents knew a bout of chicken pox builtmore immunity in a child than any vaccine. But, a damaged brain?They plumped for the optional vaccine. Multiply that decision 26million times - that's the number of newborns in India every year -and it is easy to see why Big …

Jordin Sparks Crowned `American Idol'

LOS ANGELES - The big voice overwhelmed the beatbox Wednesday night as Jordin Sparks was crowned the newest and youngest "American Idol."

Sparks, 17, of Glendale, Ariz., prevailed over Blake Lewis, 25, of Bothell, Wash., after a triumphant performance Tuesday that wowed the show's judges and the viewers who gave her a majority of the record 74 million votes cast.

"Mom, Dad, I love you," Sparks, the daughter of retired NFL player Phillippi Sparks, said tearfully after a bearhug from Lewis.

In an interview backstage with The Associated Press, the overwhelmed winner recalled talking with her dad about how she used to watch him sign autographs.

Sparks said …

ECB cuts a quarter percent

The European Central Bank cut interest rates a quarter point and said it would buy euro-denominated bonds as well as offer longer-term credit to banks as it moves to get more money flowing through the 16-nation euro zone economy.

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet, in remarks to reporters after the bank lowered its benchmark interest rate to 1 percent on Thursday, unveiled the new measures to accompany already announced ones such as increased amounts of bank credits and broader collateral rules for banks that tap them.

Trichet said the central bank plans to purchase around euro60 billion ($80.2 billion) in euro-denominated covered bonds, which would grease …

Spring Break changed

Kanawha County Schools has moved the dates of 1999-2000 SpringBreak from April 17-21 to April 24-28, which falls after the …

Carter G. Woodson Regional Library is hosting a panel discussion on the Black Chicago Renaissance

As part of the Diamond Jubilee celebration of the Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History & Literature, the Chicago Public Library is presenting a panel discussion on the impact of Vivian G. Harsh's celebrated "Book Review and Lecture Forum" on the cultural flowering of the Chicago Black Renaissance Saturday, April 14 at 1:30 p.m. in the Woodson Regional Library Auditorium, 9525 South Halsted St.

The "Special Negro Collection" and the Chicago Renaissance will feature panelist Clarice Durham, educator, human rights activist and widow of Richard Durham, playwright, journalist and producer of the first African American television series that aired over WTTW-TV titled, …

France Cleared to Fund Search Project

France won EU approval Tuesday to give $152 million to several companies hoping to build a European rival to U.S. search giant Google Inc.

The potential benefits of allowing France to fund technology group Thomson SA and 22 other companies working on the QUAERO multimedia search project in Europe outweigh any gain Thomson would win over rivals, the European Commission said.

QUAERO _ Latin for "I search" _ would develop technology for working with all platforms, including desktops, mobile devices and televisions. Its products would be sold to TV companies, filmmakers, post-production facilities and anyone who creates or uses audiovisual …

Orders Pour In Despite Slowdown

Orders are flooding in at Bristol building firms despite fears ofa slowdown in the South West construction industry.

Both Bishopsworth firm Cowlin Construction and Stoke Gifford firmCH Pearce Construction have in recent weeks taken on orders worthmillions of pounds for projects across the region.

Orders are coming from developers of commercial buildings,housebuilders and from the public sector.

The news comes in the wake of recent research from the RoyalInstitution of Chartered Surveyors which found work on building forbusinesses had slackened off.

But it found that work was now being done for the public sectorinstead, as a result of increased spending …

LGBT Youth Summit aims to strengthen bonds between GSA leaders Oct. 29

BEVERLY HILLS- The GSA Alliance of Southeastern Michigan and GLSEN of Southeastern Michigan are jointly presenting an LGBT Summit on Saturday, Oct. 29, aimed at uniting student leaders across the state and helping them strengthen their local gay straight alliances. The summit is the second such gathering this year.

"Two years ago we did a pilot conference that was very short, and we then abandoned that model," said Chase Stein, GSA-SM's youth coordinator. "This spring we did the first LGBT Summit as it's presented today."

The all-day event features two icebreakers and three workshops, and closes with a poetry slam/talent show. Attendees can choose workshops from one of …

Rice says US, Britain to ask UN Security Council for tough action against Zimbabwe

The United States plans to introduce a U.N. resolution next week calling for tough action against Zimbabwe's government, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Saturday, to prevent the country's leaders from further abusing its population.

Speaking with reporters on her way to Seoul, South Korea, Rice said the U.S. and Britain could present the resolution to the U.N. Security Council as early as Monday.

The action is in response to the widely denounced runoff election in which Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is accused of using violence to coerce people to vote for him.

"It is time for the international community to act," Rice …

Music fills the air in springtime: ; Light Opera Guild presents 'A Little Night Music'

DAILY MAIL STAFF

JOANN Cordell's biggest challenge this weekend will be toremember which performance she's attending. Cordell will appear inthe opening performance of the Charleston Light Opera Guildproduction of Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music," Fridayevening. But that afternoon, she'll direct the choral group,Womansong, in a concert.

On Saturday, Cordell will lead the St. Anthony Catholic Schoolhonor choir in a performance at a First Communion mass, after whichshe'll rush back to the Civic Center Little Theater to perform herrole as a liebesleider for "Night Music."

On Sunday morning, she'll step up to the plate as director of theAppalachian …

Affirming the ethic of service

The turnout for the workshop, "Affirm ing the ethic of service," was small, comprising mainly Mennonite Voluntary Service Adventure (MVSA) supporters. But their enthusiasm led to a resolution, passed later by delegates, that affirmed church-based service.

At first, the mood in the workshop was muted as participants reviewed MC Canada's termination of its service program last year. It has been difficult to carry on without the support structures.

The recently opened Montreal unit closed its doors. Hamilton and Riverton are on hold. Lethbridge won't be operating next year due to lack of volunteers even though a church-owned house and leaders are in place. Toronto and …

Lebanon wish list granted

In January, the York County Economic Development Corp. pulled together representatives from six cities in Central Pennsylvania to discuss how they could tap more federal grants for development projects.

The idea was to create a regional economic development district that would include Harrisburg, Lancaster, York, Carlisle, Lebanon and Reading. The goal was to identify a wish list of what the cities wanted so the corporation could help them apply for at least $2.5 million in federal grants to make their wishes come true.

About two weeks ago, one of the cities heard back.

Lebanon will receive $50,000 to study building a technology park in the city, said Russ Montgomery, director of regional economic development initiatives for York County Economic Development Corp. The U.S. Department of Commerce awarded the money to determine where the structure should be built, how much it would cost, and who would be interested in occupying it, he said.

"Once Lebanon identifies its site, we can look for brick-and-mortar public works funds," Montgomery said. He declined to estimate how much money would be needed to complete the tech park project. However, in January, Lebanon Valley Economic Development Corp. President Bob McNary said the project would cost about $1.5 million.

The federal grant money, along with private investor funds and state and local government dollars. could be used for similar development projects in the other cities. The federal government's grants provide up to 50 percent of a project's total cost.

In anticipation of the district's approval, Lancaster, Reading and Carlisle, as well as Lebanon, have selected their priority projects and applied for federal grants, Montgomery said. York and Harrisburg have yet to identify their priority projects, he said.

Lancaster has applied for $800,000 of the federal grant money to redevelop a 20-acre brownfield site into a light industrial park. The park is in a Keystone Opportunity Zone in southwest Lancaster city, said Charles H. Maneval, the city's director of economic and community development. While the city awaits word on the grant, one company has already invested in the site. In July, Rhoads Energy, a heating oil distributor that serves Lancaster and Chester counties, built a new headquarters there. The project is expected to create more than 200 jobs.

