Rassumen Polls, "Core Opposition"

For or Against Presidential Candidates
McCain Has Less Core Opposition Than Clinton or Obama

Thirty-four percent (34%) of all voters say they will definitely vote for John McCain if he is on the ballot this November. Thirty-three percent (33%) will definitely vote against him while 29% say their support hinges on who his opponent is.

Barack Obama has the same number who will definitely vote for him--34%. But, more people are committed to voting against him than McCain. Forty-three percent (43%) say they will definitely reject him at the ballot box. For 18%, their support depends on his opponent.

For Hillary Clinton, 32% will definitely vote for her if she is on the ballot and 46% will definitely vote against. Core opposition to Clinton, the best-known of the candidates as the long campaign season began, hovered in the high 40s through most of the past year.

Thus, while the base of strong support has risen for both men in recent weeks, it's risen only slightly for Obama. On the other hand, core opposition to McCain, the least of any candidate's, is the same as in December; whereas strong opposition to Obama has jumped seven percentage points.

Rasmussen Markets data now shows McCain with a 94.6% chance to win the nomination and Huckabee has a 1.3% chance. On the Democratic side, the Markets give Obama a 82.4% chance to win the Democratic nomination while expectations for a Clinton victory are at 17.8%. Numbers in this paragraph are from a prediction market, not a poll. Using a trading format where traders "buy and sell" candidates, issues, and news features, the Rasmussen Markets harness competitive passions to provide a reliable leading indicator of upcoming events. We invite you to participate in the Rasmussen Markets. It costs nothing to join and add your voice to the collective wisdom of the market.

Just 22% of all voters offer unequivocal support for Mike Huckabee should he become the nominee, while 45% definitely oppose him.

For Ron Paul, 10% of all voters would definitely vote for him. Fifty-nine percent (59%) say it's No, no matter what.

Crash Test Video Sparks 4x4 Concerns.

The European body responsible for testing new cars has demanded a pick-up truck be recalled after it received one of the worst ever crash safety scores.
Euro NCap said the Nissan Navara's poor design made deaths and serious injuries more likely in an accident.

The tests showed its airbags opened too slowly and seatbelts did not provide enough protection during a collision.

But Nissan said the airbag problem was limited to 2008 models and invited owners to have settings changed.

The Nissan Navara scored just one star out of a possible five in the Euro NCAP test. The Isuzu D-Max pick-up truck also scored poorly, gaining only two stars.

BBC transport correspondent Tom Symonds said the Navara was marketed as a "rough and tough" off-road vehicle, which has become increasingly popular as a recreational motor.

He said the tests also found that the "body shell wasn't strong enough and the foot well deformed on impact putting the driver at risk of injuries from the foot pedals".

Euro Ncao is an independent body that crash tests cars on sale in Europe, and Nissan has asked it to publish test results for the modified Navara.

Pakistan Blocks YouTube Over Blasphemous Videos

It is assumed that this is the video which caused Pakistan to block youtube.

'Star Spangled Banner' Played In North Korea.

The New York Philharmonic Orchestra has performed the US national anthem at a concert in North Korea described as a remarkable show of cultural diplomacy.

San Jose Police to Use Sound Weapon

San Jose police have a new crime fighting tool.

You might want to hear about it, but you won’t want to hear it being used.

They’ll be using a dish-shaped, sonic weapon called a Long Range Acoustic Device — or L-RAD.

Police say it will be used mostly as a high-grade sound system to amplify a police officer’s order at great distances.

Police say it will be used mostly as a high-grade sound system to amplify a police officer’s order at great distances.

But it can also be used as another of the department’s “less-lethal” weapons.

The ear-splitting device is growing in popularity around the globe and has been used by soldiers to flush suspected terrorists out of caves in Afghanistan.

Please refer to the Video in the "reply to" section for more.

Top Terror Recruiter Found Guilty.

A man said to be one of the most important recruiters for Islamist extremism in the UK has been convicted at the end of a major trial.
Mohammed Hamid, 50, of east London, was found guilty of training men in secret camps in the Lake District and New Forest to prepare them to fight abroad.

Among those to have passed through Hamid's camps were the four failed suicide bombers of 21 July 2005.

All four of the men responsible for the failed bombings were friends of Hamid.

The conviction marks a major success for counter-terrorism policing with Hamid regarded as a key figure in extremist networks.

Police say Hamid played a crucial role in grooming young men for terrorism and possible training overseas.

Hamid's training came in the form of camping trips around the UK and late night talks in the living room of his home.

