RUSSIA - EU OIL ROW

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Australians urged to flee house-high wildfires
Tue Dec 29, 5:06 am ET

SYDNEY (AFP) – Australian officials urged residents to evacuate a wheat farming district in the west of the country Tuesday as towering wildfires with flames higher than rooftops threatened homes.People in the Dandaragan area north of Perth were told to flee immediately as the fast-moving and out-of-control blaze, fanned by catastrophic conditions in Western Australia, showered embers.Homes will be impacted by fire. People in this area need to relocate now, the state's Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA) warned in a statement.The bushfire is moving fast in a southeast direction. It is out of control. Embers are likely to be blown around your home. Flames are higher than rooftops, it added.Residents in nearby Toodyay were also evacuated as an intense fire broke out there, threatening at least seven homes in the town of about 400 people, FESA said.It is out of control, unpredictable and fast moving, it said.Spot fires are starting ahead of the fire. Flames are one to two metres high.The fire authority said evacuation offered the best option for survival, warning that relocating at the last minute is deadly. It was uncertain how many homes were in the evacuation zones, FESA said.It would mainly be farmhouses, a spokesman told AFP.Pretty sparse and mainly farming communities.Aircraft were water-bombing the two fires, while more than 100 firefighters were trying to control them from the ground.

Much of Western Australia had been declared at a catastrophic or code red fire danger, with authorities fearing the worst conditions in five years.Catastrophic conditions are considered on a par with those ahead of February's Black Saturday wildfires, which killed 173 people and razed more than 2,000 homes in Australia's worst natural disaster of modern times.Residents cannot be forced to evacuate but are strongly advised to leave their properties due to extreme risk of death or injury.Blazes have already destroyed more than a dozen homes in recent weeks. Officials are bracing for the worst fire season in four years with hot and windy conditions forecast amid a decade-long drought in parts of the country.

POISONED WATERS

REVELATION 8:8-11
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood:(bitter,Poisoned) and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.(poisoned)

REVELATION 16:3-7
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they(False World Church and Dictator) have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

125 pilot whales die on NZ beaches, 43 saved
Mon Dec 28, 5:44 am ET

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – Some 125 pilot whales died in New Zealand after stranding on beaches over the weekend — but vacationers and conservation workers managed to coax 43 others back out to sea.Rescuers monitored the survivors as they swam away from Colville Beach on North Island's Coromandel peninsula, and by Monday morning they were reported well out to sea.Department of Conservation workers and hundreds of volunteers helped re-float the 43 whales at high tide. The volunteers covered the stranded mammals in sheets and kept them wet through the day.Some 63 pilot whales stranded ... but it looks pretty good, we've got 43 live ones, Department of Conservation ranger Steve Bolten said as the pod swam out to sea.Bolten said one of the whales may have been sick, or their sonar may have led them into the shallow harbor and they couldn't find their way out again.Meanwhile on South Island, 105 long-finned pilot whales that stranded died Saturday, conservation officials said Monday.Golden Bay biodiversity program manager Hans Stoffregen said they were discovered by a tourist plane pilot and only 30 were alive when conservation workers arrived.They were in bad shape. By the time we got there two-thirds of them had already died. We had to euthanize the rest, he said.

The whales had been out of the water for a long time.It has been quite hot and they were very distressed. You could see the pain and suffering in their eyes, he was quoted telling the Southland Times newspaper.Because the site is part of a nature reserve, the 105 whale carcasses were left to decompose where they stranded, Stoffregen said.Large numbers of whales become stranded on New Zealand's beaches each summer as they pass by on their way to breeding grounds from Antarctic waters. Scientists so far have been unable to explain why whales become stranded.

Poles wary of switching to euro: survey
12 mins ago DEC 29,09

WARSAW (AFP) – Fifty-three percent of Poles believe adopting the euro would hit their pockets, according to a survey published Tuesday.The study by the TNS OBOP public opinion agency found that just 15 percent of respondents believed the euro would be a personal boon, 17 percent thought its introduction would make no difference to them, and 15 percent had no view.Ex-communist Poland, which joined the European Union in 2004, had been aiming to switch from it free-floating zloty to the euro by 2012.But in the face of a sharp economic slowdown and problems meeting EU-set eurozone entry criteria, the centre-right government put the plans on hold. Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said the changeover may be possible by 2015.The TNS OBOP survey found that 36 percent of Poles thought the euro would have a positive impact on the country's economy overall, while 31 percent said it would be damaging.

