CNN - INAUGURATION TO HAJJ

Gazan doctor confirms Hamas exaggerated death toll for political gain JAN 24,09

What really is behind the numbers reported on the number of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip? Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera reported Thursday that a doctor working in Gaza's Shifa Hospital claimed that Hamas has intentionally inflated the number of casualties resulting from Israel's Operation Cast Lead. The number of deceased stands at no more than 500 to 600. Most of them are youths between the ages of 17 to 23 who were recruited to the ranks of Hamas, who sent them to the slaughter, according to the newspaper article. The doctor wished to remain unidentified, out of fear for his life. A senior Palestinian Health Ministry official later denied the claims, and the Israel Defense Forces' estimate on the number of casualties in Gaza has also remained unchanged. Despite the claims, the IDF stood behind its estimate that between 1,100 to 1,200 people were killed in the Strip during the fighting, more than two-thirds of them Hamas members. The army initially believed that the number of civilian casualties was higher, as many Hamas men walked outside their houses dressed in civilian clothes, leaving their weapons at home.

Mostly armed teenagers

A Tal al-Hawa resident told the newspaper's reporter, Armed Hamas men sought out a good position for provoking the Israelis. There were mostly teenagers, aged 16 or 17, and armed. They couldn't do a thing against a tank or a jet. They knew they are much weaker, but they fired at our houses so that they could blame Israel for war crimes.The reporter for the Italian newspaper also quoted reporters in the Strip who told of Hamas' exaggerated figures, We have already said to Hamas commanders – why do you insist on inflating the number of victims? These same reporters mentioned that the truth that will come out is likely to be similar to what occurred in Operation Defensive Shield in Jenin. Then, there was first talk of 1,500 deaths. But then it turned out that there were only 54, 45 of which were armed men, the Palestinian reporters told the Italian newspaper. These new figures must be treated with caution especially in light of the fact that various official sources in the Gaza Strip, including United Nations and Red Cross officials, have reported that more than 1,300 people were killed and some 5,000 wounded during the three weeks of fighting in the coastal strip. Palestinian sources claim that three-quarters of the dead were unarmed civilians. Hamas, while boasting on having Israeli soldiers by the dozens, a number that has proven to be exaggerated, claimed that no more than 48 of its members were killed during the Israeli offensive. According to IDF figures, Hamas lost hundreds of fighters from its ranks.

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

SNOWSQUALL WARNING: Barrie - Orillia - MidlandIssued at 10:17 AM EST SATURDAY 24 JANUARY 2009 SNOWSQUALLS THIS EVENING.

THE SNOWSQUALLS HAVE WEAKENED NEAR THE GODERICH REGION THIS MORNING. THE AREA WILL STILL SEE FLURRIES AT TIMES HEAVY FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE MORNING BUT THEY WILL BE LESS INTENSE. THE LAKE EFFECT SNOW WILL RE-ORGANIZED THIS EVENING WITH SNOWSQUALLS DEVELOPING IN WESTERLY FLOW OFF GEORGIAN BAY. SEVERAL SNOWSQUALLS ARE LIKELY TO AFFECT THE AREAS FROM MIDLAND TO PARRY SOUND AND INLAND TO HIGHWAY 11. THESE SQUALLS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN STATIONARY TONIGHT AND BEGIN TO WEAKEN SUNDAY MORNING. WIND CHILL..TEMPERATURES HAVE DROPPED TO NEAR MINUS 25 THIS MORNING OVER AREAS EAST OF GEORGIAN BAY THROUGH TO PETAWAWA. THESE COLD TEMPERATURES COMBINED WITH NORTH WINDS ARE GENERATING WIND CHILL VALUES OF MINUS 35 OVER EASTERN ONTARIO THIS MORNING. BRISK NORTH WINDS FLOWING OFF OF GEORGIAN BAY AND LAKE HURON ARE ALSO PRODUCING WIND CHILL VALUES OF MINUS 30 OVER COTTAGE COUNTRY SOUTH TO TORONTO THIS MORNING. THESE FRIGID WIND CHILLS WILL MODERATE AS THE MERCURY RISES THIS MORNING.

Report: Upgrading FEMA flood maps would save lives byFREDERIC J. FROMMER, Associated Press Writer – Fri Jan 23, 4:32 pm ET

WASHINGTON – Nearly four years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, researchers called on the federal government to upgrade its flood maps, arguing that the effort could save lives as well as stem losses to properties and businesses.The Federal Emergency Management Agency's flood insurance rate maps are used to set flood insurance rates, regulate development in flood plains, and let people know about the risk they face.FEMA is wrapping up a five-year map modernization plan that had led to digital flood maps for 92 percent of the continental U.S. population, the National Research Council said. But even after $1 billion has been spent on the effort, only 21 percent of the population has maps which meet all of FEMA's data quality standards, said the study, which was requested by FEMA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.The report said that FEMA often produces maps from the U.S. Geological Survey National Elevation Dataset, but that more accurate maps are available using lidar, which measures elevation from lasers on aircraft.

