Obama Says Iowa Voters Are Beyond Race

Barack Obama says voters in Iowa, though relatively few are black like him, care little about that and much more about whether he'd be a president who would make their lives better.

"I am getting a fair hearing and I will get a fair hearing and I think we're going to win this place," Obama said Friday, campaigning for the Iowa caucuses that are now just eight weeks away.

"People are less concerned about race and much more concerned about, is this somebody who is going to be fighting for me," he said.

Obama is among the top tier of Democrats in polls in Iowa, along with Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards, and electability in …

MURRAY, HON. JOYCE, M.B.A. (New Westminster) Minister of Management Services.

Ed. at Simon Fraser Univ. (M.B.A.). Spouse: Dirk Brinkman. Three children. Political Career: First elected to the B.C. Leg. g.e. 2001. Min. of Water, Land and Air Protection, 2001-2004. Mem: Gov't Mem: Caucus Ctee on Cross Gov't Initiatives. Private Career: Partner and chair of the Bd. and Dir. of Planning and Quality, Brinkman & Associates Reforestation Limited. Party: B.C. Lib. Address: Leg. Office: Rm. 124, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C., V8V 1X4, (250)356-7332, Fax: (250)356-2960 Riding Office: 218 6th St., New Westminster, B.C., V3L 3A2, (604)775-2101, Fax: …

'An Army at the Crossroads'-A Counterview

During a November 2008 visit to the 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas, Army Chief of Staff GEN George W. Casey Jr. provided his perspective on the Army's frequent deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He said:

The Army is out of balance. We're deploying at a rate that we can't sustain . . . The only way to getting back in balance is increasing dwell time - the time a soldier spends back at home ... It's not just so they can spend more time with families, it's so they can recover themselves, and it's also [so] they can begin training to do other things ... If the Army continues at the pace it is deploying, while simultaneously increasing overall troop strength, then the dwell …

Boston moves 1 game from NBA finals with 106-102 victory over Detroit

Ray Allen found his shooting touch just in time to put the Boston Celtics within one win of the NBA finals for the first time since the original Big Three.

Allen scored 29, hitting a long 2-pointer after Detroit came within one point with a minute left, then he and Kevin Garnett each made a pair of free throws down the stretch as the Celtics beat the Detroit Pistons 106-102 on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Garnett scored 33 _ his most in the playoffs this year _ Kendrick Perkins had 18 points and 16 rebounds, and Rajon Rondo added seven points, 13 assists and six rebounds for Boston.

"We knew the …

ATP World Tour Schedule

(H-hard, C-clay, G-grass)

Jan. 3-10 _ Brisbane International, HO (Andy Roddick)

Jan. 4-9 _ Qatar ExxonMobil Open, HO (Nikolay Davydenko)

Jan. 4-10 _ Aircel Chennai Open, HO (Marin Cilic)

Jan. 11-16 _ Medibank International, HO (Marcus Baghdatis)

Jan. 11-16 _ Heineken Open, HO (John Isner)

Jan. 18-31 _ Australian Open, HO (Roger Federer)

Feb. 1-7 _ Movistar Open, CO (Thomaz Bellucci)

Feb. 1-7 _ PBZ Zabreb Indoors, HI (Marin Cilic)

Feb. 1-7 _ SA Tennis Open, HO (Feliciano Lopez)

Feb. 8-13 _ Brasil Open, CO (Juan Carlos Ferrero)

Feb. 8-14 _ ABN AMRO World Tennis …

`Naked Gun' Tiptoes Past Tiny Tim

Poor Tiny Tim. Here's a gentle soul who believes in tiptoeingthrough the tulips and that "Hollywood is the Shangri-La - thefairyland of the imagination" and he can't catch a damn break in thistown.

He was just rejected for the role of an old woman in ParamountPictures' sequel "The Naked Gun III: The Final Insult," after sendingthe studio a videotaped audition from his home in Des Moines, Iowa.

"They sent me a script, so I put a bonnet on my head and readthe part on video - I thought it was good, but they turned me down.They said they changed their mind and wanted a …

Obama says gay couples deserve same rights as all

NEW YORK (AP) — President Barack Obama praised New York state lawmakers who were debating landmark legislation Thursday to legalize gay marriage, saying that's what democracy's all about. But the president stopped short of embracing same-sex marriage himself.