Nine percent said a switch would have no impact, and 24 had no view on the issue.TNS OBOP polled a representative sample of 1,002 people aged over 15, from December 3 to 6.Sixteen of the EU's 27 member nations currently use the euro -- two of them, Slovenia and Slovakia, are ex-communist states.

Stocks mixed after housing, confidence data By Sara Lepro, Ap Business Writer – DEC 29,09

NEW YORK – Stocks fluctuated in a narrow range Tuesday after reports on home prices and consumer confidence came in largely as expected, showing a gradual improvement in the economy.The Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence rose to 52.9 in December from 49.5 in November. That was slightly better than the reading of 52 economists had forecast.The index is still a long way from what is considered healthy. A reading of 90 or more signals a solid economy. However, the index has risen significantly from a historic low of 25.3 in February.Earlier Tuesday, Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller said its home price index rose for a fifth straight month in October, edging up 0.4 percent. The index was off 7.3 percent from October last year, roughly in line with expectations.The index is now up 3.4 percent from its bottom in May, but still almost 30 percent below its peak in April 2006. Only 11 of the 20 cities tracked in the report showed gains.Stocks rose modestly in early trading, but turned mixed by late morning. Analysts said there were few surprises in the economic data to drive the market one way or the other.The reports we're seeing broadly reinforce the expectations we've had, said Jim Baird, partner and chief investment strategist for Plante Moran Financial Advisors in Kalamazoo, Mich. It's slow and steady; It's not explosive improvement.Trading was quiet, as it has been in recent days. Many investors were taking vacation between Christmas and New Year's Day.Even in light volume though, the market has managed to climb. The Standard & Poor's 500 index has posted gains for six straight days, rising 2.3 percent to reach a new high for the year.At midday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 10.12, or 0.1 percent, to 10,557.20. The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 0.72, or 0.1 percent, to 1,127.06, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 3.24, or 0.1 percent, to 2,287.84.

EU on alert over Russian oil supplies-The row is fast becoming something of a New Year's tradition (Photo: Notat)RENATA GOLDIROVA Today DEC 29,09 @ 05:28 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – A fresh row between Russia and Ukraine over energy shipment fees - fast becoming something of a New Year's tradition - has caused alarm in the European Union, as Moscow warned of possible oil supply cuts to central Europe. On Monday (28 December), Slovakia - 97 percent dependent on Russian oil - held an emergency meeting of its security council, with Prime Minister Robert Fico saying the EU is at risk of disruptions in oil deliveries via the Druzhba oil pipeline from 1 January 2010. We first received information [about the Russian-Ukrainian dispute] during the Christmas holidays,Mr Fico told journalists. He added that the Ukrainian request for higher transit fees was the core of the matter. The European Commission later confirmed that Russian authorities had triggered an early warning mechanism - a system designed to ring alarm bells before taps are turned off - and gave notice of a possible disruption of crude oil supplies in the coming days. Several member states could be directly affected, notably Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, reads the commission internal note, seen by EUobserver. The EU's executive body has re-assured, however, that there is no current threat to supplies to households or to businesses as emergency oil stocks in the 27-nation bloc stand at comfortable level of 122 days of consumption. Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic also report having sufficient reserves - 118, 94 and 101 days, respectively - figures well above the mandatory 90 days.

Speedy solution

Only hours after the announcement by the Slovak government, Moscow and Kiev played down any threat to EU customers by saying they had reached a preliminary deal on oil transit conditions. We expect the agreement to be co-ordinated and signed shortly, within one or two days, Irina Yesipova, the Russian energy ministry spokesperson, was cited as saying by RIA Novosti. She added: New Year's Eve will pass without disruption or unpleasant situations.Ukraine, for its part, re-iterated that a reasonable compromise on transit tariffs has been found, but put the blame on its powerful neighbour and called the Russian warning a political blackmail.within Ukraine there are no threats, no risks, a presidential aide, Bogdan Sokolovsky, said, according to media reports.One EU diplomat, involved in the matter and speaking to EUobserver, took a more cautious stance, however.It would be premature to say that all has been agreed,he said.