Among its recommendations, the report calls on FEMA to increase its collaboration with federal, state and local agencies to acquire high-resolution, high-accuracy topographic data.FEMA has recently begun to support collection of lidar data along the Gulf Coast, but lidar data coverage over most inland areas is still sparse, the report says.Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee on disaster recovery, called FEMA's upgrade of its flood maps welcome, but long overdue.However, even with a modernized plan, FEMA may continue to fail Gulf Coast residents if the agency does not seek input from local residents, she said in a statement provided to The Associated Press. An important part of the process is local participation to ensure the maps are accurate and represent the true topography of the land. Knowledge of the local terrain is an essential supplement to the science used to design new flood maps.In Louisiana, FEMA's new maps have triggered complaints from several parishes that the elevation data put too many towns in flood zones — guaranteeing they'll never rebuild and recover from the hurricanes of 2005 and 2008.

A FEMA spokesman, Butch Kinerney, said the report validates a lot of the things we're doing, and have done, and gives us good recommendations for going forward. We're changing the way we're looking at maps.In addition to upgrading the maps, the agency is also helping communities to write plans to prepare for all sorts of disasters, including floods, he said.Askedif he agreed that better maps could save lives and property, Kinerney said that a lot depends on how local communities choose to use the improved information.If a community adopts it, yeah, I think there are going to be dramatic effects, he said. If a community chooses not to adopt it, it could be for naught.The National Research Council is part of the National Academies, an independent organization chartered by Congress to advise the government on scientific matters.On the Net:National Research Council: http://www.nationalacademies.org/nrc

NOAA sets rules for Navy sonar training By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer – Fri Jan 23, 2:51 pm ET

WASHINGTON – Federal fisheries regulators announced rules Friday to protect marine mammals during Navy sonar training along the Atlantic coast and in the Gulf of Mexico.The rules authorize the Navy to conduct the training, while requiring it to take steps to avoid endangering mammals such as whales.Similar regulations were issued previously covering the West Coast and Hawaii by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.The rules will be in effect for five years, but the Navy will have to provide annual reports and seek a new letter of authorization for its training each year, said Jim Lecky, director of the office of protective services at NOAA's Fisheries Service.The Natural Resources Defense Council charged that the rules "will expose millions of marine mammals to harm from naval training.NRDC attorney Joel Reynolds called on the new Barack Obama administration to reopen the rules for further review.Last fall the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Navy in a case in which environmental groups had sought to block sonar training off the coast of Southern California.The Fisheries Service said it does not expect the naval exercises to result in injury or death to marine mammals. However, in some cases exposure to sonar has been associated with animals becoming stranded on shore.

Because the sound generated by tactical active sonar may affect the behavior of some marine mammals, or cause a temporary loss of their hearing, the Navy had requested the authorization under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The regulations require the Navy to:

Establish marine mammal safety zones around each vessel using sonar and to halt sonar operations if marine mammals are seen within these designated safety zones.

Set up a stranding response plan that includes a training shutdown if needed, and to assist NOAA's Fisheries Service if it has to come to the aid of stranded animals.

Limit helicopter dipping sonar and object detection exercises in the North Atlantic right whale critical habitat in the southeast Atlantic Ocean from December through March.

Minimize the impact from torpedo exercises conducted in the North Atlantic right whale critical habitat in the northeast Atlantic Ocean.

Use cautionary measures to reduce the likelihood of ship strikes of North Atlantic right whales.On the Net:NOAA Fisheries Service: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov

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

Geithner breaks currency taboo
ANDREW WILLIS 23.01.2009 @ 17:30 CET

US treasury secretary nominee, Tim Geithner, said Thursday (22 January) that China was artificially manipulating its currency in order to provide a boost for Chinese exports. EU officials however refused to comment on whether this was also their opinion of the situation.Asked whether Europe shared these views, the European Commission's economic and monetary affairs spokesperson told this website on Friday: Commissioner Almunia's position, which is the same as the Eurogroup's long-standing position, is that exchange rates should reflect economic fundamentals. That's all we wish to say.A spokesperson for the EU's trade department also refused to comment.