"I believe that gay couples deserve the same legal rights as every other couple in this country," the president said at a fundraiser in Manhattan, his first geared specifically to the gay community. Coincidentally, the long-planned event occurred just as lawmakers in Albany were debating legislation that would make New York the sixth state to legalize gay marriage.

That served to spotlight the …

Germany preparing for new health care reform

Germany is preparing yet another reform of its once highly regarded compulsory health insurance system, which has experienced massive financial problems.

The government said Wednesday it established a new commission of eight ministers to draft a major revision of the system that covers 90 percent of Germany's roughly 82 million inhabitants.

Health Minister Philipp Roesler has said he wants to slowly part with the traditional system in which employees share rising health care cost with their employers. Instead, the insured are to pay premiums independent of their work situation with the government helping the poor.

"We have a clear mission to …

Power and passion

`Kurt Weill Cabaret Nights'

7 tonight-Saturday night

Storefront Theater,

66 W. Randolph

Tickets, $10

(312) 742-8497

Kurt Weill may be 100 years old, but the Storefront Theater, thenewest venue to join the Randolph Street theater district, is justgetting started. A centennial tribute to the German composer,featuring an eclectic roster of local performers, is christening theperforming arts venue this weekend.

"Kurt Weill Cabaret Nights" features actress-singer Jenny Magnusin excerpts from her critically acclaimed production "Lost/Stars," anexploration of the contrasts between songs from Weill's pre-World WarII European works ("The …

Russia against foreign interference in Syria

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev says that Moscow won't support any United Nations resolutions that would open the way for interference in Syria's internal affairs.

Medvedev said Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar Assad must be given a chance to fulfill his reform promises and warned against foreign interference in the country. Assad has faced a wave of public protests, and has …

Expo shows illegal pet trade rampant in Indonesia

The most threatened tortoise in the world is being sold openly at a plant and animal exposition in the heart of Indonesia's capital, highlighting concerns about the rampant _ and growing _ illegal pet trade.

The country has become a major trading hub for endangered tortoises and freshwater turtles, including species from Africa, South America and Asia, said Chris Shepherd of TRAFFIC, a British-based international wildlife monitoring network

While the government has passed legislation banning such illegal trade, dealers continue to blatantly sell endangered species without fear of arrest or prosecution, Shepherd said.

Those found Friday at Jakarta's …

Taking it slow: Female riverboat captain enjoys pace of her travels; Ordinary folks; Extraordinary Tales

When Robyn Strickland graduated from DuPont High School more than25 years ago, her mother offered her a recipe for success.

One-fourth patience plus one-fourth confidence plus one-half hardwork.

Indeed, the 43-year-old Strickland has had much success followingthat advice.

A year after she graduated, she became one of the first femalelock-and-dam operators in the state. Fifteen years later, she becameone of the first female riverboat captains in the state.

Strickland encountered harsh treatment and crude language from hermale counterparts after she shattered the glass ceilings in both ofthe male-dominated professions.

Additional advice from her …

BMW sales fall 18 pct in May from year earlier

German carmaker BMW AG said Monday it sold 109,042 vehicles in May, an 18 percent decline from the same period a year earlier, but noted that the sales trend was improving from previous months.

The Munich-based premium carmaker said its BMW brand sold 90,643 cars last month, down 18 percent from the 110,707 sold in May 2008.

The Mini brand saw sales fall 19 percent, to 18,348 cars from 22,685. Sales of the super-luxury Rolls-Royce brand declined 54 percent to 51 cars for the month, compared with 110 in May a year ago.

BMW's motorcycles division saw a 12 percent decline, to 10,172 motorcycles from 11,580.

"Sales decreased much more slowly in May than in recent months," Ian Robertson, a board member responsible for sales and marketing said in the company's report.

"Overall, I am cautiously optimistic that our global sales figures will continue to improve over the course of the year.

"We were able to increase our market share in the premium segment in major markets such as the U.S. and Japan over the previous month. That puts us right on track to maintain our position as the world's number one premium manufacturer in terms of sales volume in 2009," he said.