Carlisle has applied for $350,000 to expand its Murata business center. Reading has applied for $1.3 million to redevelop a 40-acre site in the northwest part of the city, said Debra Millman, director of business development for the Greater Berks Development Fund. St. Joseph Medical Center, a hospital in Reading, hopes to relocate to the site if it is redeveloped, she said.

Lebanon also might be getting a parking garage from an unrelated program. The state Department of Community and Economic Development awarded Lebanon a $30,000 grant to hire a consultant to study the city's current and future parking needs. If the consultant concludes a parking garage would benefit the city, a site and construction costs will be determined.

In January, McNary estimated it would cost $1.5 million to $2 million to build a parking garage.

Turkey Says Its Planes Hit Iraq Targets

Turkey's military hit Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq with artillery and air strikes in a two-day operation that killed at least 15 rebels, the military said Saturday.

Turkish military shelled areas in northern Iraq on Thursday after it detected a group of Kurdish rebels preparing to attack Turkish targets from their bases in Iraq, the military said in a written statement. It said 15 rebels were killed in the shelling.

Turkish warplanes hit rebel targets in a cross-border campaign the following day, but casualty figures in that assault were unclear, the statement said.

"Some targets in the same area were hit by the air force's warplanes," it said. "The number of terrorists killed in this air attack could not be determined."

A spokesman for the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, denied any rebels had been killed, saying it was a "baseless claim."

"Turkish jet fighters launched airstrikes against sites at the al-Zab border area (for three hours) with no casualties reported," Haval Danas said. "The fighter jets have bombed old sites that witnessed fierce clashes before with the Turkish army and nobody was there."

Turkey, like the European Union and the United States, considers the PKK a terrorist organization.

The Turkish statement confirmed the first cross-border action by the military since it waged an eight-day ground incursion in late February. It said it only hit confirmed rebel targets and that it did not harm civilians.

The U.S. has been sharing intelligence on the rebels with Turkey, a NATO-ally, since November.

Turkey has carried out several cross-border operations against the PKK since the parliament authorized the government last October to send troops into Iraq to fight the rebels.

Last month's operation was the only confirmed ground incursion during this period. It was also the first of its kind since the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq in 2003.

The PKK took up arms against the government in 1984, and tens of thousands of people have been killed in the fighting.

___

Associated Press reporter Yahya Barzanji in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, contributed to this report.

MP's farm cash call

AN MP has called for more transparency in the dairy industryafter hearing profits are not being passed on to farmers.

Meeting with the Farmers' Union of Wales, Carmarthen West andSouth Pembrokeshire MP Simon Hart heard producers in Carmarthenshireand Pembrokeshire had received slight increases in what they werepaid for their milk in recent months, but that did not compare tothe increase in profits seen by the processors and stores.

He said: "Most farmers have had a price increase of about a pennyper litre but the prices in the shops have gone up by far more andthe cost of cream has never been so high."

Mr Hart feared the processors were stockpiling cash in thecurrent economic climate, while the increase received by farmers waseaten up by them having to pay much more for feed because a Russiandrought had driven prices up.

He added: "The Government is making progress with a supermarketOmbudsman but I would also like to see more transparency throughoutthe industry as to the true nature of their costs and profitmargins".

He also discussed controlling Bovine TB, bank lending problemsand stricter food labelling with the farmers.

The art of scheduling: A starting point

With proper and structured repair scheduling, collision repair facility staff will be able to plan the work through the production process.

There are many factors necessary to managing a successful collision facility, but some aspects are more important than others in determining just how successful a shop can be. Is repair scheduling an important component of being successful?

When talking about being a "successful" collision repair facility, it doesn't mean just being busy, having high customer satisfaction index (CSI) ratings, or turning a profit. A successful facility is all of these things and more. This includes steady work for continuous productivity, quality repairs completed in a timely manner, high customer and employee CSI, and profitability. Now let's ask the question again: Is repair scheduling important to being successful? I hope you answered yes.Without scheduling your repairs, you cannot be successful to your potential.You must be able to plan the work through the production process; this cannot be done if you are not scheduling repairs properly.

This is not to say that you aren't able to run a collision repair facility without proper repair scheduling. However, you may not be truly successful or reach the potential of which the facility is capable. I have seen many shops that do not have a consistent process of scheduling repairs that are doing well. But they haven't reached their full potential. How well can you run your business if you tell customers to bring in their vehicles on Monday or Tuesday and pick them up on Friday? This type of "scheduling" results in increased cycle time, low CSI scores, poor use of capital, equipment and employees, bottlenecks, reduced productivity, quality issues, and reduced profitability.

What it doesn't lead to is continuous production flow-which is the goal of all collision repair facilities.

Proper repair scheduling takes planning and understanding of your current business structure. Scheduling repairs doesn't mean just giving a customer a date to bring in his or her vehicle. It also means planning the completion date. Repair scheduling should be done for all vehicles: both drivable and non-drivable. Many shops schedule their repairs based on what they think a vehicle owner wants to hear or under pressure from an insurance company. But this only results in not meeting a customer's expectations or poor quality when you try and meet the promised delivery date. What happens when you sell a job and explain to the customer that it is a three-day repair?You offer Tuesday or Wednesday as possible appointment days, but they want to drop it off on Monday and you agree. Monday is already fully scheduled, but you do not want to tell the customer no.You receive the vehicle on Monday morning, but it doesn't get into production until Tuesday morning and the vehicle is completed Thursday afternoon. Have you met the customer's expectations by operating this way?You completed the repairs in three days.You must be honest with your customers when scheduling repairs, if you cannot start the repairs on the day the customer wants to bring in the vehicle. Advise him or her that the repairs will not be started that day. Remember, you manage your shop-not the customer or insurance company. Think of your shop as a doctor's or dentist's office, which requires appointments to be scheduled.

One thing that must be done consistently at the collision repair facility is determining the number of repair days. There are many different formulas shops use. However, to effectively schedule vehicles, you must make sure that everyone uses the same method of calculating days to repair. Determine the way you calculate repair days and then implement that as a standard procedure to your staff.

Communicate the days to repair with the customer, determine the target delivery date, and advise the customer of what may affect meeting this date.

The art of scheduling may be as complex as managing your business-or not. When scheduling repair appointments, there are many things to consider other than just attended and flagged hours. Technician productivity, utilization, overall efficiency, facility capacity, equipment, skill level, production process and staffing are all things to account for when scheduling repairs. Repair scheduling may be as basic or detailed as you would like. Of course, the more detailed your scheduling process, the more tracking you need to do. But you will be able to plan where the vehicle will be in the production process more accurately, which will help control cycle time. If the facility has a management system in place, or takes advantage of spreadsheets, the repair scheduling can be much more exact. The ultimate goal when scheduling repairs is to be able to plan the repair through each production stage.

I recommend using a very basic process for repair scheduling as a starting point.This method is easy to implement and will help all employees begin to see the benefits of scheduling.

Before you are able to assess the available hours, you must have some data from tracked Key Performance Indicators (KPI). At a minimum, you should have at least four weeks of attended hours and flagged hours for each productive technician. With these data you will be able to determine the average of what the facility has been producing. Remember, a collision facility sells hours. This average does not limit you to the number of hours you should sell and produce, but gives you a starting point to determine the minimum you will need to schedule. From the attended and flagged hours you will be able to determine the overall efficiency of each technician. Once you know each technician s efficiency, you may begin to look at how to increase efficiency, which will then allow you to increase the number of hours you schedule each day into the facility.