Such cagey responses highlight the extremely sensitive nature of international exchange rate policies and make Mr Geithner's comments all the more remarkable. In the European Parliament on Wednesday, ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet also refused to comment on a question concerning currency fluctuations between the British pound and the euro. Former US treasury secretary Henry Paulson shared the concern of his replacement that US businesses were suffering from an artificially low yuan and repeatedly called for the currency to float freely against the dollar. However, he shied away from calling China a currency manipulator – a statement unlikely to go down well in Beijing. China's central bank, the People's Bank of China, responded by saying it had noted the comments.Mr Geithner made the statement in a written response to questions from senators the same day as the US upper chamber approved his nomination as treasury secretary. President Obama – backed by the conclusions of a broad range of economists – believes that China is manipulating its currency, he said. The statement continued that Mr Obama would use aggressively all the diplomatic avenues open to him to seek change in China's currency practices. Formally labeling China a currency manipulator would compel the US administration to address the current trade imbalance between the two countries under US law. Professor Jing Men, an expert in Chinese affairs at the College of Europe, pointed out that China had allowed its currency to slowly appreciate over the last three years and suggested the US was trying to lay part of the blame for the financial crisis on China's doorstep. So really its national interest which plays a role in Tim Geithner's speech, she told EUobserver.

Chinese premier tours Europe

Separately, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao is due to visit Brussels next week in what the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday would be a journey of confidence.Mr Jiabao's seven-day trip will focus on trade and boosting economic co-operation between China and the EU. He is to visit a number of European capitals, including the Swiss town of Davos, which will be hosting the annual World Economic Forum meeting. Paris is conspicuously absent from the premier's agenda however. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated following a meeting last month between French President Nicholas Sarkozy and Tibet's Dalai Lama.The Chinese government postponed an EU-China summit as a result of the meeting.

Gordon Brown brings Britain to the edge of bankruptcy Iain Martin says the Prime Minister hasn't saved the world and now faces disgrace in the history books
By Iain Martin 8:41AM GMT 21 Jan 2009

They don't know what they're doing, do they? With every step taken by the Government as it tries frantically to prop up the British banking system, this central truth becomes ever more obvious.Yesterday marked a new low for all involved, even by the standards of this crisis. Britons woke to news of the enormity of the fresh horrors in store. Despite all the sophistry and outdated boom-era terminology from experts, I think a far greater number of people than is imagined grasp at root what is happening here. The country stands on the precipice. We are at risk of utter humiliation, of London becoming a Reykjavik on Thames and Britain going under. Thanks to the arrogance, hubristic strutting and serial incompetence of the Government and a group of bankers, the possibility of national bankruptcy is not unrealistic.The political impact will be seismic; anger will rage. The haunted looks on the faces of those in supporting roles, such as the Chancellor, suggest they have worked out that a tragedy is unfolding here. Gordon Brown is engaged no longer in a standard battle for re-election; instead he is fighting to avoid going down in history disgraced completely.This catastrophe happened on his watch, no matter how much he now opportunistically beats up on bankers. He turned on the fountain of cheap money and encouraged the country to swim in it. House prices rose, debt went through the roof and the illusion won elections. Throughout, Brown boasted of the beauty of his regulatory structure, when those in charge of it were failing to ask the most basic questions of financial institutions. The same bankers Brown now claims to be angry with, he once wooed, travelling to the City to give speeches praising their financial innovation.

Does the Prime Minister realise the likely implications when the country joins the dots? He has never been wild on shouldering blame, so I doubt it. But Brown is a historian. He should know that when a nation has put all its chips on red and the ball lands on black, the person who made the call is responsible. Neville Chamberlain discovered this in May 1940 with the German invasion of France.We're some way from a similar event. But do not underestimate the gravity of the emergency and potential for disgrace.The Government's bail-out of the banks in October with £37 billion of taxpayers' money was supposed to have saved the world, according to the PM, but now it is clear that it has not even saved the banks. Our money kept the show on the road for only three months.As the Liberal Democrats' Treasury spokesman Vince Cable asks: where has the £37 billion gone? The answer, as Cable knows, is that it has disappeared down the plug hole.It is finally dawning on the Government that the liabilities of the British banks grew to be so vast in the boom years that they now eclipse the entire economy. Unfortunately, the Treasury is pledged to honour those liabilities because it has guaranteed not to let a British bank go down. RBS has liabilities of £1.8 trillion, three times annual UK government spending, against assets of £1.9 trillion. But after the events of the past year, I wager most taxpayers will believe the true picture is worse. Meanwhile, the assets are falling in value. This matters, because post-nationalisation these liabilities are now yours and mine.And they come piled on top of the rocketing national debt, charitably put at £630 billion, or 43 per cent of GDP. The true figure is much higher because the Government has used off-balance sheet accounting to hide commitments such as PFI projects.Add to that record consumer indebtedness and Britain becomes extremely vulnerable. The markets have worked this out ahead of the politicians, as usual, and are wondering what to do next. If they decide our nation is a basket case, they will make it so. The PM and the Chancellor , both looking a year older every day, tell us that for their next trick they will buy more bank shares, create a giant insurance scheme for bad debt, pledge to honour liabilities without limit, cross their fingers and hope it all works. The phrase bottomless pit springs to mind for a reason: that is what they have designed.In this gloom, the Prime Minister has but one slender hope: that somehow, by force of personality, the new President Obama engineers a rapid American recovery restoring global confidence, energising the markets and making us all forget this bad dream. Obama is talented but he is not a magician. Instead, Gordon Brown's nightmare, in which we are all trapped, is going to get much worse.