BMW said its BMW Z4, a new sports coupe on the market since May 9, has seen 2,365 deliveries worldwide. The 7 Series limousine, the company's biggest sedan, sold nearly 3,400 units in May _ a 1.5 percent increase. BMW sold 801 7 Series cars in the German home market, making it market leader in the luxury sedan segment. Meanwhile, the X6, an SUV-car crossover sold 3,625 units worldwide, a 109 percent improvement over May a year ago.

Palestinian leader undergoes angioplasty in Jordan

An aide says the Palestinian president has successfully undergone an angioplasty at a Jordanian hospital.

Spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh says Mahmoud Abbas underwent the procedure on Thursday and will return to the West Bank on Friday. He says a doctor recommended the procedure during a routine medical examination Thursday.

Abu Rdeneh spoke with The Associated Press from the Jordanian capital, Amman.

Abbas is Israel's negotiating partner in recently revived peace talks.

An angioplasty is a procedure to treat obstructed blood vessels, a cause of heart attack.

New Take on the Life of Ike's Chief of Staff

New Take on the Life of Ike's Chief of Staff Beetle: The Life of General Walter Bedell Smith. D.K.R. Crosswell University Press of Kentucky. 1,088 pages; black-and-white photographs; maps; index; $39.95.

General of the Army Dwight D. (Ike) Eisenhower considered his wartime chief of staff LTG Walter Bedell Smith indispensable to the Allied victory in Western Europe. Six decades after the war, however, "Beetle" Smith is largely unknown except by serious students of World War II. At long last, D.K.R. Crosswell fills the historical gap with what will likely prove to be the definitive biography of Ike's most trusted staff officer.

Beetle: The Life of General Walter Bedell Smith is not Crosswell's first effort to examine Smith's military and political career. As part of Greenwood Press' Contributions in Military Studies series, Crosswell produced a similar biography entitled The Chief of Staff in 1991. The notion of the same author writing a second biography is "unconventional," as Crosswell admits, but the publication of The Chief of Staff 'left Crosswell with "no sense of closure." Feeling that he did Smith an injustice by portraying him "as a one-dimensional S.O.B." - precisely the persona that Smith himself labored to project - Crosswell now depicts his subject as a necessary junior partner to Eisenhower as supreme commander.

Crosswell brings impressh'e credentials to his analysis of Smith's career. Dating to 1982 when he served as a researcher for Merle Miller in writing Ike the Soldier: As They Knew Him, Crosswell has "lived with" his subject for 28 years. The result of this association leads Crosswell to assign high marks for Smith's sagacity in maneuvering through the complicated bureaucracy of a multinational coalition commanded by a popular general. Aside from providing an account of Smith's career, in Beetle, Crosswell's purpose is twofold: to address controversial topics and "to make the connection between command decisions and the limitations imposed by logistics broadly defined."

Beetle's structure is admittedly "unorthodox" in that Crosswell begins his biography with Smith's postwar career serving two Presidents: as ambassador to the Soviet Union and later director of the Central Intelligence Agency under President Harry S Truman; and as under secretary of state and government advisor during the Eisenhower administration. Crosswell's decision to begin with Smith's postwar career, before examining Smith's career in the Army of the "Long Generation," 1917-1939, is the complete reversal of Crosswell's earlier The Chief of Staff. Crosswell leaves the efficacy of such an approach to the reader.

Two aspects of this excellent biography merit special attention. Crosswell's description of the Army's emphasis on institutionalized professional education during the interwar period and Smith's relationship with Army Chief of Staff GEN George C. Marshall shed new light on what constituted a "Marshall man." Once an officer received an appointment to Marshall's headquarters, he rose or fell depending on his performance against the Chief of Staff's exacting and preconceived standards. Smith's unique career pattern, which included service as aide, adjutant and assistant chief of staff under an officer whom Marshall held in high regard; his tour in Washington with the Bureau of the Budget; graduation from the Infantry School, Command and General Staff School and the Army War College; and the recommendation of then-LTC Omar Bradley qualified Smith as the ideal candidate for Marshall's staff secretariat.