No threat to gas flows

It is not the first time that the EU's vulnerability to Russian-Ukrainian payment disputes has been exposed, underlying that significant energy reliance on one supplier is the bloc's Achilles heel. In January 2007, Russia turned off taps in the same Druzhba pipeline, the world's longest oil pipeline of some 4,000 kilometers, due to a row with Belarus. Last January, Russian gas stopped flowing through Ukraine for almost two weeks - an event that forced many companies to halt production and left hundreds of homes in the EU without central heating. Bulgaria and Slovakia were worst hit, with the damage to the Slovak economy amounting to some 0.5 percent of GDP. Referring to the current situation, the Slovak Prime Minister said there was no sign of a gas supply squeeze in January 2010, but indicated the situation could change in February or March due to half-empty coffers in Kiev. The International Monetary Fund recently turned down recession-strapped Ukraine's plea for a $2 billion emergency loan due to the country's failure to adopt a fiscally prudent budget. Never say never, Mr Fico said, referring to a possible gas crisis. He stressed, however, that Slovakia is better prepared for a possible worst-case scenario.

First Jesus-era house discovered in Nazareth By DIAA HADID, Associated Press Writer – Mon Dec 21, 10:48 pm ET

NAZARETH, Israel – Just in time for Christmas, archaeologists on Monday unveiled what may have been the home of one of Jesus' childhood neighbors. The humble dwelling is the first dating to the era of Jesus to be discovered in Nazareth, then a hamlet of around 50 impoverished Jewish families where Jesus spent his boyhood.

Archaeologists and present-day residents of Nazareth imagined Jesus as a youngster, playing with other children in the isolated village, not far from the spot where the Archangel Gabriel revealed to Mary that she would give birth to the boy.Today the ornate Basilica of the Annunciation marks that spot, and Nazareth is the largest Arab city in northern Israel, with about 65,000 residents. Muslims now outnumber Christians two to one in the noisy, crowded city.The archaeological find shows how different it was 2000 years ago: There were no Christians or Muslims, the Jewish Temple stood in Jerusalem and tiny Nazareth stood near a battleground between Roman rulers and Jewish guerrillas.The Jews of Nazareth dug camouflaged grottos to hide from Roman invaders, said archaeologist Yardena Alexandre, excavations director at the Israel Antiquities Authority. But the hamlet was so far off the beaten path that the caves were apparently not needed, she said.Based on clay and chalk shards found at the site, the dwelling appeared to house a simple Jewish family, Alexandre added, as workers carefully chipped away at mud with small pickaxes to reveal stone walls.

This may well have been a place that Jesus and his contemporaries were familiar with,Alexandre said. A young Jesus may have played around the house with his cousins and friends. It's a logical suggestion.The discovery so close to Christmas pleased local Christians.They say if the people do not speak, the stones will speak, said the Rev. Jack Karam of the nearby basilica.Archaeologist Stephen Pfann, president of the University of The Holy Land, noted: It's the only witness that we have from that area that shows us what the walls and floors were like inside Nazareth in the first century.Pfann was not involved in the dig.Alexandre said workers uncovered the first signs of the dwelling last summer, but it became clear only this month that it was a structure from the days of Jesus.Alexandre's team found remains of a wall, a hideout, a courtyard and a water system that appeared to collect water from the roof and supply it to the home. The discovery was made when builders dug up the courtyard of a former convent to make room for a new Christian center, just yards from the Basilica.

It is not clear how big the dwelling is. Alexandre's team has uncovered about 900 square feet of the house, but it may have been for an extended family and could be much larger, she said.Archaeologists also found a camouflaged entry way into a grotto, which Alexandre believes was used by Jews to hide from Roman soldiers who were battling Jewish rebels for control of the area.The grotto could have hidden around six people for a few hours, she said.However, Roman soldiers did not end up battling Nazareth's Jews because the hamlet had little strategic value. The Roman army was more interested in larger towns and strategic hilltop communities, she said.

Alexandre said similar camouflaged grottos were found in other ancient Jewish communities of the lower Galilee, such as the nearby biblical village of Cana, which did witness battles between Jews and Romans.Archaeologists also found clay and chalk vessels likely used by Galilean Jews of the time. The scientists concluded a Jewish family lived there because of the chalk, which Jews used to ensure the ritual purity of the food and water kept inside the vessels. The shards also date back to the time of Jesus, which includes the late Hellenic, early Roman period that ranges from around 100 B.C. to the first century, Alexandre said. The determination was made by comparing the findings to shards and remains typical of that period found in other parts of the Galilee, she said. The absence of any remains of glass vessels or imported products suggested the people who lived in the dwelling were simple, but Alexandre said the remains did not indicate whether they were traders or farmers. The only other artifacts from the time of Jesus found in the Nazareth area are ancient burial caves that provided a rough idea of the village's population at the time, Alexandre said.

