DID GOVERNMENT BLOW UP TOWERS

CHANUKAH DAY 6 TODAY

LEARN ABOUT CHANUKAH
http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday7.htm
CHANUKAH DAY 1-8 SCRIPTURES
http://israndjer.blogspot.com/2007/12/hannuka-day-1-8-scriptures.html
MACCABEES STORY
http://israndjer.blogspot.com/2007/12/7s-and-maccabees.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.com/2007/12/maccabees-story.html

911 DECEPTON BY GOVERNMENT,MEDIA OR EXPLOSIONS INSTEAD. YOU DECIDE.
http://www.ae911truth.org/twintowers.php
RICHARD GAGE IN TORONTO ON 911 COVERUP BY GOVERNMENT
http://www.toronto911truth.com/videos.html
OTHER RICHARD GAGE VIDEOS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdjvNeZMr-A

I HEARD A RUMOUR THAT THE JAN 21 OR 22 HAPPENING COULD BE AN ASSASINATION ATTEMPT,THEN MARTIAL LAW INFORCED. LIKE I SAY THIS IS JUST A RUMOUR MY GUESS WOULD BE AN AL-QIDA ATTACK ON AMERICA OR A ONE HOUR ECONOMY COLLAPSE AS CHINA,RUSSIA WOULD DUMP DOLLARS WHICH WOULD INDUCE MARTIAL LAW.

Homeland Security forecasts 5-year terror threats By EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer – FRI Dec 26, 9:13 pm ET

WASHINGTON – The terrorism threat to the United States over the next five years will be driven by instability in the Middle East and Africa, persistent challenges to border security and increasing Internet savvy, says a new intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press.Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks are considered the most dangerous threats that could be carried out against the U.S. But those threats are also the most unlikely because it is so difficult for al-Qaida and similar groups to acquire the materials needed to carry out such plots, according to the internal Homeland Security Threat Assessment for the years 2008-2013.The al-Qaida terrorist network continues to focus on U.S. attack targets vulnerable to massive economic losses, casualties and political turmoil, the assessment said.

Earlier this month, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction remains the highest priority at the federal level. Speaking to reporters on Dec. 3, Chertoff explained that more people, such as terrorists, will learn how to make dirty bombs, biological and chemical weapons. The other side is going to continue to learn more about doing things, he said.

Marked for official use only, the report does not specify its audience, but the assessments typically go to law enforcement, intelligence officials and the private sector. When determining threats, intelligence officials consider loss of life, economic and psychological consequences.Intelligence officials also predict that in the next five years, terrorists will try to conduct a destructive biological attack. Officials are concerned about the possibility of infections to thousands of U.S. citizens, overwhelming regional health care systems.There could also be dire economic impacts caused by workers' illnesses and deaths. Officials are most concerned about biological agents stolen from labs or other storage facilities, such as anthrax.The threat of terrorism and the threat of extremist ideologies has not abated, Chertoff said in his year-end address on Dec. 18. This threat has not evaporated, and we can't turn the page on it.These high-consequence threats are not the only kind of challenges that will confront the U.S. over the next five years.

Terrorists will continue to try to evade U.S. border security measures and place operatives inside the mainland to carry out attacks, the 38-page assessment said. It also said that they may pose as refugees or asylum seekers or try to exploit foreign travel channels such as the visa waiver program, which allows citizens of 34 countries to enter the U.S. without visas.Long waits for immigration and more restrictive European refugee and asylum programs will cause more foreigners to try to enter the U.S. illegally. Increasing numbers of Iraqis are expected to migrate to the U.S. in the next five years; and refugees from Somalia and Sudan could increase because of conflicts in those countries, the assessment said.Because there is a proposed cap of 12,000 refugees from Africa, officials expect more will try to enter the U.S. illegally as well. Officials predict the same scenario for refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.Intelligence officials predict the pool of radical Islamists within the U.S. will increase over the next five years due partly to the ease of online recruiting means. Officials foresee a wave of young, self-identified Muslim 'terrorist wannabes' who aspire to carry out violent acts.The U.S. has already seen some examples of these homegrown terrorists. Recently five Muslim immigrants were convicted of plotting to massacre U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix in a case the government said demonstrated its post-Sept. 11 determination to stop terrorist attacks in the planning stages.The Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah does not have a known history of fomenting attacks inside the U.S., but that could change if there is some kind of triggering event, the Homeland assessment cautions.

A 2008 Interagency Intelligence Committee on Terrorism assessment said that Hezbollah members based in the U.S. do local fundraising through charity projects and criminal activity, like money laundering, smuggling, drug trafficking, fraud and extortion, according to the homeland security assessment.In addition, the cyber terror threat is expected to increase over the next five years, as hacking tools become more sophisticated and available. Youthful, Internet-savvy extremists might apply their online acumen to conduct cyber attacks rather than offer themselves up as operatives to conduct physical attacks, according to the assessment.Currently, Islamic terrorists, including al-Qaida, would like to conduct cyber attacks, but they lack the capability to do so, the assessment said. The large-scale attacks that are on al-Qaida's wishlist — such as disrupting a major city's water or power systems — require sophisticated cyber capabilities that the terrorist group does not possess. But al-Qaida has the capability to hire sophisticated hackers to carry out these kinds of attacks, the assessment said. And federal officials believe that in the next three to five years, al-Qaida could direct or inspire cyber attacks that target the U.S. economy. Counterterrorism expert Frank Cilluffo says the typical cyber attack would not achieve al-Qaida's main goal of inflicting mass devastation with its resulting widespread media coverage. However, al-Qaida is likely to continue to rely on the Internet to spread its message, said Cilluffo, who runs the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University. Officials also predict that domestic terrorists in the forms of radical animal rights and environmental extremists will become more adept with explosives and increase their use of arson attacks.

Olmert issues last-minute warning to Hamas Thu Dec 25, 2:27 PM
By Adam Entous and Ari Rabinovitch

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday issued a last-minute appeal to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to reject their Hamas rulers and stop rocket fire at Israel, warning them he would not hesitate to use force.His comments were the clearest indication yet that Israel was preparing a possible Gaza offensive which could result in heavy casualties on both sides and fuel a humanitarian crisis.Israeli political sources said Olmert's security cabinet approved a staged military escalation, beginning with air strikes against a wider range of Hamas targets in the densely-populated enclave.A large-scale operation has yet to be authorized but could get a green light depending on Hamas's response, the sources said.In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Israel would pay the price for any attack.Olmert told Al Arabiya television, an Arab broadcaster widely watched in Gaza: I didn't come here to declare war.But Hamas must be stopped -- that is the way it is going to be. I will not hesitate to use Israel's might to strike Hamas and (Islamic) Jihad. How? I will not go into details now, Olmert said, according to a statement issued by his office.Olmert has resisted calls within Israel for a major military operation against Hamas, but rocket and mortar fire from the coastal enclave since a six-month truce brokered by Egypt expired last week has increased pressure on him to act.Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a leading candidate to replace Olmert in a February 10 election, held emergency talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, in Cairo, who cautioned against an escalation.