As with his later service on Eisenhower's staff, Beetle proved an efficient administrator who shielded his boss from unnecessary interruption and mundane affairs. Smith quickly proved indispensable to Marshall by adeptly handling Marshall's relationships with President Franklin Roosevelt's longtime military aide and secretary MG Edwin "Pa" Watson and with industrialist Bernard Baruch. In the process, Smith emerged as Marshall's principal apprentice and troubleshooter. Newly appointed BG Eisenhower quickly recognized Smith's ability when he joined the War Department's General Staff in December 1941 and requested Smith's services immediately upon his own appointment as commander of the European Theater of Operations in June 1942. Eisenhower deemed Smith "exceptionally qualified for service as chief of staff" in Allied Forces Headquarters and later in Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF).

Any chief of staff performs the function and the role designated by the commander, and the Eisenhower-Smith "partnership" proved no exception. Crosswell's decades-long fascination with Smith leads him to conclude that Smith "was much more than advertised, and his boss, Eisenhower, considerably less." The supreme commander who emerges from these pages is not only an indecisive leader who "proved decisive only when the decision was not to do something," but also a general who routinely "failed to confront the perpetual problems historically faced by the U.S. Army in war: manpower, supply of forces in the field and civil affairs." if the reader accepts Crosswell's interpretation of events, one ponders how the Western Allies succeeded with Eisenhower at the helm. History, as well as this reviewer, believes otherwise.

In celebrating Smith at Eisenhower's expense, Crosswell falls into the familiar trap of many authors who feel that the road to victory is so narrow that no two individuals, to say nothing of America's allies and a host of others, can walk abreast. That Smith proved an inspirational choice as Ike's chief of staff throughout the war is undeniable. So, too, is the fact that SHAEF's chief of staff made important recommendations, but not the command decisions that proved decisive in winning the European war.

In short, Crosswell has written the most comprehensive biography of this largely unheralded staff officer to date. Crosswell's "epilogue as prologue" expertly chronicles Smith's frustrating post-World War II career that was equally distinguished as his wartime achievement. When Smith died in 1961, Eisenhower served as an honorary pallbearer. As befitting the Eisenhower-Smith relationship, Ike gets the last word. Quoting French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, who had assured Eisenhower that his "place in military history was secure since the only requisite for an enduring spot in the history of battles was wisdom in selecting a chief of staff," Eisenhower remarked, "No one in World War ? was quite as wise, or at least as fortunate, as I in this regard. And of this circumstance, I would of course be forever the beneficiary."

[Sidebar]

Ike's generals: (Front row, from left) Carl Spaatz. General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley and Courtney H. Hodges: (rear) Hoyt S. Vandenberg, then-LTG Walter Bedell Smith and Otto P Weyland.

[Author Affiliation]

By COL Cole C. Kingseed

U.S. Army retired

[Author Affiliation]

COL Cole C. Kingseed, USA Ret., Ph.D., a former professor of history at the U.S. Military Academy, is a writer and consultant.

Mulkey feeling better after recent health scare

Baylor coach Kim Mulkey says she's feeling better after recent surgery to remove a kidney stone.

Mulkey missed the Bears' NCAA tournament opener after being hospitalized with a reported reaction to medication. Mulkey said Friday that she went to the hospital because she noticed she was taking deeper breaths than usual.

Blood work indicated what she called "major issues," leading to worries about anything from ovarian cancer to sepsis, an infection in the bloodstream.

Mulkey says she was "scared to death," but further testing shows she is improving.

Second-seeded Baylor faces Louisville in a Raleigh Regional semifinal Saturday.

Meyer Edson

Meyer Edson, 94, retired owner of a dry goods store, died Fridayin Weiss Memorial Hospital.

Mr. Edson, of the North Side, was born in Poland and came toChicago as an adult. He owned and operated the old M & M DepartmentStore, a dry goods business, from 1937 to 1964 in Gary, Ind. He was amember of Congregation B'nai Zion.

Survivors include two daughters, Dorothy Nurenberg and JeanSolomon, and a son, Maynard.

Services will be at noon Monday at Wein-stein Brothers Chapel,1300 W. Devon. Burial will be in Shalom Memorial Park, Palatine.

Romanian official accuses party of demanding bribe

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania's parliament speaker has accused the main opposition party of seeking a bribe for votes on a pension law demanded by the International Monetary Fund.

Roberta Anastase claimed Tuesday that lawmakers from the Social Democracy Party demanded millions of euros (dollars) in exchange for passing a law to raise the retirement age and cut pensions.