The first step, as shown in Table 1, is an easy method of tracking a technician's time.This information will give you a starting point to schedule repairs properly. Table 2 is an example of how you can determine the average sold or flagged hours. Based on the sample data, this facility must schedule at least 401.6 hours a week. The next step is to break out the percentage of work you schedule each day of the week. Table 3 shows the number of hours needed to schedule if you were to distribute the work evenly throughout each workday.You may plan your work by bringing in 30 percent on Monday and Tuesday, 15 percent on Wednesday and Thursday, and 10 percent on Friday. Base your scheduling profile to ensure continuous productivity and use of equipment and employees. No matter how you plan the work, you must schedule work for Friday, as this is necessary to your overall productivity, and starts your Monday without any downtime. Do not forget that all repairs must be scheduled, including vehicles that are towed in. Based on parts availability, the towed-in vehicles are great candidates to be scheduled for Thursdays and Fridays, as are those drivable vehicles that have repair days exceeding five working days.

If you were to be scheduling based on the data in Table 3, you will plan to bring in 80.32 hours per day. Of course, you may not get the exact hours each day, so you may carry over or lower the hours for the next day. This is a very basic and manual starting point for repair scheduling. When scheduling, record the customer name and total repair hours as per the estimate (see Table 4).You may also want to record the vehicle and insurance company if applicable. This information will be a great value as you get more detailed in scheduling and tracking cycle times. As you place a new job on the schedule, begin to deduct the hours scheduled from those available. As you can see from Table 4, this facility should have scheduled more vehicles/hours in on Wednesday and less on Thursday. Overall, for the week the shop did well. The goal is to keep all technicians productive throughout the week.

This starting point will provide the structure and habit of what is required for proper repair scheduling. Once you begin with the basics of bringing in the hours needed to keep all technicians productive, you can then being to look more in depth to improve the whole production process. By this I mean you will plan the repair based on hours for each production department. Knowing the utilization and actual hours worked during attended hours of your technicians will ensure more accurate repair scheduling. The data needed to properly schedule repairs into a collision repair facility are available when you are tracking your KPIs. The only variable left unaccounted for after this process implementation is the "human factor" of your employees. When I figure this out, I will pass on the information to you.

[Sidebar]

SCHEDULING EFFECTIVELY

[Sidebar]

There are guiding principles necessary to effectively schedule work in a collision repair center. These will facilitate maximum productive efficiency while using existing facility layout and technician head count. It will also help ensure predictable repair cycle time and the managing and meeting of customers' expectations.

[Sidebar]

Repair scheduling guiding principles are as follows:

* WRITE A COMPLETE ESTIMATE, REFLECTING THE ACTUAL DAMAGE: Writing a complete estimate will allow for allocations of the correct number of hours relevant to each of the production departments. The estimate must reflect the actual damage a vehicle has sustained due to the loss.

* ASSESS THE AVAILABLE HOURS TO FACILITATE THE REPAIR: The available hours are based on the actual technician's hours that are worked (attended) during a given period and the sold (flagged) hours during the same period. The hours will change based on the technician's efficiency and skill set.

* DO NOT SCHEDULE A REPAIR WITHOUT THE AVAILABLE TIME: Scheduling without hours available will result in huge inefficiencies in the production area and significantly impact cycle time.

* DO NOT PROMISE WHAT CANNOT BE DELIVERED: If you cannot start on a drivable vehicle on the day a customer requests for an appointment date, be honest. If it is a four-day repair and you cannot start on it until Tuesday, explain this to the customer. Also, always explain to your customers what may affect the completion of a repair on the "promised" delivery date.

* OVER-DELIVER ON CUSTOMERS' EXPECTATIONS: If that four-day repair happens to be complete in three, you now have a very happy customer. Remember, you set customers' expectations.

[Author Affiliation]

Stacy Bartnik is an automotive industry consultant and trainer for Carter & Carter International. She is also a Gold Pin member of CIC and currently is co-chair of the Public Affairs/Marketing Committee. She also is on the Board of Directors for the National Auto Body Council (NABC) and serves as the chair for both the Collision Repair Industry PRIDE Awards committee and Collision Repair Industry PRIDE Month Committee.

Report: LA Deputies Held Arrest Contests

LOS ANGELES - Sheriff's deputies have been competing in organized contests to see who could make the most arrests, who could impound the most cars and who could question the most gang members.

The contests were meant to boost morale and motivate deputies, but some observers are crying foul, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

One of the competitions, outlined in an internal Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department e-mail, was "Operation Any Booking." The object of the contest was to see who could arrest the most people in a 24-hour period.

"It's just a friendly competition to have a little fun out here," said Lt. James Tatreau, who helped organize the events. "It's a morale booster."

Tatreau said that when he joined a station in Lakewood, he noticed some patrol deputies made 15 to 20 arrests a month, while others made seven arrests in an entire year.

The prize for winning was "bragging rights," Tatreau said.

Several police observers were not impressed.

Hubert Williams, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Police Foundation, said the competitions were "highly problematic and inappropriate."

"The arrest is one of the most potent tools in the possession of law enforcement and should be used with great thought," Williams said. "It's not a competition or a game."

Los Angeles County Public Defender Michael P. Judge, wondered if the games could prompt deputies to make illegitimate arrests to boost numbers.

"Certainly, it calls into question whether there was a legitimate reason to book any of the people who were booked during the time of the competition," Judge said.

According to a Times review of records, Operation Any Booking did not result in an increase in arrests on the day of the contest.

But the impound competition may have increased the number of vehicles seized, with records showing a spike in vehicle seizures the day of the contest.

Sheriff Lee Baca said the competitions were a well-meaning but poorly conceived idea that promoted "the wrong values."

"We're not into numbers, we're into quality," Baca said. "I don't think it will occur again."

Bear blitz wows Brits

Writing from London They almost got it right.

They had a traffic jam worthy of the Super Bowl and a partybefore the game that had everything from whole roast pig to 31flavors.

They had a singing, chanting, cheering crowd that did the wave,rose to a frenzy during the coin flip and even had that relic ofyears gone by, a streaker, hidden in its festive midst.

The only thing they screwed up on was the weather. But youcould hardly avoid the dank and dreary London evening by packing thegame off to a dome or some sunny clime, now, could you? How elsecould they sing "God Save the Queen" before a football game?

So in the end, Jim McMahon wrapped his headband around the hoodof his poncho and the Bears had fun yesterday. Almost as much fun asthe 82,699 people who jammed Wembley Stadium to see them beat theDallas Cowboys 17-6 in their first exhibition game of the season.

Not quite, but almost.

As good as the Bears felt after knocking off the revenge-mindedCowboys and showing there is defense after Buddy Ryan, it was nothingcompared to the excited response of the fans.

Nobody could have enjoyed this game more than the people whocrowded into the seats or stood shoulder to shoulder in the end zoneand cheered a strange game they understand imperfectly but delightin nevertheless.

"It was almost like playing at home," said Bears linebacker MikeSingletary of the crowd's enthusiastic response every time somethingvaguely interesting happened. "They were really into it."

"They got excited even before the game," McMahon said. "Westarted clapping during warmups and they started clapping right alongwith us."

"It seemed like the whole country was out for a picnic and theydidn't care about the weather or anything else," Walter Payton said.

"They were really having fun out there," William Perry said."Especially when naked people started running out on the field."

Perry was speaking of the man who, with 3:08 to play, left thestands behind the end zone and dashed onto the field without so muchas a raincoat to hide behind. He was, as they say over here,starkers.

A couple of stadium officials tackled the interloper and sloshedaround on the turf with him in a better exhibition of mud wrestlingthan some that charge admission. Finally, their superior numbersprevailed and they hauled him off.

