Obama's Activities is Different from Bush

Obama reverses Bush abortion-funds policy

By MATTHEW LEE and LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writers Matthew Lee And Liz Sidoti, Associated Press Writers –
1 hr 13 mins ago

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WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Friday struck down the Bush administration's ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide abortion information — an inflammatory policy that has bounced in and out of law for the past quarter-century.

Obama's move, the latest in an aggressive first week reversing contentious Bush policies, was warmly welcomed by liberal groups and denounced by abortion rights foes.

The ban has been a political football between Democratic and Republican administrations since GOP President Ronald Reagan first adopted it 1984. Democrat Bill Clinton ended the ban in 1993, but Republican George W. Bush re-instituted it in 2001 as one of his first acts in office.

"For too long, international family planning assistance has been used as a political wedge issue, the subject of a back and forth debate that has served only to divide us," Obama said in a statement released by the White House. "I have no desire to continue this stale and fruitless debate." Watch Photo

He said the ban was unnecessarily broad and undermined family planning in developing countries.

"In the coming weeks, my administration will initiate a fresh conversation on family planning, working to find areas of common ground to best meet the needs of women and families at home and around the world," the president said.

Obama issued the presidential memorandum rescinding the Bush policy without coverage by the media, late Friday afternoon. The abortion measure is a highly emotional one for many people, and the quiet signing was in contrast to the televised coverage of Obama's announcement Wednesday on ethics rules and Thursday's signing of orders on closing the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and banning torture in the questioning of terror suspects.

His action came one day after the 36th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion.

The Bush policy had banned U.S. taxpayer money, usually in the form of Agency for International Development funds, from going to international family planning groups that either offer abortions or provide information, counseling or referrals about abortion as a family planning method.

Critics have long held that the rule unfairly discriminates against the world's poor by denying U.S. aid to groups that may be involved in abortion but also work on other aspects of reproductive health care and HIV/AIDS, leading to the closure of free and low-cost rural clinics.

Supporters of the ban say that the United States still provides millions of dollars in family planning assistance around the world and that the rule prevents anti-abortion taxpayers from backing something they believe is morally wrong.

The ban has been known as the "Mexico City policy" for the city a U.S. delegation first announced it at a U.N. International Conference on Population.

Both Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who will oversee foreign aid, had promised to do away with the rule during the presidential campaign.

Clinton said Friday evening that for seven years Bush's policy made it more difficult for women around the world to gain access to essential information and health care services. "Rather than limiting women's ability to receive reproductive health services, we should be supporting programs that help women and their partners make decisions to ensure their health and the health of their families," Clinton said.

In a related move, Obama also said he would restore funding to the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA). Both he and Clinton had pledged to reverse a Bush administration determination that assistance to the organization violated U.S. law known as the Kemp-Kasten amendment.

Obama, in his statement, said he looked forward to working with Congress to fulfill that promise: "By resuming funding to UNFPA, the U.S. will be joining 180 other donor nations working collaboratively to reduce poverty, improve the health of women and children, prevent HIV/AIDS and provide family planning assistance to women in 154 countries."

Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, executive director of the U.N. Population Fund, said: "The president's actions send a strong message about his leadership and his desire to support causes that will promote peace and dignity, equality for women and girls and economic development in the poorest regions of the world."

"We are confident that under the new president's direction, the U.S. will resume its leadership in promoting and protecting women's reproductive health and rights worldwide," Obaid said in a statement issued at U.N. headquarters in New York.

The Bush administration had barred U.S. money from the fund, contending that its work in China supported a Chinese family planning policy of coercive abortion and involuntary sterilization. UNFPA has vehemently denied that it does.

Congress had appropriated $40 million to the UNFPA in the past budget year, but the administration had withheld the money as it had done every year since 2002.

Organizations and lawmakers that had pressed Obama to rescind the Mexico City policy were jubilant.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the move "will help save lives and empower the poorest women and families to improve their quality of life and their future."

"Today's announcement is a very powerful signal to our neighbors around the world that the United States is once again back in the business of good public policy and ideology no longer blunts our ability to save lives around the globe," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Population Action International, an advocacy group, said that the policy had "severely impacted" women's health and that the step "will help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, abortions and women dying from high-risk pregnancies because they don't have access to family planning."