ROCKET FIRE UNBEARABLE

Livni said Hamas had to pay for unbearable rocket fire, declaring: Enough is enough.
Adding to the saber-rattling, army chief Gabi Ashkenazi said Israel would have to act with all our force to hurt the terrorist infrastructure and change the security reality.In a sign any fighting with Gaza ran the risk of igniting a wider war, Lebanese troops dismantled eight rockets set up for launch at Israel in a border village. Israel fought an inconclusive war with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon in 2006.Egypt appealed to Hamas leaders after the talks with Livni to calm the situation so as to avoid an Israeli military escalation, a Palestinian official said in Gaza.In response to world appeals and a reduction in rocket fire from Gaza, Israel agreed later to let about 100 trucks carrying food, humanitarian aid, grain and animal feed travel into Gaza on Friday through two crossings, officials on both sides said.Israel has tried to weaken Islamist Hamas by keeping the Gaza Strip's border crossings closed, increasing hardship for the territory's 1.5 million residents. But there is little doubt that Hamas has control and can counter internal challenges.Since the ceasefire ended on Friday, more than 200 rockets and mortar shells have been fired at Israel, causing damage but few injuries, the Israeli army said. In the same period, six Gaza militants have been killed in Israeli attacks.

But rocket fire from Gaza declined to 16 launches on Thursday, from dozens the day before.In the Al Arabiya interview, Olmert issued what amounted to a public call to Gazans to overthrow their Hamas leaders to prevent an escalation with Israel.I'm telling them now. It may be the last minute. I'm telling them. Stop it. We are stronger. There will be more blood there. Who wants it? We don't want it, Olmert said.Olmert questioned whether Hamas's stance was consistent with Islam. Is the spirit of Islam to kill innocent children, to fire rockets at kindergartens and civilians? I don't think that is the spirit of Islam, Olmert said.(Additional reporting by Allyn Fisher-Ilan in Jerusalem, Ali Sawafta in Ramallah, Nadim Ladki in Beirut, Alaa Shahine in Cairo, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza and Haitham Tamimi in Hebron; editing by Andrew Roche)

Storm blankets West with snow, ice glazes Midwest DEC 26,08
By SANDRA CHEREB, Associated Press Writer

RENO, Nev. – Yet another snowstorm pummeled parts of the West on Friday, snarling post-holiday traffic and darkening lights on Christmas trees, and freezing rain covered some Midwest highways with a dangerous sheet of ice.Winter storm warnings were issued Friday for parts of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and the Dakotas, and a blizzard warning was in effect for the mountains of southwest Colorado.It's going to be a heck of a storm, said Chris Cuoco, senior forecaster for the National Weather Service in Grand Junction, Colo. We're expecting significant snowfall in all the mountains of Colorado. Even the valleys are going to see 4-plus inches of snow.Up to 20 inches of snow was forecast in parts of the Rockies, along with wind gusts of up to 80 mph.In the Midwest, most streets and highways in the Chicago area were ice-glazed. The Eisenhower Expressway — Interstate 290 — was closed for a time because of the ice, but the temperature was rising above the freezing point by midmorning. The village of Lemont, Ill., shut down all its major intersections.The full length of the Indiana Toll Road, more than 150 miles, was shut down for about two hours Friday morning because it was an entire sheet of ice with numerous accidents, said state Trooper William Jones. Indiana also closed a 10-mile section of Interstate 69 just north of Fort Wayne.Utah officials shut down Interstate 84 at the Utah-Idaho state line Friday because of the weather, and some state roads were open only to vehicles with tire chains or four-wheel-drive. Colorado closed at least two mountain pass highways.Heavy snow and whiteout conditions in the Sierra Nevada on Thursday led authorities to intermittently shut down Interstate 80, the busy main link between northern Nevada and Northern California.

The mountains around Lake Tahoe received about 2 feet of snow, bringing totals at some resorts in the past two weeks to 10 feet.This is one of the snowiest Christmas holiday periods I can remember, said Kent Hoopingarner, general manager at Homewood Mountain Resort.Elsewhere in the Sierra, an avalanche killed a 21-year-old man Thursday at the Squaw Valley USA ski resort in California. A Utah avalanche killed two people earlier in the week.In New Mexico, San Juan County got up to 5 inches of snow for its first white Christmas in 11 years, the weather service said.We were eating breakfast this morning and it was snowing. It was very Christmasy, said Farmington resident Kim Hamer, who went sledding with her husband and two sons.

Nearly a foot of snow in the Salt Lake City area blacked out about 10,000 customers Thursday morning. Power was also knocked out in parts of Oregon on Thursday, affecting 19,000 customers of Portland General Electric, said PGE spokesman Steve Corson.Farther north, the weight of snow, ice and water over the past week collapsed the roof of a high school in Olympia, Wash. There was severe water damage but no injuries, fire Lt. Ralph Dunbar said. In eastern Washington, Spokane reached a snowfall total for the month of 46.2 inches, a record for December, said Laurie Nisbet of the weather service.Snow and ice weren't the only problems. The weather service confirmed that it was two small tornadoes on Christmas Eve that caused scattered damage in Alabama.Slippery roads and cold have been blamed for seven deaths this week in Wisconsin; five in Ohio; four each in Indiana, Kentucky and Missouri; two in Kansas, two in Michigan, and one apiece in Illinois, Oklahoma, Iowa, Massachusetts and West Virginia.

Southeast Asia remembers tsunami on anniversary By MICHAEL CASEY, AP Environmental Writer DEC 26,08

BANGKOK, Thailand – Southeast Asia's tsunami-ravaged coral reefs have bounced back with surprising speed, according to a study released Friday, four years after the deadly waves hit.The findings came as communities across the Indian Ocean remembered the disaster that struck Dec. 26, 2004 with prayers, songs and tears. About 230,000 people were killed in a dozen countries when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered the tsunami.Surveys of coral reefs after the tsunami showed that up to one-third were damaged and experts predicted it would take a decade for them to fully recover.