"Damn!" shouted Dennis McKinnon, the injured wide receiver whowatched the incident in the press box. "Where's my camera?"

"Michael McCaskey and Jerry Vainisi wouldn't give me theirbinoculars," complained Diana Ditka, the wife of the Bear coach, whowas watching the game from the royal box in the company of theAmerican ambassador to Great Britain.

"I had to look around to check all our guys on the bench," Ditkasaid.

"Nobody's got that much nerve," McMahon replied.

The only thing more remarkable than the enthusiasm the Englishcrowd brought to the game was its ignorance. People cheerfullyadmitted they knew almost nothing of the game's finer points, butwere captivated by the spectacle. This phenomenon may have been summed up when Perry scored atouchdown in the second quarter. Perry's importance is vastlyoverplayed here - just as it is in the United States - but thedifference is that he is the only American player many people herehave ever heard of.

So it was that for a mere $4 you could have washed down yourcornish pastie with a pint of American beer in a plastic William Perry mug at Wembley yesterday.

When Perry scored, I was down in the stands watching the gamewith a couple of young London women who said they had come to Wembleyfor a laugh.

"Did he?" Belinda Levine said. "Which one is he? Is he in theblack or the white? Will he do it again, do you think?"

What about the game itself?

"It's really weird," she said. "All this starting and stopping.You can't tell where the ball is. And everybody hitting each otherand all going in different ways."

Her friend, Candida Brent, was somewhat more in tune with thegame, but she had a good reason.

"I lived in Florida for a while," she said. "I hate the Bears.I cried when the Dolphins lost the Super Bowl two years ago."

Out in the corridor, waiting patiently for the hot dog line tomove, was Kate Bowen of London, who had been driven into a mildappreciation of football by her 15-year-old brother, Julian. He's mad about it," she said. "He's always reading magazines aboutit and talking about the Fridge. That's why I'm down here gettingthe food. He won't leave the game."

Down behind the end zone, where men held up small boys for a verybad view and women stood sedately holding their dates' hands in thecrush, the people were getting an education into the ways of thegame.

"You watch it on telly and you see the highlights," said EmmettHepburn of Newton. "When you watch it here, you know when the advertsare coming."

Even Perry's touchdown failed to thrill him.

"You didn't really see him go over, did you?" Hepburn said."It'd be nicer to see him hit daylight and go over, wouldn't it?

"But he's had his trip to London, hasn't he? Let's put it thatway."

Let's put it that way about the entire team. For all thehoopla, what it boils down to is they have had their trip to Londonand they have won a football game. I can remember less successfultrips than that to Green Bay.

Oil prices steady ahead of US data expected to show gasoline stocks fell

Oil prices were steady Wednesday as traders awaited the release of a U.S. government report expected to show gasoline inventories fell last week _ a bullish indicator offset by continuing concerns about the U.S. economy.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery was up by 11 cents at US$108.61 a barrel by afternoon in European electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 59 cents to settle at US$108.50 a barrel Tuesday.

Brent crude futures slipped by 17 cents Wednesday to US$106.17 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.

Oil prices have been supported recently by a growing belief that U.S. gasoline supplies are falling as the summer driving season in the Northern Hemisphere approaches.

Last week, the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said gasoline inventories fell more than expected during the week ended March 28. It was expected to report later Wednesday that gasoline stockpiles fell another 2.3 million barrels last week, according to a Dow Jones Newswires survey of analysts.

Analysts say refiners have cut back on gasoline production due to low profit margins. The rising price of crude means it costs refiners more to turn the raw product into motor fuel. The EIA was also expected to report that refinery use rose 0.7 percentage point to 83.1 percent of capacity, the survey showed.

Still, worries about the U.S. economy _ with the possibility of less demand for oil and oil products _ kept a low ceiling on prices.

"Demand, as gauged by first quarter economic indicators, is less than rosy as consumer confidence erodes thanks to falling housing values and a retrenchment in the jobs market," wrote Stephen Schork in his Schork Report of the medium-term outlook.

The EIA report was also expected to show crude oil stocks rose 2.4 million barrels. Stocks of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, were expected to fall 1.2 million barrels, the survey showed.

Crude stocks rose by an unexpected 7.3 million barrels in the week ended March 28. And although theoretically rising oil supplies could undermine prices, crude futures have been driven higher recently by weakness in the dollar and speculative buying by investors who believe rising demand overseas will keep sending commodity values skyward.

The U.S. Energy Department on Tuesday raised its forecast for the average price of crude in 2008, citing global demand and low surplus production capacity. The EIA, in its monthly report on petroleum supplies and demand, raised earlier price projections for crude oil, saying that the benchmark West Texas Intermediate contract would average US$101 per barrel in 2008.

The agency had earlier predicted prices would average US$94.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures were down by less then a cent at US$3.107 a gallon (3.8 liters,) while gasoline was up by over a penny, selling for US$2.7615 a gallon. Natural gas futures rose nearly 30 cents to US$9.995 per 1,000 cubic feet.

___

Associated Press Writer Gillian Wong contributed to this report from Singapore.

Knicks-Warriors, Box

NEW YORK (104)

Richardson 6-13 0-0 14, Randolph 4-11 1-2 9, Curry 5-5 7-9 17, Crawford 9-22 3-3 21, Collins 1-7 0-0 2, Lee 3-6 2-2 8, Jeffries 0-1 0-0 0, Robinson 8-19 5-6 22, Balkman 4-5 3-4 11. Totals 40-89 21-26 104.

GOLDEN STATE (106)

Jackson 7-18 7-8 25, Harrington 4-13 3-4 12, Biedrins 4-6 3-5 11, Davis 8-21 4-7 22, Ellis 9-15 6-9 24, Barnes 1-3 0-0 2, Watson 2-3 0-0 4, Azubuike 2-5 2-2 6, Pietrus 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 37-85 25-35 106.

New York 20 32 27 25_104

Golden State 29 18 29 30_106

3-Point Goals_New York 3-16 (Richardson 2-5, Robinson 1-4, Crawford 0-7), Golden State 7-27 (Jackson 4-9, Davis 2-8, Harrington 1-5, Pietrus 0-1, Barnes 0-1, Watson 0-1, Azubuike 0-2). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_New York 52 (Lee 13), Golden State 60 (Biedrins 26). Assists_New York 27 (Robinson 8), Golden State 21 (Davis 9). Total Fouls_New York 30, Golden State 21. Technicals_New York defensive three second, Golden State defensive three second. A_19,596 (19,596).

Honduras drops World Court case against Brazil

The U.N.'s highest court says Honduras has dropped a case accusing Brazil of meddling in its internal affairs by allowing ousted President Manuel Zelaya to stay at one of its embassies in 2009.

The International Court of Justice, widely known as the World Court, said Wednesday that Honduras asked to withdraw the case on April 30 and the request was granted May 12.

An intermim administration that came to power in Honduras after a coup filed the case back October 2009 while Zelaya was holed up at the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Brazil then viewed Zelaya as Honduras' lawfully elected president.

Zelaya now lives in the Dominican Republic and is trying to negotiate a reconciliation that recognizes current Honduran President Porfirio Lobo.

Bill Would Let You Put Taxes on Credit Card

WASHINGTON By 1994, taxpayers will be able to put their taxpayment on their credit cards, opening a potential $300 billionmarket for issuers, if President Bush signs legislation now inCongress.

But industry analysts and consumer advocates question whetherthe government should encourage more credit card debt, as evenFederal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says the struggle to get outfrom under that burden will take at least a few more years.