Anti-abortion groups and lawmakers condemned Obama's decision.

"I have long supported the Mexico City Policy and believe this administration's decision to be counter to our nation's interests," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

"Coming just one day after the 36th anniversary of the tragic Roe v. Wade decision, this presidential directive forces taxpayers to subsidize abortions overseas — something no American should be required by government to do," said House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.

Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., called it "morally wrong to take the taxpayer dollars of millions of pro-life Americans to promote abortion around the world."

"President Obama not long ago told the American people that he would support policies to reduce abortions, but today he is effectively guaranteeing more abortions by funding groups that promote abortion as a method of population control," said Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee.

___

AP White House Correspondent Jennifer Loven contributed to this report.

Olympian Torres Coming To Omaha

Torres is one of the most decorated swimmers in U.S. history

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Olympic gold medalist Dara Torres will be the featured speaker at the first annual Night With The Mavs March 26th at the Embassy Suites in La Vista.

The evening will begin with a social hour at 6 p.m. followed by the program and dinner at 7 p.m. All the money raised will benefit UNO student-athlete scholarships and athletic program enhancements.

“We are thrilled to have someone of Dara Torres’ stature as the keynote speaker for this event,” said David Miller, UNO director of athletics. “She was one of the biggest stories to emerge from the 2008 U.S. Olympic Swim Trials held in Omaha last summer and we are glad to welcome her back in support of UNO athletics.”

The 41-year-old Torres is one of the most decorated swimmers in U.S. history. She became the first U.S. swimmer to compete in four Olympic Games when she swam in the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing where she won three silver medals. During her career, she has won nine Olympic medals, including four gold and has set three world records.

The title of Torres’ address for Night With The Mavs will be, “You’re Not Too Old To Chase Your Dream.”

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Dara Torres brings medals, Olympic stories to Palm Beach Day Academy


Thursday, January 15, 2009

Robie Mendoza was beside himself after his encounter with five-time Olympic swimmer Dara Torres on Thursday morning at Palm Beach Day Academy's Seaview Campus.

"It was awesome," the ninth-grader said. "It was amazing."

Robie, 15, said he even kissed the silver medal Torres brought to show the children. It was one of three she won in Beijing at age 41.

In previous Games, she's scooped up nine medals, including four gold.

Torres began swimming as a child and won her first gold at 17.

Considered almost ancient by Olympic athletic standards, Torres did the unthinkable and got back into the Games after grueling competition and training that allowed her to represent the United States in the 2008 Olympics.

Prospective sponsors of her fifth Olympic quest raised doubts about her age.

"All it did was make me want to do it more," Torres said during her appearance at the school's Vicki and Peter Halmos Family Activity Center.

The mother of a 2-year-old daughter, Torres easily related to the children gathered around her on the gymnasium floor during her 50-minute presentation.

She described the Olympic Village — home to athletes from around the world during their two-week stay.

With international cuisine within reach, she told the kids she usually chose American fast food for its familiarity.

"I found myself gravitating toward McDonald's," she said.

But that wasn't a problem, because her training regimen and its high caloric burn allow her to eat pretty much whatever she wants, usually opting for protein and vegetables.

"If I want dessert, I'll have dessert," she added.

Torres also told students she still gets a severe case of "butterflies in the stomach" before competition, comparing it to what they might feel before a big test.

"It's about 10 times worse," she said.

The big question of the morning was whether she knew another American Olympic hero — Michael Phelps.

The answer, of course, was "yes."

She also answered the unasked question.

"Yes, he's very handsome," she said.

Torres said she meant the assessment from a "motherly point of view."

As U.S. Olympic athletes, they have trained together, she explained.

She met Phelps when he was 15 and she was 33.

"He still calls me Mom," she said of their latest Olympic journey.

Torres' appearance at the Palm Beach Day Academy was a family affair, since she has three brothers who attended the private school and six nieces and nephews now enrolled.

"She's part of our school community," said Karen O'Donnell, head of the lower school at the Seaview Campus.

Torres has worked as a television commentator and has had stints as a print model, being the first athlete to appear in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue in 1984.

"I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up," she said.

Head of School Rebecca van der Bogert said Thursday's assembly was a great opportunity for the children, as she noted the athlete's sculpted swimmer's physique.