Roubini Predicts U.S. Losses May Reach $3.6 Trillion (Update1)
By Henry Meyer and Ayesha Daya

Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. financial losses from the credit crisis may reach $3.6 trillion, suggesting the banking system is effectively insolvent, said New York University Professor Nouriel Roubini, who predicted last year’s economic crisis. I’ve found that credit losses could peak at a level of $3.6 trillion for U.S. institutions, half of them by banks and broker dealers, Roubini said at a conference in Dubai today. If that’s true, it means the U.S. banking system is effectively insolvent because it starts with a capital of $1.4 trillion. This is a systemic banking crisis.Losses and writedowns at financial companies worldwide have risen to more than $1 trillion since the U.S. subprime mortgage market collapsed in 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. President Barack Obama will have to use as much as $1 trillion of public funds to shore up the capitalization of the banking sector, following the $350 billion injection by the Bush administration, Roubini told Bloomberg News. Congress last year approved a $700 billion rescue fund, of which half remains to be disbursed. Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. bank by assets, posted a quarterly loss of $1.79 billion last week, its first since 1991, and received $138 billion in emergency government funds. Citigroup Inc. posted an $8.29 billion fourth-quarter loss, completing its worst year, and plans to split in two under Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit’s plan to rebuild a capital base eroded by the credit crisis.

Bankrupt System

The problems of Citi, Bank of America and others suggest the system is bankrupt, Roubini said. In Europe, it’s the same thing.Stocks in Europe, Canada and Brazil dropped yesterday on speculation government efforts to shore up the financial industry will fail to stem the deepening global recession. The U.K.’s Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc said it expects to post a loss of as much as 28 billion pounds ($41 billion) for 2008 and the government got ready to raise its stake in the lender.

Oil prices will trade between $30 and $40 a barrel all year, Roubini predicted. I see commodities falling overall another 15-20 percent, Roubini said. This outlook for commodity prices is beneficial for oil importers, it’s going to imply that economic recovery might occur faster, but from the point of view of oil exporters, this will be very negative.Oil has tumbled 77 percent from its July high of $147.27 as the global economy sinks into recession, straining the budgets of crude exporters. Saudi Arabia, Oman and Dubai, the second- largest sheikdom in the United Arab Emirates, have said they will post budget deficits this year. Crude oil for February delivery fell to $32.70, down 10.4 percent from last week’s close and the lowest since Dec. 19, on the New York Mercantile Exchange today. The contract traded at $33.37 a barrel at 10:45 a.m. London time. To contact the reporters on this story: Henry Meyer in Dubai at hmeyer4@bloomberg.netAyesha Daya in Dubai adaya1@bloomberg.net

Ottawa to create $1B fund for hard-hit workers
Updated Fri. Jan. 23 2009 6:26 PM ET TV.ca News Staff

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government intends to create a $1-billion assistance fund to help workers in struggling industries as part of its upcoming budget on Jan. 27. Government officials say the money will come out of a newly-created fund that will help retrain workers from across Canada - in struggling sectors like forestry, agriculture, and manufacturing -- who will benefit from acquiring new skills. It will be a stronger, more capable workforce -- and one that's prepared for the jobs of tomorrow, a government official told The Canadian Press. We're going to try to protect the jobs of today and prepare for the jobs of tomorrow.The leak of details is a part of the Tories' public-relations campaign leading up to Tuesday's budget. The officials say the retraining fund will be a good investment for the long-term because it will elevate the collective skills of the Canadian workforce. Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt gave limited details of how the fund will work when she spoke to an audience in Sydney, Nova Scotia. I expect we will see a flexible new community adjustment fund in the range of $1 billion, to help communities, like forestry communities, as they adjust to the changing economic climate, she said.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz pledged assistance for farmers in Edmonton. And Human Resources Minister Diane Finley and Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced new economic-development agencies for southern Ontario and for the North. The Canadian Press says it is expected that other cabinet ministers will elaborate on details of the plan at events prior to Tuesday's budget. CP reports that included among the measures announced by the government on Friday to help struggling industries are:
$500 million to modernize farms and help provide better equipment.
$50 million to expand slaughterhouses.
$50 million to promote Canada's forestry sector abroad.
$100 million for better forestry technology.
Two new economic development agencies, one for struggling southern Ontario and another for Northern Canada.
Ignatieff speaks out about budget