Work is now taking place to clear newer ruins built above the dwelling, which will be preserved. The dwelling will become part of a new international Christian center being built close to the site and funded by a French Roman Catholic group, said Marc Hodara of the Chemin Neuf Community overseeing construction. Alexandre said limited space and population density makes it unlikely that archaeologists can carry out further excavations in the area, leaving this dwelling to tell the story of what Jesus' boyhood home may have looked like. The discovery at this time, this period, is very interesting, especially as a Christian,Karam said. For me it is a great gift.

DISEASES

REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).

DRUG PUSHERS AND ADDICTS

REVELATION 18:23
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries (DRUGS) were all nations deceived.

REVELATION 9:21
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries (DRUGS), nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

WHO chief: swine flu pandemic continues By ELIANE ENGELER, Associated Press Writer – 46 mins ago-DEC 29,09

GENEVA – Many more people could become sick with swine flu this winter even though it has peaked in North America and some European countries, the head of the World Health Organization said Tuesday.The worst of the swine flu outbreak is over in the United States, Canada, Britain and some other countries in the northern hemisphere, said Dr. Margaret Chan.But there is still intensive flu activity in Egypt, India and elsewhere, she said.It is too premature and too early for us to say we have come to an end of the pandemic influenza worldwide, Chan told reporters. Health experts should monitor the pandemic for another six to 12 months, she said, adding that the virus could still mutate and become more dangerous.Over 11,500 people are known to have died from the disease since the outbreak began in April, according to WHO. Between 250,000 and 500,000 people die from regular flu each year.When the U.N. health agency declared swine flu to be a pandemic in June, it described it as moderate.While most people recover from the illness without needing medical treatment, officials are also continuing to see severe cases in people under 65 — people who are not usually at risk during regular flu seasons.But since flu viruses constantly evolve, experts have feared swine flu could mutate into a more dangerous form.One thing we need to guard against is the sense of complacency, Chan said, adding that flu viruses are highly unpredictable.

We will watch this virus with eagle's eyes,she said.Last month, WHO warned that with fresh bird flu cases reported in poultry in Egypt, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, the risk of bird flu and the H1N1 pandemic swine flu virus mixing was heightened.

Scientists fear that bird flu, which remains hard for people to catch but kills about 60 percent of those infected, could combine with the current swine flu virus, which spreads easily among people but kills a low percentage.Chan said although countries are now better prepared to cope with a global disease outbreak than a few years ago, the swine flu epidemic has shown that there remain numerous gaps in the health systems of many countries.She said she hopes the world can avoid a pandemic triggered by the avian flu virus, which she said was more toxic and deadly than swine flu.The world is not ready for a pandemic caused by H5N1, she said, referring to the scientific name of bird flu.

Court lets Palestinians use major Israeli highway By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer – DEC 29,09

JERUSALEM – Israel's Supreme Court ordered the military on Tuesday to allow Palestinians to travel on the part of a major highway that runs through the West Bank, handing Palestinians their biggest victory yet against Israel's practice of reserving some roads for Jews.The West Bank section of a road linking Jerusalem and Tel Aviv was closed in 2002 to the Palestinians, after militants shot at Israeli vehicles on the highway and killed several motorists.About half of the 20-mile highway runs through the West Bank. Palestinians living in villages along the route petitioned to reopen it in 2007, as the Palestinian uprising against Israel wound down.The court said in a summary of its ruling that the military does not have the authority to impose a permanent and sweeping limitation on Palestinian travel along the West Bank section of the road because that in effect transforms the road into a route designed for internal Israeli traffic alone.It also said the closure of the road does not benefit the local population, from whom lands were appropriated to build it.The judges ruled that security considerations cannot take precedence.It's a huge victory, said Melanie Takefman, spokeswoman for the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, which represented the Palestinians in their petition before the court.The restrictions caused hardships for tens of thousands of Palestinians, who were forced to travel on dirt roads to other areas of the West Bank. That problem was eased last year with the opening of alternative paved routes for Palestinians.