"My 20 minutes on the bicycle this morning just evaporated," she said.

Crowds pack frigid Mall for Obama's inauguration

Crowds pack frigid Mall for Obama's inauguration

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WASHINGTON – Braving frigid temperatures, an exuberant crowd of hundreds of thousands packed the National Mall on Tuesday to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama as America's first black president. He grasps the reins of power in a high-noon ceremony amid grave economic worries and high expectations.

It was the first change of administrations since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Crowds filled the National Mall from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol for a glimpse of the proceedings and, in the words of many, simply "to be here."

Two years after beginning his improbable quest as a little-known, first-term Illinois senator with a foreign-sounding name, Obama moves into the Oval Office as the nation's fourth youngest president, at 47, and the first African-American, a barrier-breaking achievement believed impossible by generations of minorities.

Around the world, Obama's election electrified millions with the hope that America will be more embracing, more open to change.

The dawn of the new Democratic era — with Obama allies in charge of both houses of Congress — ends eight years of Republican control of the White House by George W. Bush. He leaves Washington as one of the nation's most unpopular and divisive presidents, the architect of two unfinished wars and the man in charge at a time of economic calamity that swept away many Americans' jobs, savings and homes.

Bush — following tradition — left a note for Obama in the top drawer of his desk in the Oval Office.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said the theme of the message — which Bush wrote on Monday — was similar to what he has said since election night: that Obama is about to begin a "fabulous new chapter" in the United States, and that he wishes him well.

The unfinished business of the Bush administration thrusts an enormous burden onto the new administration, though polls show Americans are confident Obama is on track to succeed. He has cautioned that improvements will take time and that things will get worse before they get better.

Culminating four days of celebration, the nation's 56th inauguration day began for Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden with a traditional morning worship service at St. John's Episcopal Church, across Lafayette Park from the White House. Bells pealed from the historic church's tower as Obama and his wife, Michelle, arrived five minutes behind schedule.

The festivities won't end until well after midnight, with dancing and partying at 10 inaugural balls.

By custom, Obama and his wife were invited to the White House for coffee with Bush and his wife, Laura, followed by a shared ride in a sleek, heavily armored Cadillac limousine to the U.S. Capitol for the transfer of power, an event flashed around the world in television and radio broadcasts, podcasts and Internet streaming. On Monday, Vice President Dick Cheney pulled a muscle in his back, leaving him in a wheelchair for the inauguration.

Just before noon, Obama steps forward on the West Front of the Capitol to lay his left hand on the same Bible that President Abraham Lincoln used at his first inauguration in 1861. The 35-word oath of office, administered by Chief Justice John Roberts, has been uttered by every president since George Washington. Obama was one of 22 Democratic senators to vote against Roberts' confirmation to the Supreme Court in 2005.

The son of a Kansas-born mother and Kenya-born father, Obama decided to use his full name in the swearing-in ceremony.

The Constitution says the clock — not the pomp, ceremony and oaths — signals the transfer of the office from the old president to the new one.

The 20th Amendment to the Constitution specifies that the terms of office of the president and vice president "shall end at noon on the 20th day of January ... and the terms of their successors shall then begin."

To the dismay of liberals, Obama invited conservative evangelical pastor Rick Warren — an opponent of gay rights — to give the inaugural invocation.

About a dozen members of Obama's Cabinet and top appointees — including Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton — were ready for Senate confirmation Tuesday, provided no objections were raised.

More than 10,000 people from all 50 states — including bands and military units — were assembled to follow Obama and Biden from the Capitol on the 1.5-mile inaugural parade route on Pennsylvania Avenue, concluding at a bulletproof reviewing stand in front of the White House. Security was unprecedented. Most bridges into Washington and about 3.5 square miles of downtown were closed.

Obama's inauguration represents a time of renewal and optimism for a nation gripped by fear and anxiety. Stark numbers tell the story of an economic debacle unrivaled since the 1930s:

_Eleven million people have lost their jobs, pushing the unemployment rate to 7.2 percent, a 16-year high.

_One in 10 U.S. homeowners is delinquent on mortgage payments or in arrears.

_The Dow Jones industrial average fell by 33.8 percent in 2008, the worst decline since 1931, and stocks lost $10 trillion in value between October 2007 and November 2008.