The upcoming budget will be a deficit budget, with a senior government official telling The Canadian Press that it could be as high as $34 billion this year, with a $30 billion deficit to follow the year after that. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff told a Toronto audience that the prime minister was not playing by the rules when he chose to leak parts of the budget at his convenience. I asked Mr. Harper not to play games like that, he said Friday. I told him: Put the facts and figures on the table. Don't let them slip out at his convenience. But the guy just can't help himself.

Ignatieff said the release of budget information was irresponsible and costly to our economy.The Liberal leader also said he did not support having broad-based tax cuts included in the upcoming budget. Liberal finance critic John McCallum repeated Friday that his party will wait to study the entire content of Tuesday's budget before deciding how it will vote. McCallum says the economic stimulus was necessary, but blamed Tory mismanagement for turning a $13-billion surplus before the economic crisis began to a projected deficit of $68 billion. McCallum told CTV's On the Hill that Tories were spending like crazy when times were good, and brought Canada into a much larger deficit situation than it should be, had they spent responsibly and prudently before the economic crisis came to light. McCallum denies any suggestion that there are two groups of Liberals: one that wants to wait for the budget's release before deciding on how to vote, and a more hawkish one that would vote to defeat the budget regardless of what it contains. There's one group -- led by Michael Ignatieff - which says ....we do not decide how to vote on a budget before we read the budget, McCallum said. But the budget must protect the vulnerable, it must protect the jobs for today, and it must prepare for the jobs of tomorrow. And if the budget doesn't pass on those tests, and if the actions in the budget are not proportional to the problems this country faces, then we'll vote against the budget.
With files from The Canadian Press.

Plunging gas prices ease inflation rate in December
Updated Fri. Jan. 23 2009 6:49 PM ET CTV.caNews Staff

Canada's annual inflation rate sunk to 1.2 per cent last month, the lowest level in two years, driven mostly by plunging energy prices. Statistics Canada released the latest Consumer Price Index numbers on Friday. Just one month earlier in November 2008, the inflation rate was 2 per cent. StatsCan said the rise in prices in December 2008, compared to the same month in 2007, was the smallest since January 2007. Gas prices were largely to blame, the agency said. In December of last year, prices at the pump were 25.8 per cent lower than the same month a year earlier. The gas price drop was the largest, year by year, since the gas price index was created in 1949. In November 2008, the drop from the same month a year previous was 14.4 per cent. Excluding gasoline, the Consumer Price Index rose 2.6 per cent in the 12 months to December, down slightly from the 2.8 per cent increase in November, StatsCan said in a release. The 12-month change in the CPI was also tempered by on-going price declines for purchasing and leasing passenger vehicles, women's clothing and fuel oil and other fuels.Douglas Porter, a senior economist with BMO Capital Markets, said at present inflation is first and foremost a gas story. But starting in the next few months, we'll see a shift where price drops become more broad-based, he added. Aron Gampel, deputy chief economist with Scotiabank, said inflation hasn't hit rock-bottom yet, and Canadians should prepare for further slowing. In the next month we're going to be talking about it going into negative territory on a more sustained basis, Gampel told CTV's Canada AM on Friday. It's mainly because the economy is weak and pricing power has been reduced. We cut prices to sell goods and of course energy prices have plummeted so much it's pulling the overall inflation rate down.

Porter said he thought it was unlikely, but not impossible, that Canada could eventually see deflation occur -- where a decrease in prices occurs for a prolonged period of time. Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney called the risk of deflation remote.StatsCan said food prices are now the biggest contributor to inflation in Canada. Prices rose 7.3 per cent last month, and 7.4 per cent in November. If food prices were excluded from the equation, inflation would have fallen to zero in December.With files from The Canadian Press.