Palestinian Hassan Mafarjeh, the mayor of Beit Liqya village near the highway, said the alternate road was not a solution. We reject the principle that our land is expropriated to build more roads, he said.He said the trip to the main city in the area, Ramallah, took an hour on the dirt roads and 30 minutes on the alternate road. Using the highway would cut that to just 15 minutes, he said.The court gave the military five months to implement the ruling.Under existing regulations, sections of the road that lie in Israeli territory will remain closed to Palestinian vehicles, as are all Israeli roads.It was the second time in months that the Supreme Court has ordered the military to open a West Bank road declared off-limits to Palestinians.

Israeli settlement construction in East Jerusalem draws EU rebuke
LEIGH PHILLIPS Today DEC 29,09 @ 14:58 CET

Israel has announced the construction of some 700 apartments in East Jerusalem just a month after the Jewish state proclaimed a freeze on the building of new settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, drawing moderate criticism from the European Union.On Monday (28 December), Israel's Construction and Housing Ministry opened tenders for the construction of 692 new flats in the neighbourhoods of Har Homa, Pisgat Zeev and Neve Yaakov - Arab land absorbed by Israel after the 1967 Six-Day War.Settlements on occupied land are illegal under international law, the Swedish EU presidency said in a statement.The Presidency of the European Union urges Israel to reconsider these plans as it prevents the creation of an atmosphere conducive to resuming negotiations on a two-state solution.In November, defence minister Ehud Barak issued a freeze order, aiming to jump-start peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, while at the same time permitting the construction of 28 new public buildings in the occupied territories. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu subsequently declared that settlement construction would resume at the end of a 10-month period.

Palestinian representatives also condemned Monday's move. Nabil Abu Rudainah, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a statement: Continuing the policy of settlements expansion is deliberate destruction of US and international efforts to achieve progress in the peace process.This policy affirms that the Israeli side is not serious in reaching a just and comprehensive permanent peace agreement based on the two-state solution.For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the opportunity to argue that now is the time to restart peace negotiations between the two sides.The time for excuses is over. Now is the time for action,he said ahead of a meeting in Egypt with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak scheduled for Friday.

Iran limits movements of an opposition leader By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer Nasser Karimi, Associated Press Writer – DEC 29,09

TEHRAN, Iran – The son of leading opposition figure Mahdi Karroubi says Iranian security forces are limiting his father's movements by refusing to protect him when he leaves his home.Taghi Karroubi told The Associated Press by telephone that guards assigned to his father by Iranian police are no longer providing security for him when he goes out, apparently under police orders.Taghi Karroubi says the measure means his father cannot go outside safely, calling it a quasi-house arrest.Karroubi and opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi were the two defeated reformist candidates in the disputed June 12 presidential election, which set off the worst unrest in Iran in the three decades since the Islamic Revolution.

Ahmadinejad blames US, Israel for Iran protests by Hiedeh Farmani – DEC 29,09

TEHRAN (AFP) – Hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the United States and Israel on Tuesday of staging an anti-government protest in which at least eight people died, saying it was a nauseating play.His talk of a theatrical piece commissioned and sold out by the country's two arch-foes, came as Iran's conservative parliament called for opposition demonstrators to be given maximum punishment. Iranians have seen lots of these games, the president was quoted by state news agency IRNA as saying.Americans and Zionists are the sole audience of a play they have commissioned and sold out. A nauseating play is performed.Meanwhile, speaker Ali Larijani said on television that parliament wants the judiciary and intelligence bodies to arrest those who insult religion and impose the maximum punishment on them without reservation.Parliament also condemned disgusting comments by Western governments about Sunday's unrest, after they unanimously denounced the deadly crackdown in the Islamic republic. Related article: Recent key events in Iran.
In that vein, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki lashed out at Britain on Tuesday,If they (the British) do not stop their absurd comments, they will be slapped in the mouth, Mottaki said according to ISNA news agency.The comment came as Tehran summoned British envoy Simon Gass over criticism and a pro-government website said a Briton was among those arrested at the demonstrations.The British ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry and the Islamic Republic's protest was submitted regarding this country's interference in our internal affairs, Fars news agency said.