Obama and congressional Democrats are working on an $825 billion economic recovery bill that would provide an enormous infusion of public spending and tax cuts. Obama also will have at his disposal the remaining $350 billion in the federal financial bailout fund. His goal is to save or create 3 million jobs and put banks back in the job of lending to customers.

In an appeal for bipartisanship, Obama honored defeated Republican presidential rival John McCain at a dinner Monday night. "There are few Americans who understand this need for common purpose and common effort better than John McCain," Obama said.

Young and untested, Obama is a man of enormous confidence and electrifying oratorical skills. Hopes for Obama are extremely high, suggesting that Americans are willing to give him a long honeymoon to strengthen the economy and lift the financial gloom.

On Wednesday, his first working day in office, Obama is expected to redeem his campaign promise to begin the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq under a 16-month timetable. Aides said he would summon the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Oval Office and order that the pullout commence.

Israel agree to cease-fire

Palestinians in Gaza, Israel agree to cease-fire

2 hrs 5 mins ago

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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Militants in Hamas-ruled Gaza agreed Sunday to a weeklong cease-fire with Israel, after three weeks of violence that Palestinian medics say has killed more than 1,000 people and turned Gaza's streets into battlegrounds.

Sunday's announcement came about 12 hours after Israel declared its own unilateral ceasefire.

Hamas' Syrian-based deputy leader, speaking for the militant Palestinian factions, said on Syrian television that the cease-fire will give Israel time to withdraw and open all the border crossings to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

An Israeli security chief told Cabinet ministers the military operation "is not over" and that the next few days would be critical to determining whether it would resume.

The military said no one was injured by more than a dozen militant rockets that struck southern Israel ahead of the announcement from deputy Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk on Syrian television.

"We the Palestinian resistance factions declare a cease-fire from our side in Gaza and we confirm our stance that the enemy's troops must withdraw from Gaza within a week," Abou Marzouk said.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev would not say what level of violence would provoke Israel to call off the cease-fire.

"Israel's decision allows it to respond and renew fire at our enemies, the different terror organizations in the Gaza Strip, as long as they continue attacking," Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said at the start of the weekly Cabinet session.

"This morning some of them continued their fire, provoking what we had warned of," Olmert said. "This cease-fire is fragile and we must examine it minute by minute, hour by hour."

In Gaza, people loaded vans and donkey carts with mattresses and began venturing back to their homes to see what was left standing after the punishing air and ground assault the tiny seaside territory endured. Bulldozers began shoving aside rubble in Gaza City, the territory's biggest population center, to clear a path for cars while medical workers sifting through mounds of concrete said they discovered 75 bodies. discovered dozens of bodies in the debris.

The Israeli cease-fire went into effect at 2 a.m. Sunday local time after three weeks of fighting that killed some 1,200 Palestinians, about half of them civilians, according to Palestinian and United Nations officials. At least 13 Israelis also died, according to the government.

An official who attended the Israeli Cabinet meeting quoted internal security service chief Yuval Diskin as telling ministers that "the operation is not over."

"The next few days will make clear if we are heading toward a cease-fire or the renewal of fighting," security chief Yuval Diskin was quoted as saying. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because Cabinet meetings are closed.

Israel stopped its offensive before reaching a long-term solution to the problem of arms smuggling into Gaza, one of the war's declared aims. And Israel's insistence on keeping soldiers in Gaza raised the prospect of a stalemate with the territory's rulers.

The cease-fire went into effect just days ahead of President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration Tuesday. Outgoing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the Bush administration welcomed Israel's decision and a summit set for later Sunday in Egypt is meant to give international backing to the truce.

Leaders of Germany, France, Spain, Britain, Italy, Turkey and the Czech Republic — which holds the rotating European Union presidency — are expected to attend along with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon.

Ban welcomed the cease-fire. "Urgent humanitarian access for the people of Gaza is the immediate priority," he said, declaring that "the United Nations is ready to act."

Israel said it was not sending a representative to the meeting. Hamas, shunned internationally as a terrorist organization, was not invited. However, the group has been mediating with Egypt and any arrangement to open Gaza's blockaded borders for trade would likely need Hamas' acquiescence.