Syria, Jordan Sign Minutes of Meetings of Land and Sea Transport Joint Companies JAN 24,09

23 January 2009
Amman - Syria and Jordan signed Friday minutes of the meetings of the General Assemblies of the two joint Syrian-Jordanian Land and Marine Transport Companies

Minister of Transport Ya'rob Badr, who signed the minutes along with his Jordanian counterpart Alaa al-Batayneh, said that the two sides agreed to re-estimate budgets of the two companies to overcome the difficulties this year, noting to the agreement on controlling expenditure in order to reduce the operational costs of the two companies to face the negative effects of the global financial crisis. It is scheduled for the General Assembly of the Syrian-Jordanian Company for marine transport to study, in its forthcoming meeting in Damascus next April, proposals of the entry of new naval equipment to take advantage of the new world prices to support the fleet of the company. By Ghossoun SANA (Syria Arab News Agency) 2009.

EU proposes mediation group for Croatia-Slovenia dispute
ELITSA VUCHEVA 23 012009 @ 17:36 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The European Commission has suggested forming a special group to help solve the lengthy Croatia–Slovenia border dispute and Finnish former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari could be the person chairing it.Commissioner Rehn has discussed with President Martti Ahtisaari and explored whether he would be available to chair a senior expert group in order to facilitate a solution on the border issue between Slovenia and Croatia, Krisztina Nagy, spokesperson for EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn, told journalists on Friday (23 January).According to a Slovenian POP TV report on Thursday, the group would be composed of three people – Mr Ahtisaari; Robert Badinter – the French legal expert who headed the arbitration commission for the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s; and a third member who is reportedly a woman, a legal expert who is not widely known to the public.Mr Ahtisaari, 71, who last year won the Nobel Peace Prize for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts, but who also has a controversial image in the Balkans for having favoured Kosovar independence during his work as the UN's special envoy there from 2005 to 2007, is reportedly open to the proposal.But Ms Nagy declined to confirm the other members of the body, or its size, saying it was premature to do so before Croatia and Slovenia have accepted the commission's initiative.What is important now is not to put the cart before the horse. So, the first step to launch a possible European facilitation is that the two countries agree on the terms and conditions of such facilitation, she said.

Croatia positive, Slovenia cautious

Croatia on Thursday spoke out in favour of the move, with Prime Minister Ivo Sanader hailing the European Commission's proposal.Such an initiative to move away from a frozen position and blocked Croatian [EU] talks is certainly welcomed, he was quoted as saying by Croatian news agency HINA.Slovenia, however, has had a more cautious reaction.It is too early to say whether Ljubljana supports the proposal, the country's foreign minister Samuel Zbogar said, according to Slovenian news agency STA.Yesterday [Wednesday], we had the first meeting, the first presentation, this is still just an initiative, many details remain unclear, he added.Slovenia and Croatia have been fighting over their common land and sea border for over 17 years.

Particularly thorny is a patch of the Adriatic Sea close to the Slovenian city of Piran that would secure Slovenian ships direct access to international waters.The sea-access issue caused Slovenia to block accession talks with EU candidate Croatia in December, arguing that maps that Croatia had provided during its accession process could prejudge a solution to their long-running dispute.Earlier this week, Mr Rehn visited both Ljubljana and Zagreb for talks on the issue. After returning from his visits, he admitted that from initially being a bilateral issue, the border dispute had become a European problem.

IF I HEARD CORRECT YESTERDAY ,IN PRIVATE OBAMA SIGNED AN ABORTION BILL IN HIS OFFICE AND KEPT IT SECRET.

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Officials with the incoming administration of Barack Obama have confirmed that he will indeed overturn a pro-life policy of President Bush on his first day in office. Despite campaigning on the rhetoric of wanting to reduce abortions, Obama will make one of his first actions promoting them globally.Meanwhile, some 77 members of Congress have signed onto a letter asking Obama to back down from doing so.President Bush used an executive order on his first day in office to reinstitute a pro-life policy that prevents forcing taxpayers to fund international groups that perform or promote abortions in other countries.

While U.S. law prohibits funding abortions directly, Bush's Mexico City Policy expands the law by also prohibiting the funding of pro-abortion groups that either do abortions overseas or lobby pro-life governments to sacrifice their abortion limits.During the presidential election, pro-life groups issued a clarion call to voters telling them their tax money would be used if Obama were elected and saying he would likely reverse the Mexico City Policy immediately after taking office.The capital publication Congressional Quarterly reports that top Washington officials tell it that the incoming president will reverse the pro-life measure on his first day as president, on Wednesday.When Obama overturns the limits on global abortions, he will do so over the objections of dozens of members of Congress.As a new administration begins, it is our hope you will work, as you have pledged, to create a new era of bi-partisan cooperation. We urge you to continue the Mexico City Policy, which separates abortion and family planning in America's foreign aid programs, the bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote Obama on Friday.They say the policy ensures that United States family planning funds are not co-opted by groups who promote abortion as a method of family planning. Such activities would send a wrong message overseas that the United States promotes abortion.