Social Democracy leader Victor Ponta denied the allegations.

In the end, opposition lawmakers did not attend the voting session Wednesday.

Both Ponta's party and journalists have accused Anastase's governing Democratic Liberal Party of rigging the successful vote on the pension law by inflating the number of lawmakers who were in parliament that day to get the legislation passed.

Gore says Hillary Rodham Clinton's run helped changed society's perception of women

Al Gore said Sunday that Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign for the White House helped change society's perception of women.

But the former vice president, who has endorsed Barack Obama, demurred when asked whether the New York senator was treated unfairly during the campaign because of her gender.

"I think that women often face these kinds of challenges, of course, in our society," Gore said in a broadcast interview.

"But I think that she did an amazing job in changing that, as I think Senator Obama and Bill Richardson, where Hispanics are concerned, also made it possible for our country to move on into the 21st century and say, `Wait a minute, these old things that held us down in the past, we're now within sight of a time when we can move beyond that,'" Gore said.

Obama defeated Clinton for the Democratic nomination in a matchup that featured a black man against a woman. Obama clinched the nomination in June, becoming the first black candidate to represent a major party in the race for the presidency.

Some of Clinton's supporters complained that she was the victim of sexism, particularly in the media.

Richardson, who the Hispanic governor of New Mexico, also ran for the nomination, though he dropped out early in the race. He has since endorsed Obama and campaigned for him.

Clinton has pledged to campaign for Obama, though their relationship remains the subject of much speculation. Some Clinton supporters, whom Obama will need to win in the fall, have called for Obama to tap Clinton as his running mate.

Obama, however, has been mum about the process of choosing a vice presidential candidate.

Gore served eight years as Bill Clinton's vice president. He said Sunday that he considers the Clintons to be good friends, though he said he has not spoken with either of them in several months.

Gore appeared on "Meet the Press" on NBC.

School faces big bill after floods

A Primary school has had to close a classroom after a pipe burstdue to extremely low temperatures.

Parts of Cheadle Primary School were damaged after a frozen pipein the ceiling burst, causing widespread water damage.

The leak was discovered when the school reopened after theChristmas break.

A Year Four class has been temporarily moved to the ICT room, butheadteacher Mike Prescott said staff were endeavouring to keep theschool running as smoothly as possible. He said: "The leak hasdamaged the main office, the entrance hall and one classroom but weare still able to operate as usual."

The school, in The Avenue, is not sure how much the damage willcost to repair, but Mr Prescott admitted it could be thousands ofpounds.

Mr Prescott is pictured with pupils, from left, Faser Bradbury,Beth Tinsley, Jade Carter and Tommy Cheadle.

Picture by Mark Scott

Giant renews arena name rights

Giant Food Stores has signed a 10-year contract to maintain the naming rights for Giant Center arena, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Co. announced May 24.

Neither company would disclose financial terms of the contract.

The center is owned by the Derry Township Industrial and Commercial Development Authority, but managed by Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Co.

Since it opened on Oct. 15, 2002, with a performance by Cher, Giant Center has hosted more than 1,300 events and has entertained about 7 million guests, the company said.

Home to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, the main arena is 306,000 square feet. There is 17,000 square feet on the floor and the capacity for an 85-by-200-foot ice rink.

Giant Center has a seating capacity of 11,500 for in-the-round concerts and 10,500 for events on the ice.

-Jason Scott

Steele offers findings of transition team, state of the county

She's only serving a four-month term, but Cook County President Bobbie Steele is trying to establish transparency and effectiveness in county government - and hopes her successor will continue her efforts.

Thursday, Steele (D-2nd) announced the recommendations of her 60-member transition team, led by state Senator Rickey Hendon (D-5th) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-9th).

"We found some things were going in the right direction and there are some things we are going to have to adjust," Hendon said.

When Steele took office last month, the county was already facing a $60 million budget deficit at the Bureau of Health Service, which makes up about 40 percent of the county's budget, but said she expects the total deficit for the past two fiscal years to be "staggering."

"Cook County's financial picture is a less than rosy situation. It's clear we will incur another huge deficit," Steele said. "This did not happen overnight and we're not going to turn it around in a matter of months. But it is fbcable."