Scientists from the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society, working with the Indonesian government and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, said their examination of 60 sites on 497 miles (800 kilometers) of coastline along Indonesia's Aceh province showed the reefs were bouncing back.On the 4th anniversary of the tsunami, this is a great story of ecosystem resilience and recovery, said Stuart Campbell, coordinator of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Indonesia Marine Program.Our scientific monitoring is showing rapid growth of young corals in areas where the tsunami caused damage, and also the return of new generations of corals in areas previously damaged by destructive fishing, Campbell said in a statement. These findings provide new insights into coral recovery processes that can help us manage coral reefs in the face of climate change.Healthy coral reefs are economic engines for Acehnese communities, Campbell added, supplying fish to eat and sell as well as tourism dollars from recreational diving.The tsunami decimated coastlines across the Indian Ocean, wiping out villages, killing entire families and crippling the economies in parts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The United Nations estimated that Aceh alone lost $332.4 million from the loss of its reefs to the destructive waves.But four years on, the multibillion dollar rebuilding process is almost complete with more than 120,000 homes built in Aceh alone and the reconstruction of tourist hotels and restaurants along Thailand's Andaman coast.Thousands gathered Friday to celebrate the progress but to also remember the dead and reflect on a tragedy that turned their lives upside down.I don't think people will ever forget the tsunami. It changed a lot of people's lives, said Alisara Na-Takuatung, a local Phuket radio disc jockey who took part in a ceremony on Thailand's Patong beach attended by 200 people.About 50 Buddhist monks prayed while school children played traditional Thai instruments.I know people who lost their husbands, their kids. Those people won't forget about the tsunami, she said. They will see it as a lesson. You think about what you can do for others.

Ibrahim Musa, a 42-year-old civil servant who joined thousands in a prayer service in the hard-hit Aceh province of Indonesia, said it feels like yesterday that his family was taken by the sea.

Even after four years, I cannot forget how I lost hold of my wife and baby, he said. I have tried in vain to look for them for three years. Now I have no choice but to accept their departure as destiny.Siti Hasnaini, 40, who still lives with her two sons and husband in a temporary shelter in Aceh, prayed for my daughter who was washed away with my house.In India, where thousands also perished, interfaith prayers and a moment of silence were held. The Sri Lankan government declared two minutes of silence for the 35,000 people killed there as well as other victims of natural disasters. The healing trend embraced by those devastated by the tsunami has extended to the reefs with communities responding to calls to protect them from illegal fishing, pollution and coastal development. Campbell said citizens have been particularly responsive in Aceh where fishermen have stopped using illegal techniques like dynamite and villagers have transplanted corals into areas that were hardest hit. The recovery, which is in part due to improved management and the direct assistance of local people, gives enormous hope that coral reefs in this remote region can return to their previous condition and provide local communities with the resources they need to prosper, Campbell said. Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a reef expert from the University of Queensland in Australia who did not take part in the study, said the findings were not surprising since corals typically will recover if not affected by fishing and coastal development. The mechanical damage from the tsunami left a whole bunch of shattered corals on the bottom of the sea, Hoegh-Guldberg said. Left alone, these things can quickly grow back into what looks like a coral reef in a short time, he said. We are seeing similar things around the southern Great Barrier Reef where reefs that experience major catastrophe can bounce back quite quickly.John Bruno, a reef expert from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, agreed saying it shows coral reefs are able to recover after severe disturbances. There has been so much bad news about coral decline lately, and the threats to corals seem to increase every year. It is important to recognize that these invaluable ecosystems are not lost, he said in an e-mail interview. We just have to implement some common sense policies locally and substantially reduce emissions of greenhouse gases at a global scale.Associated Press Writer Fachrurradize Gade contributed to this report from Banda Aceh, Indonesia. On The Web: Wildlife Conservation Society: http://www.wcs.org

YAHOO NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video

MIDEAST CONFLICT NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/1874;_ylt=A0wNcxFdg6xIgbkAwD6z174F

ABC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2461

FOX NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3074

FOX BUSINESS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3045

AP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2529

BBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2918

REUTERS VIDEO NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2704

AFP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3091

CNBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3245

HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.

JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

WORLD MARKET RESULTS
http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS FRI DEC 26,2008

09:30 AM +10.25
10:00 AM +39.98
10:30 AM +47.47
11:00 AM +39.26
11:30 AM +28.91
12:00 PM +32.65
12:30 PM +16.88
01:00 PM +1.43
01:30 PM +6.77
02:00 PM +12.34
02:30 PM +14.49
03:00 PM +27.00
03:30 PM +59.49
04:00 PM +47.07 8515.55

S&P 500 872.80 +4.65

NASDAQ 1530.24 +5.34

GOLD 870.20 +21.60

OIL 37.82 +2.38

TSE 300 8310.55 (OFF)

CDNX 697.00 (OFF)

S&P/TSX/60 502.08 (OFF)

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

Dow +41 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow +63 points at high.
Dow +29 points at low.

YEAR TO DATE
Dow -36.16%
Nasdaq -42.51%
S&P -40.88%
Russell 2000 -38.58%
NYSE COMPOSITE -43.66%

NYSE STATS 10:30AM
Advances 1698,Declines 1101,Unchanged 134,New highs 3,New lows 7.
NASDAQ STATS 10:30AM
Advances 1292,Declines 964,Unchanged 229.

GMAC recieves approval to become a bank holding company.
SpendingPulse report:Retail sales -4% this Holiday season.
Retailers Year to date:Abercrombie -73%,Nordstrom -67%,Macy's -66%.
Jones New York +15% After reducing Credt lines.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS

Dow +63 points at high.
Dow +29 points at low.
Fewer than 200,000 shares traded at noon today.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS

Dow +63 points at high.
Dow -6 points at low.
Dow +0.6% today
Dow -35.8% this year.
Dow -3.4% this month.
S&P +0.5% today.
S&P -40.6% this year.
S&P -2.6% this month.
Nasdaq +0.3% this week.
Nasdaq -42.3% this year.
Nasdaq -0.4% this month.

MARKETS TODAY
-Light volume,tight range.
-Negative Holiday sales weigh.
-Gmac Bank status approval boosts autos.
-333 MILLION Shares traded by 3PM today.
DOW,S&P,NASDAQ has not had a 2 day up streak since DEC 08,2008.
Stocks have 2 winning,2 losing days in this shortened trading week.
Stocks gains for 2nd day,but end lower on the week.
OIL snaps 9 session losing streak.
3 TRADING DAYS REMAIN IN 2008.

Stocks up after GMAC lifeline, retail sales dip By MADLEN READ, AP Business Writer DEC 26,08

NEW YORK – Wall Street has ended the week with a moderate advance in light post-holiday trading after the government threw a lifeline to General Motors Corp.'s finance arm. But while the market did manage an advance, dreary holiday spending readings are dimming the chances for a big year-end rally.Americans spent much less this season than they did last year, according to SpendingPulse, a division of MasterCard Advisors. Personal consumption is a huge part of U.S. economic activity, so Wall Street is nervous that a frugal consumer could keep the economy weak in 2009.

Investors did react well to news on Christmas Eve that the Federal Reserve had allowed GMAC Financial Services to become a bank holding company and thus qualify for the government's $700 billion rescue fund.The Dow Jones industrials are up 47 points at 8,515. All the major indexes finished higher.