The members, led by Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado and Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania, also say it is insulting to other nations to promote pro-abortion groups that lobby them to overturn long-standing pro-life laws based on their culture and heritage.We also have a responsibility to respect the laws of many developing countries who have laws prohibiting or restricting abortion. It is an insult to fund organizations that are intent on overturning those laws by promoting the Western ideology of abortion on demand, they said.Rep. Nita Lowey, a New York Democrat who sponsored legislation in Congress to reverse the provision, told CQ that somehow putting it in place endangers the health care people in third world nations receive.But Douglas Johnson, the legislative director of National Right to Life, tells LifeNews.com the Mexico City Policy and Obama's reversing it is all about abortion.Thus, it appears Obama's move will take money away from non-abortion groups that provide services to poor people in foreign nations.One effect of Obama's anticipated order will be to divert many millions of dollars away from groups that do not promote abortion, and into the hands of those organizations that are most militant in promoting abortion as a population-control method, Johnson explained.So, a president who not long ago told the American people that he wanted to reduce the number of abortions, is already effectively promoting the increased use of abortion as a means of population control, Johnson added.President Reagan first put the Mexico City Policy in place and it is named for a population conference that took place in the Mexican capital in 1984 when he introduced it.President George H.W. Bush continued the pro-life policy, President Clinton overturned it, and President George W. Bush kept it for eight years and threatened to veto any Congressional spending bill reversing it.
Under the Mexico City Policy, funding for family planning programs is not reduced.

STORY AND VIDEO HAJJ
http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=86939

MEDIA MATTERSCNN likens inauguration to hajj,rowd cited, That is the initial definition of a pilgrimage, show up January 24, 200912:30 am Eastern
By Bob Unruh 2009 WorldNetDaily

A special CNN report has likened attendance at President Obama's inauguration to participation in the hajj, the pilgrimage to Islam's holy city Mecca that Muslims are required to make at least once. The report is on video and embedded here:
The CNN report was criticized by the FreedomsLighthouse.com blog. Just when you think you have heard everything from the liberal media, they best their own record for ludicrous reporting, said the website report about the CNN video. Here is a CNN report that actually compares the upcoming presidential inauguration to the Muslim hajj pilgrimage to Mecca! I kid you not!The commentary continued: The report never mentions Obama by name, but we did not see any comparisons between President Bush's inauguration and the hajj to Mecca. For the mainstream media, who take such pride in helping to get Barack Obama elected with their incredibly biased reporting, perhaps the inauguration of Barack Obama is a religious event, as they put their faith in the Messianic Obama they helped to create.The report by CNN's Zain Verjee suggested an inauguration trip is similar to another grand event, in both size and preparations, the hajj, the most important religious pilgrimage in the Muslim world.

WND earlier reported on Obama's outreach to Muslims during the inauguration. In his inaugural speech, Obama echoed his previous declaration that the U.S. is no longer a Christian nation, declaring America is a nation of many faiths that includes Muslims and nonbelievers.For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and nonbelievers, Obama stated before a crowd estimated by security officials at more than a million. He continued: We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.Obama's statements about an inclusive country were strikingly similar to remarks he made twice in 2007 in which he went further and stated the U.S. is no longer Christian. At that time, some took issue with his pronouncement, fearing the declarations indicated his intention to reorient the U.S. away from its traditional Judeo-Christian values. The CNN report included Michael Wolfe, the author of 1001 roads to Mecca, who said attendance is significant for any religious pilgrimage.

They're not going to watch it on television. They are going to be there. That's the initial definition of a pilgrimage. Show up, he said. Verjee noted the millions of people at both a hajj and the inauguration. Crowds meeting in a specific city to express a common set of beliefs and to celebrate renewal, that's very much at the heart of pilgrimage, the report said. Commenters on the forum page at the Freedom's Lighthouse site were pointed in their assessment. Well, CNN has been Crescent News Network for a while, said one. WND's earlier report on Obama's outreach to Muslims followed his June 2007 speech available on Youtube in which he stated, Whatever we once were, we're no longer a Christian nation. At least not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, and a Buddhist nation, and a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.In that speech, Obama took aim at the Christian Right or hijacking religion and using it to divide the nation: Somehow, somewhere along the way, faith stopped being used to bring us together and started being used to drive us apart. It got hijacked. Part of it's because of the so-called leaders of the Christian Right, who've been all too eager to exploit what divides us, he said. Asked last year to clarify his remarks, Obama repeated them to the Christian Broadcast Network. I think that the right might worry a bit more about the dangers of sectarianism. Whatever we once were, we're no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers, Obama wrote in an e-mail to CBN News senior national correspondent David Brody. We should acknowledge this and realize that when we're formulating policies from the statehouse to the Senate floor to the White House, we've got to work to translate our reasoning into values that are accessible to every one of our citizens, not just members of our own faith community, wrote Obama.

