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Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said today that while America ''didn't want'' Abdelbaset al-Megrahi to be released, they would rather see him freed on account of his terminal cancer, than under the prisoner transfer agreement between the UK and Libya

Anyone here in the Boston area? I just got transferred to this center of loony leftist liberalism and am in desperate need of links with reality. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Five former student activists arrested on charges of spying for North Korea delivered at least 46 encrypted reports to the North containing highly confidential information about the ruling-party leadership, military and civic organizations, investigators said Sunday. Reports by the alleged spymaster of the group known as Ilsimhoe, Chang Min-ho (44), deal with presidential hopefuls of the opposition Grand National Party and the operation plans of North Korean spies here. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) suspects that North Korea is trying to influence the presidential election next year and is investigating what concrete instructions Pyongyang gave its spies here and its...

The chief presidential secretary for security Song Min-soon on Wednesday said South Korea would be the greatest victim in a war on the peninsula due to the "absurdity" of the security structure. The U.S., on the other hand, "has fought more wars than any other nation in the history of its establishment and survival,” Song said. The presidential aide made the remark at a forum titled “The 21st Century Northeast Asia Future Forum”, organized by the JoongAng Ilbo and the Hyundai Research Institute, when asked how to resolve the difference between Seoul’s focus on preventing war and Washington’s on deterring...

A senior aide to President Roh Moo-hyun said, “North Korean missile launches were not targeted at anyone. So, it is just a political issue not a national security crisis.” People are dumfounded at this remark, reflecting the president’s opinion, made by the senior presidential secretary for public information. The remarks, posted Saturday on the Chong Wa Dae Web site, were part of the government’s response to the outpouring of criticism in the media, accusing the government of an inadequate response to the missile launch.

Bush on Chirac: 'I'm looking for a good cowboy' /// During a meeting with French President Jacques Chirac in Brussels, Bush was asked by reporter whether he would invite the Frenchman to his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Bush, who only invites his favorite world leaders to the ranch, smiled and said: 'I'm looking for a good cowboy'...

Good morning all: Anyone else from Ventura County and/or CA in general, planning to attend the 2005 Inauguration? I'm a recent transplant from Newport Beach and I'd like to get together with folks up here in Thousand Oaks/Ventura County who are planning to party in DC come Jan 20, 2005. If anyone is interested in making some plans to go as a group, please give me a holler. Thanks, Medscribe

Bad news that became good news: Drudge posted a "Kerry's up in early exit poll data," and then we discover the "sample" for those numbers was 59-41% female/male. Which means that Bush is up in early exit polling when you factor in the huge male gender gap. But what it really means is that these are nonsense numbers. What's not nonsense: Jeb's organization is running very smoothly and will continue to do so until the Panhandle precincts shut down. It is neck and neck in Ohio and Wisconsin, but Bush seems comfortably ahead in Iowa. I just called my nephew...

Dow closed above 10K at 10,002. The 2nd day in a row of a triple digit gain.

AP/Ipsos Poll Released The Ipsos site finally produced that October 6 poll. I see problems with their conclusions, but want to look deeper. I do think it’s very interesting, to see that this poll claims that 6% of Republicans would vote for Kerry (2% above average from other polls), but only 4% of Democrats would vote for Bush (6% below average from other polls). This poll claims Bush gets only 28% of the Independent vote (versus 44% in the average from other polls), while Kerry claims 56% of Independents (versus 45% in the average from other polls). I also note,...

GALLUP [Rich Lowry] I'm hearing that the new Gallup number is going to have Bush up BIG.

"I am running for president with a clear and positive plan to build a safer world and a more hopeful America. I am running with a compassionate conservative philosophy: that government should help people improve their lives, not try to run their lives. I believe this nation wants steady, consistent, principled leadership and that is why, with your help, we will win this election." "So we have fought the terrorists across the earth not for pride, not for power, but because the lives of our citizens are at stake. Our strategy is clear. We have tripled our funding for homeland...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Controversial book "Unfit for Command," which fires an election-year salvo at Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's war record, has claimed one unintended victim -- bookstore chain Barnes & Noble Inc . Barnes & Noble, the world's largest bookseller, on Monday issued a statement saying it had sold out of the book and, in effect, held up its hands in surrender to what it called "thousands of complaints" from both supporters and detractors of the book. Supporters, Barnes & Noble said, are claiming the bookseller has intentionally not stocked the title or is hiding it, while detractors...

I was at the Westlake Village Barnes & Noble yesterday and true to form, the store was packed with anti-Bush books galore. I felt like I was walking into the DNC, not a bookstore. They didn't have Unfit for Command and they didn't know when any additional stock would arrive. Anyway, they had a display about Current Affairs/Politics on the first floor next to the Information Desk that had every conceivable "Bush is evil" book on the table. There was also a note about an appearance on August 23rd by Robert Scheer, co-author of The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told...

South Korea's Olympic delegation has filed an official protest with the FIG (International Federation of Gymnastics) regarding bronze medallist Yang Tae-young's score in the parallel bars during the men's individual all-around final, the Korea Gymnastic Association (KGA) said Friday. Following a report by International Gymnast Magazine on Thursday, the KGA confirmed the filing but added that it doesn't expect the decision will be repealed. Even though it was the last routine of the high bar that decided the color of Yang's medal, the protest concerned the scoring for his parallel bars routine, his fifth. The Korean delegation sent the FIG...

Unfavorable Scoring Denies Gymnasts Landing on the mat with a thud finishing his last routine on the high bar, Yang Tae-young clenched his fist signaling his confidence of becoming the first-ever South Korean gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal. Yang, ranked first after five routines, was waiting for his score but when the scoreboard flashed 9.475, lower than his expectation to put him behind teammate Kim Dae-eun, his face went rigid. To make matters worse Paul Hamm of the United States, the reigning world champion, displayed his ambitious routine right after Yang and earned a score of 9.837. Hamm’s...

Rep. Chung Eui-yong of the ruling Uri Party said Friday the Republican Party of the United States needs to change its traditional practice of inviting only conservative party members to its national convention to be held in New York later this month. ``The tradition of inviting only conservatives is damaging the image of the Grand Old Party (GOP) especially at the present time when the Washington government¡¯s unilateral behavior is causing so many misunderstandings around the globe,¡¯¡¯ Chung, chairman of the ruling party¡¯s international relations committee, told The Korea Times. In South Korea, the opposition Grand National Party, the archrival...

Court Won't Block Texas Redistrict Plan 18 minutes ago By GINA HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court refused Friday to block a hard-fought Republican redistricting plan in Texas that could cost Democrats as many as six seats in Congress. The justices will announce later this year whether they will consider an appeal from congressional Democrats and others who claim the map dilutes minority voting strength. In the meantime, they rejected an emergency appeal that sought to stop the state from using the new boundaries in this year's elections. The districts were approved by the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature...

AP Source: Clemens shuns retirement to join Astros By RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer January 12, 2004 Roger Clemens is pushing back his retirement, agreeing to a one-year contract with the Houston Astros, a baseball source told The Associated Press on Monday. The six-time Cy Young Award winner had said for more than a year that he planned to quit after pitching last season for the New York Yankees. But he was persuaded to join the Astros, his hometown team, after close friend and former Yankees teammate Andy Pettitte signed with Houston last month. The Astros called a news conference...

Market Summary Dow 10,450.00 +125.33 (+1.21%) Nasdaq 2,006.48 +33.34 (+1.69%) S&P 500 1,109.47 +13.59 (+1.24%) 10-Yr Bond 4.230% +0.082 NYSE Volume 1,055,605,000 Nasdaq Volume 1,389,464,000