On Monday, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband had hailed the great courage of Iranian opposition supporters.In London, the foreign office said Gass had responded robustly... and reiterated (Miliband's) comments that the Iranian government must respect the human rights of its own citizens.People had taken to the street on the holy day of Ashura, which commemorates the 7th century murder of Shiite Islam's holiest martyr, Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed.Eight people were killed as security forces used teargas, batons and eventually live rounds to push back thousands who had taken to the streets.Hardliners have reacted angrily to what they see as desecration of Ashura by opposition supporters and have staged counter-demonstrations calling for tough action against protesters, state media reported.The opposition, meanwhile, has excoriated the authorities for resorting to violence on Ashura, a day when custom prohibits it.MPs accused the protesters of being counter-revolutionaries and anti-religion.

But they took a softer stance towards opposition leaders, who reject Ahmadinejad's June re-election as fraudulent, urging them to distance themselves from the protests. We expect these gentlemen who had complaints in the election to wake up and clearly separate their path from this wicked movement, not to come out and issue statements again and make the air dustier.In a defiant reaction, Iran's leading reformist party condemned violence against demonstrators and backed the protests. The Islamic Iran Participation Front, which is allied with opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, called on the government to reconcile with protesters and stop breaking the law, deception and tyranny.Leniency did not extend to the sister of Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, who said intelligence agents had arrested her sister, medical professor Nooshin Ebadi, on Monday. She is not an activist and her arrest is in fact new pressure to stop my human rights work, Ebadi said in a statement carried by the Rahesabz opposition website. Iran rounded up scores of opposition figures and dissidents after Sunday's protests and on Tuesday several reformist journalists and activists were arrested, reports said. The Iranian judiciary confirmed that an Iran-based Syrian journalist for Dubai TV had been arrested on Sunday. US President Barack Obama demanded on Monday that Iran free those protesters it had detained and told the opposition that history was on its side. In other developments, police said it was terrorists who had killed the nephew of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi on Sunday in an incident unrelated to the riots that day.On Monday the Iranian authorities said they were carrying out forensic tests on five of the eight people confirmed killed, preventing their swift burial in accordance with Islamic tradition.

Egypt encouraged during Israeli PM's visit By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press Writer – DEC 29,09

CAIRO – Israel's prime minister on Tuesday presented Egypt with ideas for restarting Mideast peace talks, impressing his hosts with proposals that go further than past Israeli positions, Egypt's top diplomat said.The sides also discussed the latest developments in efforts to broker a prisoner swap between Israel and the Hamas militant group. A top Hamas official in Damascus told The Associated Press that the group had rejected the latest proposal from Israel. He said Israel was refusing to release key prisoners and insisting on mass deportations of freed militants.Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit refused to divulge specifics on Tuesday's discussions, but said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears serious about trying to resume negotiations with the Palestinians.I can't talk about details, but the prime minister was discussing positions that surpass in our estimate what we've heard from them in a long time, Aboul Gheit told reporters. I can't say that he has come with changed positions, but he is moving forward.Netanyahu jetted in from neighboring Israel for nearly three hours of talks with President Hosni Mubarak and other Egyptian leaders. Egypt, the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, frequently mediates between the Jewish state and the broader Arab world.Netanyahu came at a difficult time as the U.S. tries to prod Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table. The Palestinians have said they will not reopen negotiations until Israel freezes all settlement activity on lands they claim for a future independent state. Israel has offered a partial freeze that the Palestinians say is insufficient.In the latest setback for peace efforts, Israel announced plans on Monday to build nearly 700 new homes in east Jerusalem, the section of the holy city that the Palestinians want to make their capital.The Palestinians have also insisted that Netanyahu resume talks from the point they broke off under his more dovish predecessor, Ehud Olmert. Netanyahu has said he is not bound by Olmert's offers — which included proposals for shared control of the holy city of Jerusalem and a broad pullout from nearly all of the West Bank.Aboul Gheit said Netanyahu gave his hosts the impression that he genuinely wants to get diplomacy moving again, and told The Associated Press that everything is on the table. He would not elaborate.