FROM JOSEPH FARAH'S G2 BULLETINPartial war looming between China, India?
Military suggests border dispute is threat to Beijing January 23, 2009
12:25 am Eastern2009 WorldNetDaily

Arunachal Pradesh

A border dispute could become the spark that launches China and India into a military conflict, with Chinese strategists resurrecting the concept of a partial war to recover what they call Southern Tibet, the region India calls Arunachal Pradesh, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. The area in northeast India has a 650-mile unfenced border with China, which lays claim to the region and refers to it as Southern Tibet. Some of the threats are emanating from Chinese publications that reflect the opinion of the Chinese leadership without making official comments.

For example, the China Institute of International Strategic Studies, or IISS, has said it visualizes two crises for the People's Liberation Army in the immediate future. One was the succession in the North Korean leadership should Kim Jong-Il die. The other was India's continued presence in territory China claims as its own.

Keep in touch with the most important breaking news stories about critical developments around the globe with Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence news source edited and published by the founder of WND. India regards Arunachal Pradesh as the 24th state in the Indian Union. Yet China still claims much of it as part of the Tibet Autonomous Region and may be prepared to launch an action to regain it. Ironically, the veiled threat comes at a time when China looks upon its relationship with India as being in the best period of their joint history.

Called the land of the rising sun, Arunachal Pradesh means land of the dawn lit mountains, since it is in the Himalayas. The Burma Road, known to have helped supply China during World War II, passes through the region. Burma, or Myanmar, borders on the East. The 650-mile Chinese-Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh is separated by the so-called McMahon Line, also known as the Line of Actual Control. The dispute dates back to the time India was ruled by Britain, whose officials in 1914 held a conference over the boundary. In 1962, China and India fought a serious border war, with Chinese troops advancing well into Arunachal Pradesh but later withdrawing. The region flared up again in 1986. Now, the region is becoming a focal point again. A Chinese military website that reflects official positions observed that the border issue may be symbolic of how India looks upon China as the greatest obstacle to its rise. The website suggested that the border dispute over Southern Tibet constitutes a security threat to China and that Beijing may need to adopt a strategy to weaken control of the Indian central government.

Israel's Barak heads to US over Gaza arms smuggling JAN 24,09

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak is to travel to Washington next week to discuss the implementation of a bilateral agreement to halt arms smuggling into Gaza, a senior official said on Saturday.He will be the first top Israeli official to travel to Washington since the end of Israel's deadly 22-day offensive against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on January 18 and since President Barack Obama took office.Barak, who will leave on Tuesday, was to meet Secretary of Defence Robert Gates to discuss the implementation of the Israeli-US memorandum of understanding aimed at halting arms smuggling between Egypt and Gaza, he told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.The two would also discuss US arms sales to Israel, the official said, refusing to elaborate.Israel tied its unilateral halt of the Gaza offensive to agreements reached with the United States and Egypt on stemming the arms smuggling into the Islamist-ruled enclave, where medics say more than 1,300 people died during Operation Cast.

Syria congratulates Hamas on Gaza victory JAN 24,09

DAMASCUS (AFP) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad congratulated Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal on the Islamist movement's victory over Israel in Gaza at a meeting in Damascus on Saturday, official media said.Assad congratulated the Palestinian people on the victory scored by the resistance in the Gaza Strip, the official SANA news agency said.Israel's inability to achieve its objectives despite using the deadliest of weaponry is proof of the devotion of the Palestinian people to its territorial rights and its deep belief in victory against occupation and aggression, it quoted Assad as saying.Meshaal and his delegation responded by expressing their deep appreciation of Syria for its efforts at all levels to support the resistance of the Palestinian people in Gaza during and after the Israeli aggression.The Hamas delegation is to set off on a regional tour to thank certain countries which have supported the Palestinian people, SANA added.Syria provides a base in exile for Hamas's political leadership, including Meshaal.The Islamist group has controlled Gaza since June 2007 when it ousted forces loyal to Western-backed Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.Both Israel and Hamas declared unilateral ceasefires last Sunday in their 22-day conflict in Gaza.More than 1,330 Palestinians were killed in the war, nearly a third of them children, and vast swathes of Gaza left in ruins.