Canadian economy shrinks, on track for recession By David Ljunggren David Ljunggren –Wed Dec 24, 11:46 am ET

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada's economy shrank in October on declines in wholesale trade and manufacturing, paving the way for a recession that has been widely predicted by analysts and government officials.Statistics Canada said on Wednesday that the economy shrank by 0.1 percent in October from September, less than the 0.3 percent fall predicted by market analysts.Year on year, gross domestic product growth was an anemic 0.2 percent, the lowest figure since the 0.2 percent increase recorded in May 1992.The decline in October GDP likely marks the start of recession in Canada, said Benjamin Reitzes of BMO Capital Markets Economics.The technical definition of recession is two consecutive quarters of negative growth.Ian Pollick, economics strategist at TD Securities, said he expected fourth quarter GDP to contract between 1.5 and 2.0 percent from the third quarter and to shrink by at least 0.7 percent from the year-before quarter.Either way you slice it, the Canadian economy is beginning to feel the weakness of the global economic slowdown, he said.Wholesale trade fell by 2.7 percent in October over September, while manufacturing dropped by 0.7 percent, as both sectors felt the impact of a slump in the auto sector that is causing more and more pain for Canada.Weakening demand for housing reduced business for real estate agents and brokers by 14.3 percent in October, the biggest monthly decline in more than a decade.The data had little impact on the Canadian dollar. At 9:50 a.m., the currency was at C$1.2170 to the U.S. dollar, or 82.17 U.S. cents, down slightly from C$1.2146 to the U.S. dollar, or 82.33 U.S. cents, at Tuesday's close.On the positive side, the energy sector grew by 1.2 percent on increased oil and gas extraction, while the finance and insurance sector rose 0.4 percent due to unusually high trading volume on stock exchanges.Canada sends 75 percent of its exports to the United States and as such is extremely vulnerable to the growing economic crisis in its neighbor to the south.

For a small open economy that continues to see the vast majority of its external demand originate out of the United States, there is little debate over the economy's inability to decouple itself from the U.S. consumer and the U.S. economic slowdown, said Stewart Hall, an economist at HSBC Securities.The expectation is for the economy to decelerate significantly in November and December, he added, predicting that GDP in the fourth quarter would contract by 2.5 percent on annualized basis from the third quarter.(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Peter Galloway)

US holiday season retail sales plunge amid recession DEC 26,08

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A dismal Christmas-New Year shopping season for American retailers -- that's what a preliminary poll showed Friday as the United States reeled from a prolonged recession that has cut jobs and spending.Total retail sales dropped by up to eight percent for the traditional November-December shopping period, making it one of the worst holiday shopping periods in decades, the MasterCard Inc.'s SpendingPulse unit said in a report.While total retail sales are down in the 5.5 to eight percent range for November and December, there were a few signs of relative strength, according to Michael McNamara, Vice President of Research and Analysis for SpendingPulse.The 40 percent drop in the price of gasoline compared to December 2007 accounted for almost half of the decline, the report said, tracking retail and service sales nationally.Excluding gasoline, total sales were down two to four percent this holiday season compared to the same period in 2007, it said.Sectors that sold food, such as grocery and general merchandise stores and some sectors of the restaurant sector, helped keep total declines in the single digit range.And sales through the Internet also remained comparatively healthy, with overall e-commerce sales declining only 2.3 percent compared to the 2007 holiday season.

Still, McNamara noted, A difficult economic environment combined with unfavorable weather during the last week of shopping made 2008 one of the most challenging holiday shopping seasons in decades.The usually hot apparel sector was among the worst hit despite huge discounts.Total apparel sales declines stabilized in the 19 to 21 percent range over the same period last year, only slightly higher than the 19.5 percent year-to-year decline through the first week in December, and the 19 percent decline in the first half of November, the latest survey said.The popular electronics and appliance category also suffered, facing declines of more than 26 percent against 2007.Sales above 1,000 dollars have been a consistent drag on this sector throughout the season, observed McNamara.But luxury sales, another high-ticket sector, showed the largest year-over-year declines, with sales down by more than 34 percent over last year.When jewelry was excluded, luxury sales were down slightly over 21 percent compared with 2007.

GM shares and GMAC bonds jump on bank holding status
By Soyoung Kim and Walden Siew DEc 26,08

DETROIT/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of General Motors Corp and bonds of GMAC LLC jumped on Friday after the auto finance company won U.S. approval to become a bank holding company.The Federal Reserve approved GMAC's status as a bank on Wednesday, giving the automaker's finance affiliate access to government lending programs, which may help GMAC avoid bankruptcy and continue financing of dealer and consumer loans for GM vehicles.Shares of GM were up 19.38 percent, or 63 cents, at $3.88 on the New York Stock Exchange.The news came less than a week after the U.S. government agreed to bail out GM and Chrysler LLC with $17.4 billion of emergency loans to provide liquidity and stave off collapse and massive loss of jobs.It's significant in terms of GM's ability to move cars, said Erich Merkle, an analyst at Crowe Horwath.Things are still pretty ugly out there (in terms of sales) but in terms of GM possibly filing for bankruptcy, in my mind that's not going to happen. The reason I'm saying this is what they (the government) are doing with GMAC right now.GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said last week that GMAC's difficulties were hammering the carmaker's ability to sell vehicles.The new bank status came ahead of a midnight debt swap deadline on Friday. GMAC, owned by private equity firm Cerberus and GM, is looking to swap $38 billion of outstanding debt for a smaller amount of new debt, as well as preferred shares and cash, to reduce its debt load and raise capital.This opens the door to invest in the senior and subordinated debt, which are trading at very attractive yields, said Andrew Brenner, an analyst at MF Global Inc in New York.

GMAC's 5.625 percent notes due in 2009 climbed to 93 cents, yielding 26 percent, versus about 73 cents on Monday, its last significant trade, when the note yielded almost 104 percent, according to MarketAxess data.GMAC has struggled as the credit crunch lifted its borrowing costs sharply and the value of many of its assets plummeted. It has lost $7.9 billion over the last five quarters.The lender's difficulties forced it to severely curtail financing for dealerships and for consumer purchases of new GM cars and trucks in recent months. The cutback in financing compounded the sales slump at GM, the No. 1 U.S. automaker, whose sales fell an eye-popping 41 percent in November.GM dealers have depended on GMAC, the largest auto finance company in North America, for financing of their own inventory and consumer purchases even after GM sold a 51 percent stake in GMAC to Cerberus in 2006 for $7.4 billion. GM retains the remaining 49 percent.GM and Cerberus will have to trim back their stakes to no more than 10 percent and 14.9 percent, respectively, to comply with Fed rules that are meant to prevent companies from using banks to fund their businesses.(Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Media's cold deceit descends upon Bethlehem December 24, 2008 9:41 pm Eastern
By Aaron Klein 2008