In announcing the truce late Saturday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel would withhold fire after achieving its goals and more.

"Hamas was hit hard, in its military arms and in its government institutions. Its leaders are in hiding and many of its men have been killed," Olmert said.

If Hamas holds its fire, the military "will weigh pulling out of Gaza at a time that befits us," Olmert said. If not, Israel "will continue to act to defend our residents."

In Gaza, people began to take stock of the devastation. The Shahadeh family loaded mattresses into the trunk of a car in Gaza City, preparing to return to their home in the hard-hit northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya.

"I've been told that the devils have left," said Riyadh Shahadeh, referring to the Israelis. "I'm going back to see how I'm going to start again. I don't know what happened to my house. ... I am going back there with a heart full of fear because I am not sure if the area is secure or not, but I have no other option."

In the southern town of Rafah, where Israel bombed dozens of smuggling tunnels, construction worker Abdel Ibn-Taha said he was very happy about the truce. "We're tired out," he said.

Schools in southern Israel remained closed in anticipation of possible rocket fire. Shortly before the rocket volley Sunday, the head of the Parents Association in the border town of Sderot, Batya Katar, said she was disappointed that Israel did not reach an agreement directly with Hamas, which Israel shuns.

"It's an offensive that ended without achieving its aims," Katar said. "All the weapons went through Egypt. What's happened there?"

Israel apparently reasons that the two-phase truce would give it ammunition against its international critics: Should Hamas continue to attack, then Israel would be able to resume its offensive after having tried to end it.

Hamas, which rejects Israel's existence, violently seized control of Gaza in June 2007, provoking a harsh Israeli blockade that has deepened the destitution in the territory of 1.4 million Palestinians. The Israeli war did not loosen Hamas' grip on Gaza.

Israeli tanks advance more deeply into Gaza

Top News of Middle East: Israeli tanks advance more deeply into Gaza

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli tanks rolled into densely populated parts of the city of Gaza on Tuesday and troops fought intense battles with Hamas militants as world leaders struggled to coax the sides into a ceasefire.

Hamas said its forces detonated explosives beneath Israeli armor and fought with Israeli forces backed by helicopter gunships and naval fire in what appeared to be the most ferocious fighting since Israel sent ground troops into Gaza 10 days ago.

Explosions and the din of heavy machine gun fire echoed continuously through the Hamas-ruled territory's largest city before dawn. Flashes of light lit up the skies.

The Palestinian death toll in the 18 days since Israel launched its air offensive passed 900, including many civilians. Israel has had 10 soldiers killed and three civilians from motars and rockets fired from coastal Gaza.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon headed to the region to press for a truce in a week of talks with leaders in Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Syria.

"My message is simple, direct, and to the point: the fighting must stop. To both sides, I say: Just stop now," Ban told reporters before his departure.

Egypt pursued efforts to broker a ceasefire with Gaza, a territory that sits on its northern border.

But Lebanese political sources said Hamas negotiators would on Tuesday reject Cairo's proposals to end the offensive Israel said it launched so as to halt sporadic rocket fire from Gaza that causes few casualties but disrupts life in southern Israel.

Hamas's main objections were to a proposed long-term truce and to any ceasefire being put in place before Israel withdrew all its forces from Gaza, one of the Lebanese sources said.

Israel has rejected a United Nations Security Council call for a truce but said it was ready to discuss further proposals.

TANKS DEEPER INTO GAZA

Despite a world drive to end the fighting, Israel pressed on with its offensive, sending its tanks into built-up areas in the city of Gaza, the deepest thrust since the attack began.

Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Avi Benayahu said on Monday Israel was "deeper in the territory." Reserve units had moved in to free up regular troops for the push into the city.

"We are tightening the encirclement of the city," Brigadier General Eyal Eisenberg told reporters touring Israeli positions on Monday.

Three Israeli soldiers were wounded in a "friendly fire" incident in Gaza on Monday night, the military spokesman said.

Obama seeks remaining $350 billion in bailout funds

U.S. President-elect Obama seeks remaining $350 billion in bailout funds

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama on Monday sought the remaining $350 billion of federal financial bailout funds from Congress, pledging a major overhaul that would distribute the money more widely and impose tougher restrictions on recipient companies.