HAMID'S CO-ACCUSED

Clockwise from top-left:
Atilla Ahmet, 43: Guilty of soliciting to murder
Kibley Da Costa, 24: Guilty of attending terrorism training, providing training, holding terrorist articles
Kader Ahmed, 20: guilty of attending two training camps. Cleared on third charge
Mohammed Al-Figari, 42: Guilty of attending camps and holding terrorist articles
Unpictured:

Hassan Mutegombwa, 20: Seeking cash for terrorism overseas
Mohammed Kyriacou, 19: Admitted attending training camps
Yassin Mutegombwa, 23: Admitted attending training camps

Prosecutors said he sought to groom impressionable young men, a process that had only intensified after the July 2005 suicide bombings.

Hamid, 50, was found guilty of three counts of soliciting to murder and three counts of providing terrorism training. The jury at Woolwich Crown Court found him not guilty of providing weapons training at camps.

The jury cleared him of two further counts of soliciting to murder, relating to speeches, and a further charge of possessing terrorist articles.

Seven other men have been convicted in connection with his camps in a series of linked trials that have been under a partial reporting black-out.

Another man, Mousa Brown, was cleared of providing or receiving training.

During the trial, the jury heard that Hamid had close links to the leader of the 21/7 bombings, Muktar Ibrahim.

The lead bomber and four of his conspirators had joined one of Hamid's camps in the Lake District in the spring of 2004, the trial heard.

MOHAMMED HAMID

Born 1957, Tanzania, to Indian family
Grew up Batley, Yorkshire
Moved to London aged 12
Various manual jobs
Sent to borstal
Jailed for robbery
Two marriages, five children
Reformed crack addict
Found religion in 1990s


The radicaliser and the bombers

He and Hamid had also worked the same preaching stall in central London in 2004, leading to their arrest after a row with a police officer. Hamid told the arresting officer he was "Osama bin London" and armed with a bomb.

On the evening after the 7/7 suicide attacks Hamid had texted one of the men who would two weeks later try to blow himself up.

The trial heard that Hamid had been preaching for up to 12 years around London, including at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park, his east London home and in his Islamic bookshop.

An undercover police officer codenamed Dawood later infiltrated Hamid's gatherings and recorded him and Ahmet encouraging young Muslims to fight.

Hamid had denied radicalising young men and that he was not running a "drop-in club" for Al Qaeda. He said that while hundreds of young men had come into contact with him over the years, he was trying to offer them support because Muslims were vulnerable in the wake of 9/11.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke of the Metropolitan Police praised the jury for seeing through Hamid's jokey personality.

"If you want to judge how serious Hamid, Ahmet and the others were, you just have to look at the group," he said.

"The group included the people responsible for the attacks in London on 21 July 2005. You have to look at the fact that they celebrated the deaths that occurred on 7 July.

"And in fact what they were doing accelerated and intensified to try to mount attacks both here and overseas.

"You can only possibly conclude that these were serious determined terrorists."

Heroin Factory Destroyed By Troops.

British troops have found and destroyed a huge heroin factory in southern Afghanistan. Despite efforts to shut down the drugs operations, opium cultivation is still growing. Sky correspondent David Bowden was the only TV reporter to witness the operation.

The Golden Quran To Be Displayed In Russia's Tatarstan.

As Above.

Bodies Of 2 Boys Found In Well.

Elation at the rescue of a young boy from a disused well in southern Italy was short-lived as rescuers discovered the remains of two children who had broken his fall. There is no commentary on this clip, which shows forensics teams at the scene.

Convicted Ex-Officer Pleads For His Life.

Bobby Cutts,The former police officer convicted of killing his girlfriend and their unborn child,pleads for his life in an Ohio court.

US Iron Worker Wins $275 Million Lottery.

An iron worker has won a $275m (£140m) jackpot in the US state of Georgia - the largest single-player prize in the state lottery's history.
Robert Harris, 47, used the dates of his grandchildren's birthdays in two $1 tickets his wife bought in Portal, the small town where they live.

Having quit his job after his win, Mr Harris said he planned to "live happy".

He and his wife Tonya, 55, have opted to take $167m now rather than $275m over 26 years.

Tonya Harris said she almost did not enter the lottery because it was raining heavily on the day.

It is not going to change me at all. Him maybe, but not me - I'm too country

Tonya Harris

"I was headed home and it was raining like crazy, and I said, 'Nah, I'm not going back up there'. And then something just changed my mind. I said, 'I'll go play'."

Neither of them played the lottery very often, and neither watched the draw on Friday night as they did not believe they would win.

It was their daughter who alerted them to the win.

On Saturday, Mr Harris quit his job, telling reporters on Monday that it had been "very easy".

The couple, who live in a trailer, now plan to build themselves a house, buy a four-wheel drive and get their grandchildren "anything they want", including paying for their education.

However, Mrs Harris said that in the long run the money would not change them.

"I'll be back in jeans and a T-shirt tomorrow," she said. "It is not going to change me at all. Him maybe, but not me - I'm too country."