An arctic chill has descended upon Bethlehem in recent days. And I'm not talking about the weather, but the cold deceit of the mainstream media, which, like clockwork, file misleading reports from this important Christian city every year. They completely ignore Muslim intimidation of Christians while blaming Israel for ruining Christmas and for the drastic decline of Christianity in one of the holiest cities for that religion. Let's start with a widely circulated AP article: Bethlehem adapts to life in shadow of Israeli wall.The piece paints a picture of an economically downtrodden Bethlehem and squarely blames Israel for building a wall that the AP claims not only cuts Bethlehem off from Jerusalem, but meanders through the town. AP journalist Dalia Nammari interviews local residents who lost their jobs, including one family who closed their car repair shop, we are told, because of the Israeli wall.The article is drowning in lies. Did Nammari actually travel to Bethlehem? If so, she would know there is absolutely no wall that meanders through town.Israel built a fence, in 2002, in the area where northern Bethlehem interfaces with Jerusalem. A tiny segment of that barrier, facing a major Israeli roadway, is a concrete wall that Israel says is meant to prevent gunmen from shooting at Israeli motorists. Israel had good reason to build the wall in that one small area, since terrorists in 2000 and 2001 routinely shot and killed Israeli motorists at the adjacent roadway. The rest of Bethlehem is not encircled by any wall or fence. Actually, unless one enters the city from the area interfacing Jerusalem, a traveler coming in from any other entrance will not even encounter the barrier. Get Aaron Klein's classic book: Schmoozing with Terrorists: From Hollywood to the Holy Land, Jihadists Reveal their Global Plans – to a Jew!

Nammari's main contention – Palestinians in Bethlehem are suffering economically, and this is Israel's fault – couldn't be further from the truth. The Palestinian Authority itself has declared Bethlehem is undergoing major economic growth and is expecting more tourists this year than any time since 1999! Even the New York Times was forced to admit as much. A Times article from yesterday datelined in Bethlehem, was titled, Palestinians work to jolt West Bank back to life.The piece, allows, Both Israeli and Palestinian officials report economic growth for the occupied areas of 4 to 5 percent and a drop in the unemployment rate of at least three percentage points. The improved climate has nearly doubled the number of tourists in Bethlehem and increased them by half in Jericho.The Times quotes Victor Batarseh, the Palestinian mayor of Bethlehem, triumphantly declaring: It has been the best year since 1999.Our hotels are full, whereas three years ago there was almost nobody. Unemployment is below 20 percent, he said. But alas, the Times is sure to get in an inaccurate snippet aimed at Israel: Even today, getting into Bethlehem requires passing through an Israeli checkpoint under the shadow of the enormous Israeli separation barrier. (Again, not true. There are other entrances into Bethlehem that don't face any barrier). The Times piece did not bother to tell readers one of the main reasons tourism is up in Bethlehem: The number of terrorist attacks launched by Bethlehem-area terrorists is down, drawing fewer Israeli antiterrorism operations in the city. Enter Reuters. A piece by the news agency concedes in its title, Bethlehem fills up with Christmas pilgrims, that the city is teeming with tourists. But it blathers about a daunting concrete wall 4 metres (13 feet) high with watchtowers without informing readers that the wall is only in a tiny, necessary section. The Reuters article attributes the rise in Bethlehem tourism to a decline in violence in the West Bank that has tempted back tourists who no longer fear gun battles in the streets. Decline in violence? That's a bit general. Perhaps Reuters is so entrenched in its political narrative in which Israel is the aggressor it is afraid to admit a decline in Palestinian terrorism has helped free Bethlehem from economic decline.

Now let's go into a little necessary background on that wall in Bethlehem. The barrier, most of which is a fence, was constructed after the outbreak of the Palestinian intifada, or terror war, launched after late PLO Leader Yasser Arafat turned down an Israeli offer of a Palestinian state, returning to the Middle East to liberate Palestine with violence. Scores of deadly suicide bombings and shooting attacks against Israelis were planned in Bethlehem and carried out by Bethlehem-area terrorists, including Eita and his ilk. At one point during the period of just 30 days in 2002, at least 14 shootings were perpetuated by Bethlehem cells of Arafat's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorists, killing two Israelis and wounding six. Many times Muslim gunmen in the Bethlehem area reportedly took positions in civilian homes in the hilltops of Christian Beit Jala, which straddles Bethlehem. Beit Jala afforded the terrorists a clear firing line at southern sections of Jerusalem and at a major Israeli highway down below, drawing Israeli military raids and the eventual building of the security barrier there. Another popular theme of the mainstream media in recent years is that Bethlehem's Christian population, which is drastically declining, is dwindling because of the barrier.Simple demographic facts disprove this contention that Israel built the barrier six years ago. But Bethlehem's Christian population started to drastically decline in 1995, the very year Arafat's Palestinian Authority took over the holy Christian city in line with the U.S.-backed Oslo Accords. Bethlehem was more than 80 percent Christian when Israel was founded in 1948. But since Arafat got his grimy hands on it, the city's Christian population dove to its current 23 percent. And that statistic is considered generous since it includes the satellite towns of Beit Sahour and Beit Jala. Some estimates place Bethlehem's actual Christian population as low as 12 percent, with hundreds of Christians emigrating each year. As soon as he took over Bethlehem, Arafat unilaterally fired the city's Christian politicians and replaced them with Muslim cronies. He appointed a Muslim governor, Muhammed Rashad A-Jabar and deposed of Bethlehem's city council, which had nine Christians and two Muslims, reducing the number of Christians councilors to a 50-50 split. Arafat then converted a Greek Orthodox monastery next to the Church of Nativity, the believed birthplace of Jesus, into his official Bethlehem residence. Suddenly, after the Palestinians gained the territory, reports of Christian intimidation by Muslims began to surface. Christian leaders and residents told me they face an atmosphere of regular hostility. They said Palestinian armed groups stir tension by holding militant demonstrations and marches in the streets. They spokes of instances in which Christian shopkeepers' stores were ransacked and Christian homes attacked. They said in the past, Palestinian gunmen fired at Israelis from Christian hilltop communities, drawing Israeli anti-terror raids to their towns. In 2002, dozens of terrorists holed up inside the Church of the Nativity for 39 days while fleeing a massive Israeli anti-terror operation. Israel surrounded the church area but refused to storm the structure. Gunmen inside included wanted senior Hamas, Tanzim and Brigades terrorists reportedly involved in suicide bombings and shooting attacks. More than 200 nuns and priests were trapped in the church after Israeli hostage negotiators failed to secure their release. Some Christian leaders said one of the most significant problems facing Christians in Bethlehem is the rampant confiscation of land by Muslim gangs.