"I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to this, because it would bea convenience," said Elgie Holstein, executive director of BankcardHolders of America, a consumer group that tracks credit card rates."But I would want to warn consumers that this is going to be a costlyconvenience."

The tax law change is in the House measure providing money forthe nation's cities as a balm after the Los Angeles riots. Similarlanguage was dropped this month from the Senate version of the urbanaid bill but could be restored when the chamber returns to work inSeptember.

Differences between the bills must be resolved in a conferencecommittee.

Bush is likely to sign the measure, but Internal Revenue Serviceofficials say because of the complexity of setting up a system totake credit card chits, 1994 might be the earliest taxpayers can tellUncle Sam to "Charge it."

But before federal tax bills can be charged, IRS rulemakers willhave to settle with credit card issuers what could be the thorniestproblem - deciding who will pay the customary fee to process thetransaction.

Credit card companies charge merchants a "discount fee" -usually between 1.5 percent and 5 percent of a purchase. The pendinglegislation would lift the prohibition on federal agencies frompaying such surcharges but says nothing about who would pay them.

IRS officials said yet-to-be-written regulations would determinewhether the government would pay the surcharge or pass it along tothe taxpayer. Rush also said negotiations with the government areunder way to decide the fee's size.

In congressional testimony last month, Greenspan said consumersare about halfway through the process of working off their debt, butat least a few more years would pass before consumer spending -two-thirds of economic activity - would pick up again.

Gay marriage on hold in California

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Same-sex marriage was on hold in California after opponents petitioned a federal appeals court Tuesday to review a split decision by three of its judges that struck down a voter-approved measure that limited marriage to a man and woman.

Lawyers for the religious and legal groups asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear the 2-1 decision that declared the ban, known as Proposition 8, to be a violation of the civil rights of gay and lesbian Californians.

If they had not sought reconsideration, the three judges could have ordered the ruling to take effect in another seven days, clearing the way for same-sex marriages to resume in the state.

Instead, same-sex marriages will remain on hold at least until the 9th Circuit decides to accept or reject the rehearing petition. The court does not face a deadline for doing so.

"This gives the entire 9th Circuit a chance to correct this anomalous decision by just two judges overturning the vote of seven million Californians," said Andy Pugno, general counsel for the Protect Marriage coalition.

Legal experts said supporters of the ban could be exhausting all their options before trying to take the case to the Supreme Court. Some experts said the 9th Circuit does not often reverse the decisions of member judges.

Six states allow gay couples to wed — Connecticut, New Hampshire, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York and Vermont — as well as the Washington capital district. The governor of Washington signed a bill this month that would make that state the seventh. But California, as the most populous U.S. state and home to more than 98,000 same-sex couples, would be the gay rights movement's biggest prize of them all.

Proposition 8 amended the California Constitution to outlaw same-sex marriages five months after the state Supreme Court threw out a pair of statutes that limited marriage to a man and woman. The proposition was approved by voters in November 2008 with 52 percent of the vote.

"Today's petition shows how far the anti-marriage proponents of Proposition 8 will go to ensure that gay and lesbian Americans remain second-class citizens," said Chad Griffin, president of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which sued to overturn the ban. "Separate is never equal — and I am confident that one day, very soon, every American will be able to enjoy the fundamental freedom to marry."

The 9th Circuit panel said in its Feb. 7 ruling that the amendment violated the U.S. Constitution's promise of equal protection because it singled out a minority group for disparate treatment for no compelling reason.

The two judges in the majority concluded that the law had no purpose other than to deny gay couples marriage, since California already grants them all the rights and benefits of marriage if they register as domestic partners.

The lone dissenting judge insisted that the ban could have served a legitimate purpose in the minds of its supporters: namely, helping to ensure that children are raised by married, opposite-sex parents.

All three judges agreed there was no evidence that former Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker, who struck down the ban after conducting a 13-day trial, should have disclosed that he was gay and in a long-term relationship with another man before he presided over the proceedings.

Local firms join in throwing money around to gain access

NEW YORK -- Corporate America is bankrolling splashy parties atthe Republican National Convention, buying access to national andIllinois officials at Manhattan's most spectacular venues.

Members of Congress and local lawmakers from Illinois who controlcontracts and vote on legislation are being wined and dined at eventsfrom the Rainbow Room to the Four Seasons to the Metropolitan Museumof Art to the Times Square Studio set of ABC's "Good MorningAmerica."

The Democratic National Convention in Boston last month attractedloads of special interests entertaining. The big difference is thatthe GOP pay-to-play scene in New York is dominated by big business,with very few Democratic-leaning organized labor festivities.

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) is being feted at festsrunning throughout convention week in Gotham, starting with Sunday'sbrunch at the fancy Tavern on the Green in Central Park sponsored byGeneral Motors.

Today, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway is throwing alunch honoring Hastert's wife, Jean, and other GOP House spouses at arestaurant; on Tuesday, Schaumburg-based Motorola rented one of NewYork's smaller museums for a Hastert bash; on Wednesday, it's an"Irish Lunch" paid for by the lobbying firm of Akin Gump followed bya reception hosted by Union Pacific, and Thursday, SBC pays tributeto Hastert at another lunch.

Hastert is also using the convention to stroke his best donors andto promote his new autobiography, Speaker, at a party whose sponsorsinclude lobbyists whose firms do business with the House.

Rewards for top donors

And as Democrats did in Boston, the convention will be used by GOP-allied groups and newly conceived non-party groups known as 527s toraise money or reward their best donors with VIP access to MadisonSquare Garden.

Hastert's main fund-raising arm, his Keep Our Majority PoliticalAction Committee -- known as KOMPAC -- is offering a donor packagefor contributors who give at least $5,000 a year. The perks includedaily breakfasts, help in booking rooms at the city's best hotels andwrangling scarce convention credentials.

Illinois Republicans have solicited a slew of companies withinterests in the state to help pay for parties and receptions. Unlikethe Illinois Democrats in Boston, the Illinois GOP fully disclosesupfront who is paying for what in New York.

Sunday's opening night party for the Illinois delegation at theABC studio was hosted by Chicago's five La Salle Street exchanges,Amgen, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the WaltDisney Co. and Exelon.

Other events are funded by Pfizer Inc.; Altria; ComEd; RRDonnelley; the lobbying/law firms of Holland and Knight, Ungretti andHarris and Greenberg Traurig; Caterpillar; Motorola; Target, UPS andAbbott Labs.

Send-off for Fitzgerald

On Wednesday, the law firm of Mayer Brown Rowe and Maw is runningan open buffet from 6 to 11 p.m. at the legendary Sardi's onBroadway.

Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.), who decided not to seek a secondterm, is getting a send-off dinner Wednesday night hosted by theChicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

While the main job of the convention is to nominate President Bushfor a second term and give his campaign a bounce, it is also anopportunity for special interests to use exceptions in House andSenate ethics rules to entertain their "honored" lawmakers, or forcandidates to collect campaign cash.

Here is a sampling:

*Tonight, General Motors is hosting a late-night buffet and Travis Tritt performance at a bash honoring GOP Senators LamarAlexander of Tennessee; Kit Bond and Jim Talent of Missouri; ConradBurns of Montana; Norm Coleman of Minnesota; Kay Bailey Hutchinson ofTexas and Pat Roberts of Kansas.

*Donald Trump is the main draw at a fund-raiser at Trump Tower onWednesday for Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.).

*JPMorgan Chase & Co. is hosting a lunch for GOP women in Congresstoday. Taking a different approach, the Chicago Board of Trade andFannie Mae are saluting the female lawmakers at separate events atthe Exhale Mind Body Spa.