Obama said he asked President George W. Bush to make the request on his behalf so he could take office next week with the funds at the ready to deal with a "still fragile" financial system.

"I felt that it would be irresponsible for me, with the first $350 billion already spent, to enter into the administration without any potential ammunition should there be some sort of emergency or a weakening of the financial system," Obama told reporters.

Obama and his economic team agreed to new restrictions and changes to the program to address concerns by fellow Democrats, who control both houses in Congress and have been critical of the Bush administration's handling of the funds so far.

The $700 billion rescue program was approved last October to bolster the financial industry as it reeled under the stress of bad mortgage debts and several major institutions were threatened with collapse.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson initially sold the program as necessary to buy up troubled assets to free banks to resume lending. But he quickly shifted focus and the first $350 billion was used primarily to make direct investments in financial institutions to buttress their capital.

Many lawmakers have complained that some recipients of the funds continue to pay big executive bonuses and shareholder dividends while loans are still difficult to get.

"Many of us have been disappointed with the absence of clarity, the lack of transparency, the failure to track how the money's been spent and the failure to take bold action with respect to areas like housing," Obama said.

"My commitment is that we are going to fundamentally change some of the practices in using this next phase of the program. We're going to focus on housing foreclosures, we're going to focus on small businesses, we're going to focus on what's required to make sure that credit is flowing to consumers and businesses," the president-elect added.

Bush submitted the request to Congress Monday evening, which under the law for the bailout starts a 15-day clock for lawmakers to decide whether to block access to the remaining $350 billion.

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate could vote on the issue as early as Thursday. Democrats have not said when the House of Representatives would vote.

The 18-page request to Congress said the remaining funds would be used partly to help homeowners facing mortgage foreclosures as well as expand existing programs. But it did not offer specific details about how.

Top Senate and House Republicans quickly raised questions about the program.

"I would be hard-pressed to support additional funding for the TARP without sufficient assurances this money will not be wasted, misspent or simply used for more industry-specific bailouts," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said.

The Treasury has allocated in excess of the first $350 billion in funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, but it said on Monday it has disbursed only $265.3 billion so far.

Obama seeks bailout funds amid corporate gloom

Latest News of USA: Obama seeks bailout funds amid corporate gloom

WASHINGTON/TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama sought the remaining half of $700 billion in financial bailout funds from Congress, as sinking corporate earnings underlined the depth of the gathering recession.

Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. kicked off the Wall Street earnings season with a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and a source said Sony Corp was expected to post its first operating loss in 14 years this business year.

As politicians worldwide try to alleviate sharply slowing growth and mounting job losses, Obama said he had asked President George W. Bush to formally request the remaining bailout funds so they could be ready when he takes office on January 20.

"I felt that it would be irresponsible for me, with the first $350 billion already spent, to enter into the administration without any potential ammunition should there be some sort of emergency or a weakening of the financial system," Obama said.

The $700 billion rescue program was approved last October to bolster the financial industry plagued by bad mortgage debts that pushed several major institutions to the brink of collapse.

CORPORATE LOSSES

Sony shares fell 8 percent on media reports of its likely loss. A source close to the matter told Reuters the maker of Bravia flat TVs and Playstation 3 video game consoles may post an operating loss of about $1.1 billion for the year to end-March.

The news came as Alcoa, which is slashing 15,000 jobs, posted a net loss of $1.19 billion for the fourth quarter on lower demand and declining metal prices.

"The aluminum industry was caught up in a perfect storm ... prices have never fallen so fast," President and Chief Executive Officer Klaus Kleinfeld told analysts.

In South Korea, the country's No. 5 automaker Ssangyong Motor Co said it had suspended production at all of its factories as some suppliers stopped delivering parts worried whether they will get paid by the company, which fights to avoid bankruptcy.

Earlier Citigroup shares had fallen 17 percent after a Wall Street Journal report the bank might post a quarterly operating loss of at least $10 billion.

The corporate gloom took its toll on equity markets, with Asian indexes following U.S. stocks lower. Tokyo's Nikkei, which had been closed for a holiday on Monday, fell more than 4 percent.

A record rise in Japanese bank lending in December only added to the gloom. Hardly a sign of any business upturn, the data was a sign that companies struggled to raise cash in the commercial paper and bond markets as they used to and were forced to borrow directly from banks.