There are many cases where Christians have their land stolen by the [Muslim] mafia, said Samir Qumsiyeh, a Bethlehem Christian leader and owner of the Beit Sahour-based private Al-Mahd (Nativity) TV station. It is a regular phenomenon in Bethlehem. They go to a poor Christian person with a forged power of attorney document, and then they say we have papers proving you're living on our land. If you confront them, many times the Christian is beaten. You can't do anything about it. The Christian loses, and he runs away, Qumsiyeh told WND, speaking from his hilltop television station during a recent interview. Qumsiyeh himself said he was targeted by Islamic gangs. He said his home was firebombed after he returned from a trip abroad during which he gave public speeches outlining the plight of Bethlehem's Christian population. One Christian Bethlehem resident told WND last year her friend recently fled Bethlehem after being accused by Muslims of selling property to Jews, a crime punishable by death in some Palestinian cities. The resident said a good deal of the intimidation comes from gunmen associated with PA President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization. A February Jerusalem Post article cited the case of Faud and Georgette Lama, Christian residents of Bethlehem who said their land was stolen by local Muslims and when they tried to do something about it, Faud was beaten by gunmen. One religious novelty store owner I met recently told me Muslim gangs regularly deface Christian property. We are harassed, but you wouldn't know the truth. No one says anything publicly about the Muslims. This is why Christians are running away.

FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU Muslim grinches steal Christmas Christians warned against celebration: We are living under a state of fear December 24, 2008
8:50 pm Eastern By Aaron Klein 2008 WorldNetDaily

JERUSALEM – Christians living in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip are holding only small, quiet Christmas celebrations after local leaders received warnings from Muslim groups against any public display of Christianity this holiday season, according to a Gaza Christian leader. Publicly, some Christian leaders announced the dampened festivities were to protest an Israeli blockade imposed on Gaza after Hamas seized control of the territory in the summer of 2007. Israel limits trade convoys but still allows in humanitarian aid and directly supplies Gaza with 75 percent of its electricity. The Jewish state also provides monthly infusions of Israeli currency that fuel the Gaza economy. Gaza Latin Church pastor Manuel Musalam faxed a statement to reporters announcing his church would not hold midnight Christmas mass to protest both the blockade and a threatened Israeli military invasion of Gaza. At least one other Christian leader in the territory made similar remarks to the media.

Still, according to local Christians, some private, low key celebrations took place.

A top Christian leader in Gaza told WND the decision to keep celebrations quiet came after he received threats from local Muslim groups against any public display of Christianity during Christmas. The leader was speaking on condition of anonymity, saying his life would be threatened if he spoke out publicly. He said the threats were conveyed to other Christian leaders in Gaza. We were warned not to celebrate in the streets or ring the church bells, otherwise Christians would be targeted. We are living under a state of fear, the Christian leader said. There is nothing we can do about the situation. We don't want to infuriate anyone, he said. The Christian leader would not say whether the threats were verbal or came in the form of written communication. He said he had reason to believe the threats emanated with Jihadia Salafiya, a Hamas-allied Islamic outreach movement in Gaza that recently announced the opening of a military wing to enforce Muslim law. The organization, which is not directly connected to Hamas but publicly supports it, has been suspected in a string of anti-Christian attacks, including the bombing of a Christian bookstore in November 2007 and the murder of the store's manager, local Christian resident Rami Ayyad. Contacted by WND, Abu Islam, chief of Jihadia Salafiya, denied making any threats against Christians. Still, Abu Islam commented, Gaza is a Muslim state. Why do 3,000 Christians need to celebrate openly in a territory of 1 million Muslims? Any celebrations are clearly for missionary purposes and must not be tolerated.

Abu Islam previously gave WND interviews under a different name, Sheik Abu Saqer. He changed his name to Abu Islam in June 2007 in celebration of Hamas' Gaza takeover.
Immediately after Hamas' Gaza coup, Abu Islam told WND in an exclusive interview Christians could continue living safely in the Gaza Strip only if they accepted Islamic law, including a ban on alcohol and on women roaming publicly without proper head coverings. [Now that Hamas is in power,] the situation has changed 180 degrees in Gaza, said Abu Islam, speaking from Gaza in June 2007. Jihadia Salafiya and other Islamic movements will ensure Christian schools and institutions show publicly what they are teaching to be sure they are not carrying out missionary activity, he said.

Abu Islam accused the Gaza Christian leadership of proselytizing and trying to convert Muslims with funding from American evangelicals.This missionary activity is endangering the entire Christian community in Gaza, he warned.

Christians warned: Accept Islamic law

About 3,000 Christians live in the Gaza Strip, which has a population of over 1 million. After Hamas' rise to power, Christian in Gaza repeatedly have been targeted. Jihadia Salafiya is suspected of many of the Islamist attacks, such as a May 2007 shooting against a United Nations school in Gaza after it allowed boys and girls to participate in the same sporting event. One person was killed in the attack. In the case of Ayyad, who managed the only Christian bookstore in Gaza, his body was discovered riddled with gunshot and stab wounds. Just before his murder, Ayyad, a Baptist, was publicly accused by Abu Islam's group of engaging in missionary activities. Ayyad's bookstore, owned by the Palestinian Bible Society, was firebombed in April 2007, after which he told relatives he received numerous death threats from Islamists. WND quoted witnesses stating Ayyad was publicly tortured a few blocks from his store before he was shot to death. The witnesses said they saw three armed men, two of whom were wearing masks, beat Ayyad repeatedly with clubs and the butts of their guns while they accused him of attempting to spread Christianity in Gaza. The witnesses said that after sustaining the beating, Ayyad was shot by all three men.

Russia to raise nuclear missile output fourfold• 70 ICBMs intended to pressure US in treaty talks• £95bn package includes tanks, ships and planesTom Parfitt in Moscow and Julian Borger, diplomatic editor The Guardian, Wednesday 24 December 2008

Russia has thrown down a new gauntlet to Barack Obama with an announcement that it will sharply increase production of strategic nuclear missiles.In the latest of a series of combative moves by the Kremlin, a senior government official in Moscow said the Russian military would commission 70 strategic missiles over the next three years, as part of a massive rearmament programme which will also include short-range missiles, 300 tanks, 14 warships and 50 planes.Military experts said the planned new arsenal was presumed to consist of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) rather than submarine-launched missiles. If this is the case, the plans represent a fourfold increase in the rate of ICBM deployment. The arsenal will include a new-generation, multiple-warhead ICBM called the RS-24. It was first test-fired in 2007, with first deputy prime minister Sergei Ivanov boasting it was capable of overcoming any existing or future missile defence systems.The new missiles will be part of a £95bn defence procurement package for 2009-2011, a 28% increase in arms spending, according to Vladislav Putilin of the cabinet's military-industrial commission. There will be further increases in spending in the following two years.The new military procurements follow the war in Georgia in August. Russian forces easily routed Georgian troops, but the conflict exposed weaknesses in the Russian army, including outdated equipment and poorly co-ordinated command structures. The defence ministry said it would carry out drastic reforms, turning the army into a more modern force.