To mend a $400,000 budget deficit, Steele said county departments will have to cut their budgets by about 10 percent and suggested department heads eliminate funding some of "warm, fuzzy" programs to help close the gap.

Steele said she plans to present the 2007 budget before she leaves the president's office in December.

"I'm going to do what I can, but I can't come up with $400 million overnight," Steele said.

Commissioner Tony Peraica (R-16th), who is running for county board president against former President John Stroger's son, Aid. Todd Stroger (8th), said the board should be working to reestablish the public's trust.

"I think we know where the problem is. We need to live within our means," Peraica said.

The transition team outlined some short-term corrective action to eliminate waste in county government. Steele said she plans to establish a "transition advisory council" to facilitate the changes.

While budget cuts are expected throughout county government, in the health department the transition team found a number of operational deficiencies, "untapped" opportunities to increase revenue, including the establishment of a regional health care system to share the financial burden with surrounding counties that often send patients here, Steele said.

In other departments, Steele said the hiring freeze she ordered last month will save $20 million from the 2006 budget, the reorganization of the Public Safety department, as well as the human resources and public relations departments will shave $4 million from the 2007 budget. Eliminating unnecessary supervisory positions will save another $2 million, she said.

"I'm looking at the elimination of non-performing employees in all departments which will also result in significant savings to the taxpayers," Steele said.

The full report to include the results of an employee survey will be released in about a month, Steele said.

The county board was pleased with Steele's progress just weeks after taking office. Commissioner Peter Silvestri (R9th) said he liked the new level of "inclusion" in the president's office.

"You've already shown that a lot can be done in a short period of time," Silvestri said.

Commissioner Joan Patricia Murphy (D-6th) said she had never seen county business move so quickly.

"And I'm happy to see it took a woman to do it," Murphy said.

[Author Affiliation]

by Mema Ayi

Defender Staff Writer

Fisk rocks A's // Sox trim lead; bid for sweep

WHITE SOX 4 ATHLETICS 1

Baseball is a game of numbers and inches.

The numbers are these: The White Sox' 4-1 victory over OaklandTuesday night moved them to within 4 1/2 games of the AL Westleaders. And it was their fifth victory in a row over the defendingworld champions.

"I can't explain it," Sox manager Jeff Torborg said. "I can justenjoy it. But if you get down to the obvious, we've gotten prettygood starting pitching in every one."

The numbers are these: In the last five games against Oakland,Sox starters have allowed four earned runs in 39 innings, an amazingERA of 0.92.

The inches are these: Four, which is how far Carlton Fiskfigures his three-run, pinch-hit, seventh-inning double was fair.

"It could have been a double play," Fisk said. "It happened to befair by four inches. It's a game of inches."

And a game of numbers. With a victory tonight, the Sox willhave their second consecutive three-game sweep over Oakland.

"We've got our work cut out for us," Torborg said of facing20-game winner Bob Welch. "But it's certainly good to beat the teamahead of you."

"It's always important to beat the team ahead of you in thestandings, and they definitely are ahead of us," Fisk said. "We haveto approach (tonight) like we do every game: Dig in the dirt andgrind it out."

There wasn't a whole bunch of dry dirt around Comiskey onTuesday. Two days of steady rain kept the crowd to only 31,172.

"I might put a hose on it myself (tonight)," Torborg joked.

It's no joke what the Sox have done to the Athletics.

Their winning rally started off Mike Moore (10-12), who hadallowed only two hits through the first six innings.

But in the seventh, Dan Pasqua led off with a double and was runfor by Phil Bradley. Frank Thomas, who earlier doubled to give himhits in 18 of his 21 big league games, and Ron Karkovice walked.That ended Moore's night, with left-hander Rick Honeycutt relieving.

Fisk, only 1-for-7 as a pinch hitter, batted for Craig Grebeckand skipped a double over third base, scoring all three runners.

Pinch runner Steve Lyons then scored on Ozzie Guillen's squeezebunt.

The flurry of runs made a winner of lefty Greg Hibbard, startingon three days of rest.

Hibbard (10-7) allowed only one unearned run in the firstinning, giving him 15 consecutive innings without an earned run. Forthe night, he gave up seven hits in his seven innings and took hisERA back below 3.00, winning for only the second time in his last sixgames.