*The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the setting for aDaimlerChrysler and Union Pacific funded reception to honor House andSenate leadership.

A BETTER NIGHT'S REST

Are you having trouble falling asleep at night? Does your spouse keep you awake because he or she snores? Do you wake up in the middle of the night with the wheels in your mind turning? Did you know that 95% of people suffering from sleep disorders remain undiagnosed and untreated? Did you realize vehicular crashes are the third leading cause of death and injury in the country, and 20% of those can be attributed to sleepiness?

Luckily there is help available at the Indiana Medical Association (IMA) Sleep Institute, located in southwest Fort Wayne. This fully accredited facility was established in March 2006 and is the first physician-owned diagnostic center for sleep disorders in northeast Indiana.

One of the most common sleep disorders treated at the sleep center is obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Of the estimated 70 million people suffering from sleep problems in the U.S., 18 million have OSAS. This disorder involves a narrowing and eventual blockage of the patient's airway as they fall deep into sleep. Their breathing can stop completely for several seconds at a time. Common complaints with this disorder include daytime sleepiness, snoring, poor memory and even work-related accidents caused by inattentiveness. Weight loss, sleep-positional training, dental appliances or the application of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy are common treatment options for OSAS.

Testing and treatment for other sleep-related problems are available at the Sleep Institute, as well, including narcolepsy, a genetic disorder of excessive sleepiness; periodic leg movement disorder; abnormal motor behavior during sleep, called REM sleep behavior disorder; seizures, when relevant clinical correlation is available; and insomnia. Patients should consult with their family physicians first if they feel daytime sleepiness is affecting their ability to function normally.

Sleep testing is done at the recommendation of a patient's primary care physician, or in the absence of a primary care doctor, physicians at the center can do a consultation and then order testing if necessary. The IMA Sleep Institute is designed to provide and conduct tests in a home-like environment. Patient rooms are comfortably furnished and include a private bathroom. Patients are monitored by the application of various electrodes that record different physiologic properties during sleep.

The Sleep Institute is directly supervised by Dr. Srinivasan Devanathan and Dr. Manuel A. Martinez. Dr. Devanathan trained in Pulmonary/CC/Sleep at the University of New Mexico and the Lovelace Sleep Disorders Center. Dr. Devanathan is certified in sleep disorders under both parent boards, the American Board of Sleep Medicine and the American Board of Internal Medicine/Medical Specialties/Sleep, and practices full time in the management of sleep disorders. Dr. Martinez is also a university-trained pulmonary/CC/sleep physician and completed his training at Indiana University.

The full-time staff at the Sleep Institute includes the program director, Kevin Hofstetter, BS, RCP, PSG.T., who oversees the daily operations, scheduling of patients and follow-up care and contacts patients after their treatment evaluations before initiating therapy. Hofstetter helps patients acquire any equipment they may need for therapy through home care companies, most of which is insurance based. He has more than fifteen years of experience with sleep disorders patients.

The Sleep Institute also has a coordinator, Annette Henneman, R.PSG. T., who has more than 14 years of experience. Henneman supervises three center technicians: Marci Heiney, PGS.T.; Frances Witsaman, R.PGS.T.; and Kevin Bleke, RRT, R.PGS.T. The staff is Basic Life Support (BLS) certified and has access to equipment to handle most emergency situations. There is easy access to one of the major hospital emergency rooms for quick transportation via EMS should a situation arise beyond the scope of services at the sleep center, as well.

If you feel that you might have a sleep disorder, consult with your family doctor to determine the best plan of attack. If a sleep study is ordered, the knowledgeable staff at the Sleep Institute will be glad to help you start getting a better night's rest.

Indiana Medical Association

Sleep Institute

Address: 1625 Magnavox Way Fort Wayne, Indiana 46804

Phone: (260) 432-0000

Fax: (260) 459-9247

Email: kevinh@indianamedical.com

Sleep Center Physicians: Manuel A. Martinez, MD,FCCP; and Srinivasan Devanathan, MD, D-ABSM, ABIM (Sleep)

Employees: 7

Years in Business: 2

Services Provided: Diagnosis of most sleep disorders through observation/overnight testing and follow-up treatment using several different treatment modalities.

Obama: Some ambassador nominees will be political

President-elect Barack Obama said Friday that while he aims to grow a bigger crop of career diplomats, he will not abandon the practice of filling some ambassadorial posts with political appointees.

The Democrat who has vowed to change the way business is done in Washington told a news conference that his "general inclination" is to have career foreign service people in those posts "wherever possible."

But Obama also said that it would be "disingenuous" for him to suggest that he won't be putting some political appointees in embassies. He said he has not yet thought through the full list of possible appointments he'll be making after Inauguration Day, focusing instead on the most critical embassy posts like Baghdad.

He praised the current American ambassador to Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, as "one of the unsung heroes" of the big turnaround in security in Iraq over the past year; he mentioned no candidate to replace Crocker, who has said he intends to retire from government at the end of the Bush administration.

Currently, about one-third of U.S. ambassadors are political appointees. That is about in line with historic norms. Obama made no mention of whether he intends to stick to that norm or aims to lower it.

Obama also said he has spoken to his designated secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton, about his hope to revitalize the State Department and its diplomatic corps.

"I want to recruit young people into the State Department to feel that this is a career track that they can be on for the long term," Obama said. "And so, you know, my expectation is that high quality civil servants are going to be rewarded. You know, are there going to be political appointees to ambassadorships? There probably will be some."

Prominent former career diplomats have publicly urged Obama to pay close attention to the qualifications of those he nominates as ambassadors, while accepting the value of having some non-career ambassadors.

A fresh Town & Country comes back to the present

For so many years Town & Country has been a period piece - amusty remnant of not-quite-old money and outmoded sensibilities.

Two things have happened. The magazine got a new editor, RonJavers, who gave Philadelphia magazine a perceptible bite amid itsobligatory floss. And Connoisseur, a sister Hearst magazine, folded;some of its people and ideas, and its subscribers, have beeninherited by Town & Country, which makes a fresh bow with its Aprilnumber.

Javers has not exactly wrought a revolution. The cover story isabout prep schools, and T&C still publishes wedding announcements ofprosperous young white people, who without exception will be known asMr. and Mrs. His Name. But there's a new ripple of energy andinventiveness in the attitudes here: "A Night of Ice and Death" looksback at the Titanic's last hours afloat, culling memories ofsurvivors 80 years later.

In perhaps the most audacious tweak, William Hamilton,cartoonist to the snobs, invents and sketches caricatures of richkinfolk you can rent to establish yourself in social milieus fromLouisville to the Napa Valley. Town & Country bears watching again, and in places, reading. (Oneyear-12 issues, $24. Town & Country, P.O. Box 7180, Red Oak, Iowa51591-2180.)

With American Caucus, the people who produce CongressionalQuarterly Weekly Report will be offering a biweekly tabloid-sizedpackage of public affairs reporting for the general reader. Itsstandard is strict impartiality and objective information. "Thesupply of opinion in Washington already exceeds the nation's demand,"writes editor Chuck Alston. "We'll make it our business to tell youwhat you need to know, not what you need to think."

What you need to know, to judge by the inaugural issue (March30-April 12), is how Congress is facing pressure to vote onabortion-rights legislation, whose passage would trump the SupremeCourt's expected backsliding on Roe vs. Wade. As for Topic A onCapitol Hill, American Caucus offers an explainer about the HouseBank and a profile of "House Detective" Matthew F. McHugh, theupstate New York Democrat who heads the investigation intocheck-kiting. (One year, 26 issues-$36. American Caucus, NTSMarketing, 1616 Main St., Lynchburg, Va. 24504-9975. Or call800-854-9043.)