Vladimir Putin on Monday urged cabinet officials to quickly allocate funds for new weapons and closely control the quality and pace of their production. Military experts said the construction of 70 long-range nuclear missiles in the next three years represented a Russian attempt to strengthen its bargaining position with Washington, in talks aimed at agreeing new nuclear weapons cuts when the current treaty in force, Start I, expires next December. Moscow's strategy appears to be to challenge Obama's new administration as soon as it takes office on 20 January. On the day Obama was elected the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, announced plans to station short-range Iskander missiles in Russia's Kaliningrad exclave as a counter to American installation of its missile defence system in eastern Europe. Ruben Sergeev, an expert on disarmament issues, said Moscow was afraid of falling behind in a new arms race. Russia is decommissioning its old liquid-fuel missiles from the Soviet era at a rate of several dozen every year, he said. The Kremlin knows that if it doesn't increase production of ICBMs rapidly now then it will have no chance of getting a new arms reduction treaty out of the US, which has much greater quantities of missiles. Negotiations on a successor to Start I have been bogged down in detail, and hamstrung by the Bush administration's lame duck status. The chief US negotiator, John Rood, said last week that the latest sticking point was Russian insistence that the new treaty cover long-range delivery systems, such as bombers and missiles, intended for conventional arms as well as nuclear warheads. The US wants the treaty to focus solely on nuclear warheads. Moscow has also signalled that it would supply Tehran with new surface-to-air missiles in defiance of US opposition. Washington has asked for more information on the sales, fearing the weapons being sold include long-range S-300 missiles, which have a 120km (75 mile) range. They could threaten US planes in Iraq, and could also protect Iranian nuclear sites from aerial attack.The US has set aside its own plans for military action against Iran for now, but US officials hoped that fear of an Israeli strike would make Iran more amenable to suspending its enrichment of uranium.

Arms treaties
Start I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, July 1991, limited US and Soviet Union to long-range nuclear arsenals of 6,000 warheads on 1,600 delivery systems. Expires 5 December 2009.INF Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty 1987 banned missiles such as the US Cruise with range of 3,500 miles.Start II Signed 1993, supposed to ban multiple warheads on long-range missiles. Russian Duma delayed ratifying and it never came into force. Start III Negotiated in 1997 to reduce nuclear stockpiles to 2,000-2,500 warheads, but fell apart over the US missile defence system. Talks resumed in 2007.Sort Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty, or 2002 Moscow Treaty, cuts US and Russian arsenals to 1,700-2,200 operationally deployed warheads each. No verification procedures.

3 Chinese navy ships leave for Somalia By WILLIAM FOREMAN, Associated Press Writer William Foreman, DEC 26,08

GUANGZHOU, China – Chinese warships — armed with special forces, guided missiles and helicopters — set sail Friday for anti-piracy duty off Somalia, the first time the communist nation has sent ships on a mission that could involve fighting so far beyond its territorial waters.The three vessels — two destroyers and a supply ship — may increase worries about growing Chinese military power. The mission will also challenge China's ability to cooperate with other naval forces patrolling the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest sea lanes.Warships from India, Russia, NATO and the U.S. are also cruising the Somali waters that have been plagued by pirate attacks in recent months.The Chinese ships left early Friday afternoon from a base on the southern island province of Hainan, the official Xinhua News Agency and CCTV reported. China announced it was joining the anti-piracy mission Tuesday after the U.N. Security Council authorized nations to conduct land and air attacks on pirate bases.Pirates have made an estimated $30 million hijacking ships for ransom this year, seizing more than 40 vessels off Somalia's 1,880-mile (3,000-kilometer) coastline.Deploying ships to the Gulf of Aden marks a significant step in the evolution of China's navy, according to a report by Stratfor, an Austin, Texas-based intelligence company. The mission will be complicated, offering vital on-the-job training in refueling, resupply and repairs far from home as well as patrolling for pirates, Stratfor said.

In the event of an accident or a run-in with pirates, Stratfor said, would a Chinese vessel carry out repairs at sea, head to a nearby port, perhaps in Pakistan, or return to China? Stratfor also noted the waters will be awash with naval ships from around the world, making it essential for China to maintain effective communication with the vessels.The Chinese will very likely monitor the way NATO and especially U.S. warships communicate with each other and with their shipborne helicopters, the report said.China's willingness to send ships so far from home is also the latest example of the growing power and confidence of the country's navy. In recent years, the military has been loading up on warships, planes, missiles and other weapons — a beef-up that has worried its neighbors and the U.S.Those most concerned include the Japanese and South Koreans, who have long-standing disputes about territorial waters that occasionally flare up. China has also been locked in an uneasy stand off with the Philippines, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations over the ownership of the potentially oil-rich Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.Denny Roy, a senior fellow at the East-West Center in Hawaii, said countries in the region will view China's mission off Somalia differently.For Japan and some in South Korea, this is another step in the unwelcome growth of the Chinese navy as a capable blue-water force, which has only downsides for Tokyo and Seoul, said Roy, an expert on China's military.But he said most Southeast Asian countries may see China's involvement in the anti-piracy campaign as a positive thing. It would mean that China was using its greater military might for constructive purposes, rather than challenging the current international order.However, the analyst added, The Chinese deployment gets at a question the U.S. and other governments have been asking: Why the big Chinese military buildup when no country threatens China? Or more bluntly, Why do the Chinese need a blue-water navy when the U.S. Navy already polices the world's oceans?
Roy said the answer is that China is unwilling to rely on the U.S. to protect China's increasingly global interests. Beijing still believes it needs to enter the field, Roy said, and that leaves open the possibility of a China-U.S. naval rivalry in the future.China has said the mission's purpose was to protect Chinese ships and crews that have come under attack from pirates. The vessels would also be willing to share intelligence and conduct humanitarian rescue operations with other countries involved in the anti-piracy efforts, Senior Col. Huang Xueping, spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense, said Tuesday.

The two Chinese destroyers — the Haikou and Wuhan — will carry special forces, two helicopters and traditional weapons such as missiles and cannons. Huang didn't say how long the mission will last, but a Communist Party newspaper has said the ships would be away about three months. On Thursday, a German military helicopter rescued an Egyptian ship from pirates who shot and injured a crew member while trying to board the vessel off the Somali coast, said Noel Choong of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center. The bulk carrier with 31 crew was passing through the Gulf of Aden on its way to Asia when it was chased by gun-toting pirates in a speedboat, Choong said. The pirates are spurred by poverty in Somalia, a nation of about 8 million people that has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991 and then turned on each other. Countries as diverse as Britain, India, Iran, the United States, France and Germany have naval forces in the waters or on their way there. On Wednesday, Japan said it was considering joining the coalition.