Barry Jones pitched one perfect inning, including outs on JoseCanseco and Mark McGwire, and Bobby Thigpen pitched the ninth for hisbaseball-high 41st save.

It was the second straight strong performance by Sox startersagainst Oakland (Jack McDowell pitching a complete game the nightbefore). The three games in Oakland were started by Eric King (noruns in nine innings), McDowell (three runs in six innings) andtonight's starter Melido Perez (no runs in eight innings).

"I can't say enough about the starting pitching; it really setsthe tone," Torborg said. "Hibbard was really outstanding."

Hibbard's scariest moment came in the fifth inning with Cansecoat bat with two outs and two runners on base. Canseco slugged a ballto left field that went in the upper deck - but just foul.

A game of inches.

"I heard he was waving it fair," Hibbard said with a smile. "Iwas waving it foul, he was waving it fair. I think I won thebattle."

And so have the Sox against Oakland. They have closed threegames on the leaders in the last three days, Oakland losing three ina row for the first time since July 4-6.

"I don't think we've been in a bad position," said Fisk, whowill be honored before tonight's game for his record-setting home runas a catcher. "We've hit a few flat spots where we haven't firedright, but over the course of the season we've done pretty well."

Sweden's SEB bank to raise $1.8B; 4Q profits fall

Swedish bank SEB AB on Thursday said profits fell nearly 7 percent amid the financial turmoil in the fourth quarter and announced plans to raise 15 billion kronor ($1.8 billion) in cash from shareholders.

The bank said net profit in the last three months of 2008 was 3.5 billion kronor, down from 3.75 billion kronor in the same period a year earlier. Net interest income, its main source of revenue, rose to 5.5 billion kronor, from 4.4 billion kronor.

SEB said "deteriorated economic conditions resulted in increased provisioning, particularly in the Baltic countries."

The bank, which is the core holding of Sweden's powerful Wallenberg family, released its fourth-quarter earnings a week ahead of schedule after rumors of the rights issue had leaked to the Swedish media.

The cash injection was needed "to meet the challenging macro-economic conditions," Chief Executive Annika Falkengren said.

"The rapid development of events and increased uncertainty has created substantial challenges for the organization," she said.

Protests over far-right leader on BBC TV program

Anti-fascist protesters rallied outside the BBC's west London studios on Thursday ahead of a white-supremacist party leader's appearance on a leading political debate show.

British National Party chief Nick Griffin is scheduled to be a panelist on the TV program "Question Time" _ a first for the far-right party. Justice Secretary Jack Straw, a senior member of the governing Labour Party Cabinet, is due to appear on Thursday's show alongside Griffin.

Many politicians have condemned the invitation to Griffin, but the BBC says that as a publicly funded broadcaster it must cover all political parties that have a national presence.

The whites-only BNP opposes immigration and claims to fight for "indigenous" Britons. Griffin has a conviction for racial hatred and has denied the Holocaust in the past.

The party has tried to shed its thuggish image and enter the political mainstream. Earlier this year it won two European Union parliament seats, gaining 6 percent of British votes in European polls. It has no seats in the British Parliament.

The invitation to appear in front of several million TV viewers has divided Britain, but delighted the BNP, which is counting down the seconds until the broadcast on its Web site.

It has sparked a debate between free-speech advocates and those who say giving Griffin a platform lends legitimacy to unacceptable views and could provoke racist violence.

Several dozen demonstrators handed leaflets to staff outside BBC Television Center Thursday. Campaigners said they expected hundreds more to show up later when the show was being recorded.

Griffin said he expected a hostile reception, but had a right to be heard, and insisted his views had been misrepresented.

"If these people would only let us say what we want to say and then argue with what we've actually got to say instead of creating monsters and then being wound up about the monsters, everyone would get on far better," Griffin said.

The head of the Muslim Council of Britain, Muhammad Abdul Bari, said "allowing the BNP to air its toxic views will increase Islamophobia and give the BNP aura of respectability needed to spread their message of hate."

Labour lawmaker Andy Slaughter, who joined the protest outside BBC Television Center, called the invitation to Griffin irresponsible.

"Cutting through the dinner party conversation about freedom of speech, the practical impact it is going to have on Muslim, black and Asian communities is reason enough not to give the BNP a platform," he said.

But Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Griffin's appearance would expose the party's "racist and bigoted" views.

He told radio station Real Radio that the invitation to Griffin "was a decision of the BBC. We are not trying to interfere with the decision of the BBC."

The BBC is wary of government interference in its political coverage. In the 1980s, the Conservative government banned radio and TV appearances by members of the IRA-linked Sinn Fein party. The broadcaster hired actors to read their words instead.

BBC Director General Mark Thompson said excluding Griffin would amount to censorship.

Writing in The Guardian newspaper on Thursday, Thompson said the BNP "has demonstrated a level of support that would normally lead to an occasional invitation to join the panel on 'Question Time.'"

"It's very dangerous," Hain said. "Once you treat them as equal amongst the others they gain ground, we saw that in Nazi Germany."

___

Associated Press Writers Rachel Leamon, Martin Benedyk and David Stringer contributed to this report.

Younger Patriots hope to find leader as camp opens

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The New England Patriots faltered badly late last season without four veteran leaders who were gone before the opener.

They faded at the end of games, gave up long plays and got whipped in the first round of the playoffs.

So it's a positive development that all 12 draft picks signed before the start of training camp on Thursday. That's 12 more youngsters for coach Bill Belichick to look at as he tries to replace players who helped win Super Bowl championships.

The Patriots have just three players left from the team that won three titles starting in 2002 — Tom Brady, Kevin Faulk and Matt Light. Only 17 remain who played in the 2008 Super Bowl, a 17-14 loss to the New York Giants.

Before last season, linebacker Tedy Bruschi and safety Rodney Harrison retired while linebacker Mike Vrabel and defensive end Richard Seymour were traded. That left a huge leadership void that persisted throughout the season. They won the AFC East but finished at 10-6 after blowing a 14-point fourth-quarter lead to Houston in a 34-27 loss in the finale.

After the 33-14 playoff rout by the Baltimore Ravens, Belichick said, "The rookie players learn a lot every week. ... The second time around, hopefully, it will be an improvement for everybody."

Rookies Julian Edelman, Patrick Chung, Darius Butler, Sebastian Vollmer and Myron Pryor all played quite a bit. Safety Brandon Meriweather, a first-round pick in 2007, had a strong season. Linebacker Jerod Mayo, a first-rounder in 2008, played well although not as well as when he was named defensive rookie of the year by The Associated Press.

But none of those young players has emerged as the leader the Patriots need.

In May, Brady said the Patriots lacked confidence and mental toughness. Improving that, he said then, has "been a big point of emphasis this offseason."

Brady, hampered by finger and rib injuries, threw for fewer than 200 yards in four of his last five games. But he is nearly two years removed from the knee injury that ended his 2008 season in the first game and remains the team leader. He is signed for just one more season. Negotiations for a contract extension have been held without resolution.

A more immediate problem is two-time Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins, a restricted free agent who has said he wants to be traded. Upset with negotiations, he skipped the team's minicamp last month, although he wasn't required to attend because he is unsigned. There was no indication that he would show up for Thursday's first practice.

The news about Wes Welker is much better.

The NFL's most productive wide receiver over the last three seasons with 346 catches has made a strong recovery from surgery in February for a torn ligament in his left knee. He is on the active physically unable to perform list but could be taken off it at any time. There seems to be a good chance of that happening soon since Welker participated in agility drills and caught passes while wearing a brace on his knee during organized team activities on June 2.

If he's ready for the opener on Sept. 12 against Cincinnati, the Patriots would have two of the NFL's best receivers — Welker and Randy Moss — to go against Bengals wide receivers Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens. The Patriots also signed Torry Holt, a durable, productive receiver.

But they did nothing to shore up their mediocre running game. And they won't have tight end Benjamin Watson, who spent the last six years with them, or defensive end Jarvis Green, gone after seven seasons. Both left as free agents.

That left New England thin at both positions. At tight end, they signed veteran Alge Crumpler and drafted Rob Gronkowski in the second round and Aaron Hernandez in the fourth. On the defensive line, they chose Jermaine Cunningham in the second round and added several free agent veterans.

Starting on Thursday, all will begin the intense process of two practices most days as they try to add their talents to a team looking to rebound from a disappointing season.