BLEAK OUTLOOK

Most of the world's developed economies are already officially in recession and the outlook for 2009 is bleak.

Israel vs Gaza: 900 to 13 and Counting

Latest New of Middle East-Israel vs Gaza: 900 to 13 and Counting

All this talk of a proportionate response and Israel defending itself seems to be off the mark by the numbers. If a man hits you and you beat up his whole family is that proportionate response? Is shooting a man for throwing a rock at your window defending yourself?

Reuters reports that as of today, more than 900 Palestinians have been killed, including 382 civilians. This is comparison to 13 Israeli’s who have been killed, including 3 civilians. It is estimated that 40% of all the Gaza casualties have been civilians . From 2005 through 2007 there were 86 Israeli’s killed, 8 of which were civilians, meaning less than 10% of all Israeli’s killed during the time were civilians.

Advanced Snake Robot in Japan!

Watch Here Latest an introduction of an advanced snake robot in Japan

Hot News of Pakistan

Pakistan angrily denies Mumbai claims

Published: Jan. 7, 2009 at 8:07 AM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Pakistani leaders say Indian suggestions that official agencies may have been involved in training November's Mumbai terrorists are pushing the region to war.

Tuesday's statement by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the sophistication of the terror attacks pointed to the involvement of "some official agencies in Pakistan" has infuriated officials in Islamabad, who called the statement "irresponsible," the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

"Vilifying Pakistan or … any of its state institutions on this score is unwarranted and unacceptable," the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement. "This is a sure way to close avenues of cooperation in combating this menace."

"If India takes military action against Pakistan, it would be a big mistake," the Times quoted Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir telling Pakistani lawmakers. "India is pushing this region to war."

India blames the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba for the Mumbai attacks, an assessment that U.S. intelligence supports. Pakistan has acknowledged that "non-state actors" may have played a role, but has vehemently denied official involvement even though Lashkar-e-Toiba has historical ties to Pakistan's spy agency, the Times reported.

Latest News of Middle East.

For Israel, 2006 Lessons but Old Pitfalls

Published: January 6, 2009

JERUSALEM — This time, Israeli military commanders are leading from the front, not trying to direct the infantry from television screens. This time, the military has clear plans, in stages, drawn up with a year’s preparation. This time, there is no illusion about winning a war only from the air. This time, the military chief of staff has kept his silence in public, all cellphones have been confiscated from Israeli soldiers, and the international press has been kept out of the battlefield.

Enlarge This Image Casualties Near a School in Gaza

In these and many other ways, Israel is applying the lessons it learned from its failed 2006 war against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon to its current war against Hamas in Gaza. But Israel’s failure in Lebanon also stemmed from a political and diplomatic inability to decide on clear objectives for the outcome of the war, and here the lessons of Lebanon have been not so well applied, according to senior Israeli military officials and political analysts.

Ismail Zaydah/Reuters

As many as 40 people died Tuesday when
Israeli shells hit near a United Nations school in Gaza.

And then there are the sudden events that can throw off so many careful calculations and come to symbolize the horrors of war — like the deaths of civilians from Israeli munitions in Qana, Lebanon, both in 1996 and 2006, and the reports on Tuesday evening of as many as 40 people, including children, killed as they sought shelter in a United Nations school in northern Gaza.

While accounts of exactly what happened were unclear on Tuesday night, with Israeli officials suggesting that the school compound was used to fire mortars, the deaths will inevitably turn stomachs all over the world and increase pressure on Israel for an early cease-fire.

“Everyone is very conscious of doing things differently from 2006,” said Mark Heller, director of research at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, citing the postwar investigations carried out by the military itself and by the Winograd Commission, which harshly criticized both the political and military leaders of the time for poor preparation and performance.

After the war against Hezbollah, both the chief of staff, Gen. Dan Halutz, a former air force commander, and the defense minister, Amir Peretz, a former labor union leader, resigned. Their replacements — Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, an infantryman, and Ehud Barak, a former chief of staff and combat hero — have done much to improve the Israeli military and restore public confidence in its skills.

Timeline: Israel, the Gaza Strip and Hamas

On the political side, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ensured that the cabinet had a much fuller discussion of the proposed campaign in Gaza, with alternatives at least explored in some detail, before being asked to vote for war. “They did more systematic staff work, of alternatives and implications, and tried to do some diplomatic groundwork,” Mr. Heller said.