Israel opens Gaza border for humanitarian aid DEC 26,08
By ARON HELLER, Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM – Israel reopened its border with Gaza on Friday to allow deliveries of humanitarian aid, despite continued rocket and mortar fire from the coastal strip and growing expectations of a large-scale Israeli military campaign against Palestinian militants.One rocket fired by militants late Friday landed short of its target and struck a house in northern Gaza, killing two Palestinian girls, ages 5 and 12, said Health Ministry official Dr. Moiaya Hassanain. The two girls were cousins, he said, adding that three other children were wounded. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.The military said approximately 90 trucks were delivering medicine, fuel, cooking gas and other vital goods into Gaza. The shipment included a large donation of goods from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's wife as well as more than 150,000 gallons (400,000 liters) of fuel and 200 tons (180 metric tons) of natural gas, the military said.Israel's Defense Ministry said it agreed to open its cargo crossings into Gaza to avoid a humanitarian crisis there. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the decision came after consultations with defense officials as well as calls from the international community. Israel controls Gaza's cargo crossings, which are used to deliver food, fuel and other goods into the territory.Cabinet Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said the humanitarian shipment was meant to be a message to the people of Gaza that they were not Israel's enemy.We are sending them a message that the Hamas leadership has turned them into a punching bag for everyone, he told Israel Radio. It is a leadership that has turned school yards in rocket launching pads. This a leadership that does not care that the blood of its people will run in the streets.The deliveries did not persuade Gaza militants to halt their rocket and mortar fire on Israeli border communities. The military said more than 10 rockets and mortars were fired toward Israel early Friday. One home was struck but no injuries were reported.Israel had originally agreed to open the cargo crossings with Gaza on Wednesday, but shut the passages after militants began pounding southern Israel with dozens of rockets and mortars. The attacks were the heaviest since an Egyptian-mediated truce between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers expired last week. The truce, which had taken effect in June, began unraveling in early November.Pressure has been mounting in Israel for the military to strike forcefully against Gaza militants and Israeli leaders have been voicing strong threats in recent days. But on Friday, military officials said the army was planning a routine rotation of its troops along the Gaza border in the coming week. That, coupled with current winter weather, made an imminent operation seem unlikely, they said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not permitted to discuss military strategy publicly.Israel has maintained a strict blockade of Gaza since the June 19 cease-fire began unraveling six weeks ago, allowing in only small quantities of essential goods. Egypt has also sealed its border crossing with the territory, the main exit point for Gazans traveling abroad.Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was in Cairo Thursday for meetings with Mubarak, who urged Israel to exercise restraint in response to the rocket fire. Livni brushed aside the calls, however, and said Israel would defend itself.Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also issued a direct, emotional plea to the people of Gaza to stop firing and turn against their Hamas leaders, whom he called the main reason for your suffering — for all of ours. He delivered the message in an interview with the Arabic-language Al-Arabiya TV channel.Israel left Gaza in 2005 after a 38-year occupation. Islamic Hamas militants seized control of Gaza in June 2007, after routing security forces loyal to Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.Israel has thus far been reluctant to press ahead with a campaign likely to exact heavy casualties on both sides. Past incursions have not halted the barrages, and officials fear anything short of a reoccupation of Gaza would fail to achieve the desired results.Israel is expected to continue its military consultations over the weekend.Also Friday, a poll published in the Maariv daily showed Livni's moderate Kadima Party neck and neck with its hawkish Likud rival ahead of Feb. 10 elections. Likud objects to the peace talks that Israeli negotiators, led by Livni, are conducting with Abbas' government.A Teleseker survey showed Kadima winning 30 of parliament's 120 seats, to Likud's 29 seats. The poll surveyed more than 800 people and had a margin of error of 2 seats. Previous polls in recent weeks had given Likud a strong lead.

Palestinian rocket misfires, kills 2 girls in Gaza By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer DEC 26,08

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – A crude rocket fired by Palestinian militants fell short of its target in Israel on Friday, striking a house in the northern Gaza Strip and killing two schoolgirls.The attack came as Israel sent mixed signals over its plans to respond to continuing Palestinian rocket fire. Israeli defense officials say politicians have approved a large-scale incursion into the territory once rainy conditions clear. But at the same time, Israel appeared receptive to international pressure against an invasion, opening the Gaza border Friday to allow in deliveries of humanitarian aid.None of Gaza's militant factions claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on the house in Beit Lahiya. Gaza Health Ministry official Dr. Moiaya Hassanain said the two victims, ages 5 and 12, were cousins. Three other children were wounded, he said.The girls were the first Palestinian civilians inadvertently killed by militants since their truce with Israel began collapsing six weeks ago. Family members and medics said they were killed by rocket fire.Israel's crossings with Gaza have been largely clamped tight since Islamic Hamas militants seized control of the coastal strip in June 2007, with only the barest essentials allowed in since a June 19 truce with Gaza gunmen began unraveling six weeks ago.On Thursday, however, Israel's Defense Ministry said it agreed to open its cargo crossings into Gaza to avoid a humanitarian crisis there. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the decision followed consultations with defense officials and calls from the international community, suggesting Israel might be open to international pressure to resume the truce.

A total of 106 trucks carried medicine, fuel, cooking gas and other vital goods into Gaza, including a small donation from Egypt, the military said.Cabinet Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said the humanitarian shipment was meant to be a message to the people of Gaza that they were not Israel's enemy.We are sending them a message that the Hamas leadership has turned them into a punching bag for everyone, he told Israel Radio. It is a leadership that has turned school yards into rocket-launching pads. This a leadership that does not care that the blood of its people will run in the streets.Ben-Eliezer echoed the message Prime Minister Ehud Olmert tried to deliver a day earlier in an interview with the Arabic language Al-Arabiya TV station: that Gaza's Islamic Hamas militant rulers were to blame for the suffering in Gaza, home to 1.4 million Palestinians.But, as with similar cases involving unintended civilian casualties in the past, there were no immediate signs of backlash against the militants after the girls' death.The militants kept up their fire on Israeli border areas despite Israel's agreement to open its crossings Friday. In all, 13 rockets and mortars were fired toward Israel by Friday evening, the military said. One home was struck but no injuries were reported.Israel had originally agreed to open the cargo crossings with Gaza on Wednesday, but shut the passages after militants began pounding southern Israel with rockets and mortars.

Pressure has been mounting in Israel for the military to crush Gaza militants, and Israeli leaders have been voicing strong threats in recent days. But on Friday, military officials said the army was planning a routine rotation of its troops along the Gaza border in the coming week. That, coupled with winter weather, made an imminent operation seem unlikely, they said.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not permitted to discuss military strategy publicly.
Israel left Gaza in 2005 after a 38-year occupation and has been reluctant to press ahead with a campaign likely to exact heavy casualties on both sides. Past incursions have not halted the barrages, and officials fear anything short of a reoccupation of Gaza would fail to achieve the desired results.