The novelist and the historian have much to learn, one from theother, according to Shelby Foote, PBS' Civil War historian.

"Whether an event took place in a world now gone to dust,preserved by documents and evaluated by scholarship, or in theimagination, preserved by memory and distilled by the creativeprocess, they both want to tell us how it was." And in his view,"the historian commits the greater wrong . . . by refusing what thenovelist has to offer."

This essay, originally an address at Princeton, appears inMilitary History Quarterly's spring issue. (One year-4 issues, $60.MHQ, P.O. Box 2054, Marion, Ohio 43306-2054. Or call 800-347-6969.)

Rights group: Hold UK torture inquiry in public

LONDON (AP) — Britain's Equality and Human Rights Commission on Monday urged the head of an inquiry into allegations the U.K. colluded in the torture of suspected terrorists overseas to hold as many hearings as possible in public.

Prime Minister David Cameron ordered the inquiry in June amid accusations that British spies and government officials were complicit in the mistreatment of detainees held by the U.S. and other allies in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

In a letter, the commission's legal director John Wadham asked the former appeals court judge Peter Gibson, who is leading the investigation, to also ensure his review examines decisions taken by senior ministers, not just junior officials.

British spies have not been accused of torturing detainees, but several former suspects have alleged that officials colluded in their mistreatment by supplying questions to their captors, or by failing to report concerns about mistreatment.

In the most notorious case, Binyam Mohamed, an ex-Guantanamo Bay inmate who is among 12 former detainees now suing the British government, says he was severely beaten, subjected to sleep deprivation and had his genitals sliced with a scalpel while held in Morocco.

Wadham's letter called on Gibson's three person panel to "trace accountability up from agents in the field to those higher up the chain of command, together with lawyers, doctors and others who may have been involved."

The commission was created by Britain's government to uphold human rights, but is independent from ministerial control.

Wadham asked Gibson, who is also Intelligence Services Commissioner, Britain's spy watchdog, since April 2006, to hold "as many sessions as possible" of his inquiry in public.

Gibson has not yet announced whether hearings will be held in public, but Cameron has confirmed intelligence officials will not be expected to appear at public sessions to protect their identity.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said last month that the government will overhaul current practices based on Gibson's recommendations. "We will act on the lessons learnt, and tackle the difficult issues we currently face head on," he said

Hague said the investigation was necessary to "clear the stain from our reputation as a country."

The inquiry will begin once police have concluded a criminal investigation into allegations made against two officers from the Britain's domestic and foreign intelligence agencies. Cameron said he hoped Gibson's investigation will be under way before the end of the year, and last about 12 months.

U.S. Kills Top al Qaeda Operative

Laura Ingraham
The O'Reilly Factor (Fox News Network)
12-11-2009
INGRAHAM: And in the "Impact" segment tonight, a U.S. drone strike in western Pakistan has killed a top al Qaeda operative.

Authorities now believe it was Saleh al-Somali, in charge of planning terror attacks outside of Iraq and Afghanistan. How big is this guy?

With us now, Dr. Michael Scheuer, the former chief of the CIA's Usama bin Laden unit.

Michael, it's always great to see you. How big is this?

MICHAEL SCHEUER, FORMER CHIEF, CIA'S USAMA BIN LADEN UNIT: It's important. Any dead al Qaeda person is a good al Qaeda person. But I think we have to keep -- keep a hold on ourselves here. It's an important tactical victory. It is largely irrelevant to the strategic situation we face.

INGRAHAM: Now, you have the view that all -- while all those things might be good, unless we get bin Laden, this thing is not going to...

SCHEUER: I think General McChrystal the other day in Congress brought us back on to the focus. The Taliban is not a threat to the continental United States or the way we live our lives here. Usama bin Laden is.

And we've tried various things. He's gone from being the source of evil to being irrelevant to being Usama who...

INGRAHAM: But is he alive?

SCHEUER: Of course he's alive. We would know if he was dead.

It would be like trying to keep a secret about the president being dead.

INGRAHAM: Now, when you heard about this Pakistani American story, with these young men from Northern Virginia, and right -- a couple of miles from where we are right now, a mosque in Northern Virginia, end up going over to Pakistan and want to get into the jihad. Were willing recruits into jihad to carry out attacks against western targets and American targets.

The president was asked about this in Oslo, and he's got the Nobel Peace Prize. It's kind of a halting -- well, don't want to prejudge him. People can read all sorts of things on the Internet and get radicalized. Do you hear a clear message coming from this administration on what this American, now -born Islamic threat is?

SCHEUER: No. The administration doesn't want to talk about it, but I'm not sure either party wants to talk about it. We've kind of fooled ourselves over the last five or 10 years. The incitement and instigation efforts of al Qaeda and its allies around the world have affected young male Muslims in every part of the world, whether it's Europe, Southeast Asia, South America.

INGRAHAM: Somalia.

SCHEUER: Somalia. Algeria. Britain. We're crazy to think it's not going to happen here. And we're escalating one war at the moment.

That's going to radicalize more people. It's a threat for the future which -- which we don't want to talk about.

INGRAHAM: I should say that the Muslim community in Northern Virginia helped alert authorities to this problem. They've been working.

The mosque has been working with authorities to try to, you know, make sense of the story, and they're obviously concerned. Look what happens.

Someone in their -- you know, their mosque, not good for them.

SCHEUER: No, it's not. But parents and mosques across the world face the same problem. There are -- there are mosques that help the Pakistani government. There are mosques that help the British government.

But nonetheless, the impact of the incitement is still very significant.

And for us to think it can't happen in the United States because we're a melting pot...

INGRAHAM: It is happening. This idea that everyone's assimilating and that it's all -- all is good, because we're all here, no.

In fact, we see the Somalia-Americans in Minnesota -- Somalian-Americans going back to Africa, carrying out jihadist activities. And now this Pakistani story, it's actually stunning. It shouldn't be, but it's still stunning to me.

SCHEUER: It is, and we tend to forget that John Walker Lindh was probably one of the first to go over there.

INGRAHAM: Yes, the American Taliban.

SCHEUER: Yes. It's a problem for America and...

INGRAHAM: Is it a question of when we get hit again, not if, Michael? I mean, I know that's a very morose thing to say around the holidays. But...

SCHEUER: It's not a morose thing; it's just realism. We have not killed the enemy who attacked us. When General McChrystal said the threat to the United States is Usama bin Laden and al Qaeda, he spoke the truth. We don't kill them, they will certainly kill us.

INGRAHAM: But you kill Usama bin Laden, there are others who could perhaps replace him?

SCHEUER: No. Someone will replace him, but you killed a lot of them. You know, that's what the president didn't get.

INGRAHAM: And Dr. Scheuer, we always appreciate you. Don't mean to cut you off.

Still to come, Tiger Woods in crisis. With even more damning info emerging, is the golfer at the end of his career, is it at stake?

That's all coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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This is not a legal transcript for purposes of litigation.
U.S. Kills Top al Qaeda OperativeLaura Ingraham
The O'Reilly Factor (Fox News Network)
12-11-2009
INGRAHAM: And in the "Impact" segment tonight, a U.S. drone strike in western Pakistan has killed a top al Qaeda operative.

Authorities now believe it was Saleh al-Somali, in charge of planning terror attacks outside of Iraq and Afghanistan. How big is this guy?

With us now, Dr. Michael Scheuer, the former chief of the CIA's Usama bin Laden unit.

Michael, it's always great to see you. How big is this?