And Mr. Olmert has been far more careful this time to state ambiguous and modest goals for the war, unlike his extravagant pledge two years ago to destroy Hezbollah.

But the ambiguity is also a function of political disagreement and confusion among Israeli leaders, many argue, which promotes poor coordination of military action and diplomatic aims. And it remains far from clear how to decide when to end the war, and what would constitute victory.

Israel has so far failed to decide what its ultimate goals are for this conflict, said Giora Eiland, a former army general and a former head of Israel’s weak National Security Council. “Either we want to achieve a sustainable arrangement, with a lasting cease-fire and a stop to arms smuggling from Egypt, or we want to bring about a collapse of the Hamas government,” he said. “These lead to very different actions on all fronts, but the answer is not very clear. There is disagreement at the moment in the troika” — Mr. Olmert, Mr. Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

Both Ms. Livni and Mr. Barak want to succeed Mr. Olmert, who is stepping down, in elections scheduled for next month. The Likud leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has limited himself to general statements of support for the war, is leading in opinion polls.

“There is a leadership issue,” said Yossi Alpher, a co-editor of bitterlemons.org, a Web-based Israeli-Palestinian dialogue. “Olmert is discredited. Barak is considered a strategic genius but makes simple, fatal mistakes, and Livni is untried. And they quite openly don’t get along.”

Mr. Eiland said that there had been many improvements since 2006, especially on the military side, “but the linkage between the political level and the military level is less improved.”

“There is no political system to make strategic assessments and provide alternative options and implement them,” he added. “And because we can’t decide on the right package of means and goals, there’s a certain confusion about our message to others.”

A senior Israeli military officer, now in the reserves, said that on the political level, “the changes are not so impressive.” The military, he said, “is still the center of strategic thinking.”

On the military side, however, he said, there has been a big improvement in the coordination of ground and air forces, in clearer instructions to military units and in the way fresh intelligence is communicated to soldiers. The reserves have had far more training in combat tactics aimed at Gaza, have better equipment and were called up early.

“Commanders have not had their instructions changed seven times a day,” the military officer said. Further, the “home front” defense against rockets has been improved and there has been a much stronger effort to control the message and mask Israeli intentions.

To that end, the cellphones of soldiers were confiscated; commanders were banned from talking to reporters, even their friends; the international press corps has been kept out of Gaza; and even the close circle of senior Israeli political and defense correspondents have been getting far less access than before to decision makers, said Aluf Benn, a senior correspondent with the daily Haaretz.

“We get briefings, but they’re more like talking points,” Mr. Benn said.

The senior military officer said, “The chief of staff is not talking in public, and the special press know what they need to know, but the army is not speaking.”

Most important, the army knew a nasty war in Gaza was likely to come, unlike the surprise of the war with Hezbollah. Yaakov Amidror, an Israeli major general, now in the reserves, who ran the research and assessment branch of Israeli military intelligence, said that Israeli intelligence had never lost its contacts in Gaza, as it had in southern Lebanon.

“To leave Gaza you have to go through Israel,” he said, and numerous Gazans were recruited as intelligence sources. Gaza uses the Israeli shekel, and nearly all imports and exports go through Israel, too. “All this helps keep the network alive in Gaza,” he said, which helped the accuracy of the early air campaign.

What matters most, General Amidror said, are three changes: coordination between the infantry and the air force; having commanders on the ground with a clear mission and flexibility to achieve it; and methods to keep Hamas in the fog of war, which includes disinformation and impediments to real-time press coverage on the ground.

“The less Hamas understands, the better,” he said.

The army and government have also made it clear that Palestinian civilians will die in this war, because of the way Hamas has chosen to fight it from within the densely populated urban centers of Gaza. But events like the deaths of schoolchildren are harder to swallow.

“It was clear from the start in this operation that there could be a Qana, given how Hamas has chosen to fight, and it could seriously derail Israeli operational plans,” Mr. Alpher said. “A Qana is not just a function of the numbers of civilians killed, but also a function of how the Israeli population reacts, how the Israeli leadership deals with it and how the international community responds, and it’s too early to say.”