MICHAEL SCHEUER, FORMER CHIEF, CIA'S USAMA BIN LADEN UNIT: It's important. Any dead al Qaeda person is a good al Qaeda person. But I think we have to keep -- keep a hold on ourselves here. It's an important tactical victory. It is largely irrelevant to the strategic situation we face.

INGRAHAM: Now, you have the view that all -- while all those things might be good, unless we get bin Laden, this thing is not going to...

SCHEUER: I think General McChrystal the other day in Congress brought us back on to the focus. The Taliban is not a threat to the continental United States or the way we live our lives here. Usama bin Laden is.

And we've tried various things. He's gone from being the source of evil to being irrelevant to being Usama who...

INGRAHAM: But is he alive?

SCHEUER: Of course he's alive. We would know if he was dead.

It would be like trying to keep a secret about the president being dead.

INGRAHAM: Now, when you heard about this Pakistani American story, with these young men from Northern Virginia, and right -- a couple of miles from where we are right now, a mosque in Northern Virginia, end up going over to Pakistan and want to get into the jihad. Were willing recruits into jihad to carry out attacks against western targets and American targets.

The president was asked about this in Oslo, and he's got the Nobel Peace Prize. It's kind of a halting -- well, don't want to prejudge him. People can read all sorts of things on the Internet and get radicalized. Do you hear a clear message coming from this administration on what this American, now -born Islamic threat is?

SCHEUER: No. The administration doesn't want to talk about it, but I'm not sure either party wants to talk about it. We've kind of fooled ourselves over the last five or 10 years. The incitement and instigation efforts of al Qaeda and its allies around the world have affected young male Muslims in every part of the world, whether it's Europe, Southeast Asia, South America.

INGRAHAM: Somalia.

SCHEUER: Somalia. Algeria. Britain. We're crazy to think it's not going to happen here. And we're escalating one war at the moment.

That's going to radicalize more people. It's a threat for the future which -- which we don't want to talk about.

INGRAHAM: I should say that the Muslim community in Northern Virginia helped alert authorities to this problem. They've been working.

The mosque has been working with authorities to try to, you know, make sense of the story, and they're obviously concerned. Look what happens.

Someone in their -- you know, their mosque, not good for them.

SCHEUER: No, it's not. But parents and mosques across the world face the same problem. There are -- there are mosques that help the Pakistani government. There are mosques that help the British government.

But nonetheless, the impact of the incitement is still very significant.

And for us to think it can't happen in the United States because we're a melting pot...

INGRAHAM: It is happening. This idea that everyone's assimilating and that it's all -- all is good, because we're all here, no.

In fact, we see the Somalia-Americans in Minnesota -- Somalian-Americans going back to Africa, carrying out jihadist activities. And now this Pakistani story, it's actually stunning. It shouldn't be, but it's still stunning to me.

SCHEUER: It is, and we tend to forget that John Walker Lindh was probably one of the first to go over there.

INGRAHAM: Yes, the American Taliban.

SCHEUER: Yes. It's a problem for America and...

INGRAHAM: Is it a question of when we get hit again, not if, Michael? I mean, I know that's a very morose thing to say around the holidays. But...

SCHEUER: It's not a morose thing; it's just realism. We have not killed the enemy who attacked us. When General McChrystal said the threat to the United States is Usama bin Laden and al Qaeda, he spoke the truth. We don't kill them, they will certainly kill us.

INGRAHAM: But you kill Usama bin Laden, there are others who could perhaps replace him?

SCHEUER: No. Someone will replace him, but you killed a lot of them. You know, that's what the president didn't get.

INGRAHAM: And Dr. Scheuer, we always appreciate you. Don't mean to cut you off.

Still to come, Tiger Woods in crisis. With even more damning info emerging, is the golfer at the end of his career, is it at stake?

That's all coming up next.

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Haiti junta accused of abiding terrorists

PORT-AU-PRINCE Evidence is mounting that Haiti's militarygovernment, in a bid to hold on to power, deliberately failed tocontrol the gunmen's reign of terror that aborted Sunday's generalelection.

Analysts, witnesses, at least one government source and apresidential candidate have come to this conclusion after bands ofTonton Macoutes, the disbanded secret police of the ousted Duvalierregime, went on a rampage against voters that left 34 dead and 67injured.

Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council subsequently postponedthe first free elections in 30 years. The ruling National Council ofGovernment then announced it had dismissed the electoral council.

…

LOOKING BACK.(Capital Region)

On this date in...

1909: The Globe Hotel, a landmark at the corner of State and Pearl streets in Albany, changed hands, passing from the possession of Frank K. McLaughlin to J.E. Sollase of Crown Point and Charles Chapman of Albany.

1959: The Town of Colonie announced plans to construct a 2,100-foot blacktop sidewalk on the west side of Hackett Avenue in the fall. The lack of …

FROM U.S. TEEN TO TALIBAN FIGHTER.(MAIN)

Byline: RENE SANCHEZ Washington Post

LOS ANGELES -- Four years ago, a studious California teenager named John Philip Walker Lindh startled his middle-class Catholic parents by announcing that he was converting to Islam. A few days ago, he turned up on an Afghanistan battlefield as a bloodied Taliban fighter who called himself Abdul Hamid.

Bearded and bedraggled, with gunshot and grenade wounds, the 20-year-old told U.S. military officers and journalists that he had fought alongside the Taliban for months, until he and other fighters surrendered to Northern Alliance forces last week. He later identified himself to U.S. authorities as John Walker.

Two …

Alliance signed to study kinase drug targets.

2004 JAN 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cellular Genomics, Inc., (CGI), a chemical genetics-based biopharmaceutical company, announced that it has entered into a research collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company, under which CGI will apply its chemical genetics Analog Sensitive Kinase Allele (ASKA) technology to the study of kinase drug targets selected by Lilly.

"We are extremely pleased that Lilly has chosen to collaborate with CGI to further enhance their kinase drug discovery programs," said Louis Matis, president and CEO of CGI. "This marks the fifth collaboration we have established with a major pharmaceutical or biotechnology company based on our patented …

S. Korea to Resume Flood Aid to North

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea said Thursday it would resume emergency flood aid to North Korea that had been suspended after last year's nuclear test, the latest sign that Pyongyang's recent agreement on nuclear disarmament has warmed ties between the Koreas.

South Korea's Vice Unification Minister Shin Eon-sang said the aid that had been …

Lou: Top producers will play in outfield

Rookie Tyler Colvin was asked before the game Friday if he had heard anything more about the home-run ball a Turner Field employee tossed back to a fan Thursday night in Atlanta.

The Cubs outfielder pretended to dig around in his locker looking for it before offering only a big smile and a slight shrug.

No ball. And, more to the point, no reason to think twice about it. There figures to be a lot more where that came from.

Sure enough, he was back in the lineup Friday, giving center fielder Marlon Byrd a night off. He filled in for Alfonso Soriano in left on Thursday.

This is the outfield rotation manager Lou Piniella pledged to put in motion when the Cubs' …

HOME SCHOOLING PARENTS FIGHTING BACK.(Main)

GLEN -- The case of a Montgomery County couple charged with endangering the welfare of their four children for failing to file paperwork with the school district turned into a cause celebre nationally among home schoolers.

The parents are fighting back by retaining legal representation and defending the value of the education they say they provided for the past seven years, allegedly without proper curriculum documentation required by law.

The misdemeanor charges in the small, rural district were amplified when the popular online Drudge Report posted the story and it went viral on the Internet.

"I received more than 50 nasty e-mails from angry home schoolers all over the country, including ugly personal attacks against …