Also on the agenda were the ongoing negotiations over a proposed prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas. The Islamic militant group is seeking hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for a captured Israeli soldier it has held for more than three years. Egypt and Germany have been mediating those talks.A delegation of Hamas leaders has left their Gaza Strip stronghold to discuss Israel's latest proposal with Hamas' exiled leadership in Syria. A top Hamas official in Damascus told The Associated Press that the group had rejected Israel's latest offer, and asked the German mediator to go back to Israel for another offer.The official, speaking on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement, said that Israel is refusing to release 10 senior militants sought by Hamas. He said Israel also wants 200 freed militants to be deported. Hamas wants this number greatly reduced.Israeli officials had no comment.AP correspondent Mohammed Daraghmeh contributed reporting from Ramallah, West Bank.

Gay marriage in Argentina is 1st in Latin America By ALMUDENA CALATRAVA, Associated Press Writer – DEC 29,09

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – They had to travel to the ends of the Earth to do it, but two Argentine men succeeded in becoming Latin America's first same-sex married couple.After their first attempt to wed earlier this month in Buenos Aires was thwarted, gay rights activists Jose Maria Di Bello and Alex Freyre took their civil ceremony to the capital of Argentina's Tierra del Fuego province, where a sympathetic governor backed their bid to make Latin American history.The couple exchanged rings Monday in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, closer to Antarctica than Buenos Aires. The informal ceremony was witnessed by state and federal officials.My knees didn't stop shaking, said Di Bello.We are the first gay couple in Latin America to marry.Di Bello, 41, an executive at the Argentine Red Cross, met Freyre, 39, executive director of the Buenos Aires AIDS Foundation, at an HIV awareness conference. Both are HIV-positive.At the indoor civil ceremony, the grooms wore sport coats without ties, and had large red ribbons draped around their necks in solidarity with other people living with HIV.Argentina's Constitution is silent on whether marriage must be between a man and a woman, effectively leaving the matter to provincial and city officials. The men tried to get married in Argentina's capital but city officials, who had earlier said the ceremony could proceed, refused to wed them citing conflicting judicial rulings.Di Bello said Ushuaia initially declined to authorize the marriage, but went ahead after the couple received backing from Tierra del Fuego province.

Gov. Fabiana Rios said in a statement that gay marriage is an important advance in human rights and social inclusion and we are very happy that this has happened in our state.An official representing the federal government's antidiscrimination agency, Claudio Morgado, attended the wedding and called the occasion historic.Many in Argentina and throughout Latin America remain opposed to gay marriage, particularly the Roman Catholic Church.The decision took me by surprise and I'm concerned, Bishop Juan Carlos, of the southern city of Rio Gallegos, told the Argentine news agency DyN. He called the marriage an attack against the survival of the human species.But same-sex civil unions have been legalized in Uruguay, Buenos Aires, Mexico City and some states in Mexico and Brazil. Marriage generally carries more exclusive rights such as adopting children, inheriting wealth and enabling a partner to gain citizenship.Legal analyst Andres Gil Dominguez said the Tierra del Fuego government appeared to base its authorization on a broad interpretation of the Argentine Constitution and obligations under international treaties.Rios said her province's approval was based on a ruling by a Buenos Aires judge who declared two provisions of the constitution discriminatory and gave the go-ahead for the Dec. 1 marriage, which was then blocked by another judge's ruling based on civil law.

Individual provinces may not have final say over same-sex marriages for long.A bill that would legalize gay marriage was introduced in Argentina's Congress in October but it has stalled without a vote.Argentina's Supreme Court currently is analyzing appeals by same-sex couples whose marriages were rejected. A Supreme Court justice said on Monday that the high court would likely rule on issues of same-sex marriage sometime in 2010, but could defer to Congress if legislation moves forward. Only seven countries in the world allow gay marriages: Canada, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium. U.S. states that permit same-sex marriage are Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and New Hampshire. Earlier this month, lawmakers in Mexico City made it the first in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage. Leftist Mayor Marcelo Ebrard was widely expected to sign the measure into law.

Canada bans most US-bound carry-on bags By Rob Gillies, Associated Press Writer – Tue Dec 29, 8:46 am ET

TORONTO – Canadian officials have banned most carry-on luggage for U.S.-bound passengers following a failed Christmas Day plot to blow up a plane flying from Amsterdam to Detroit.Transport Canada said Monday that passengers may only carry medical devices, small purses, cameras, laptop computers, canes, walkers, diaper bags, musical instruments and bags containing life-sustaining items.Travelers headed for the United States have been allowed to carry on only one bag since Saturday, following 23-year-old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's alleged attempted to bring down a Northwest Airlines flight as it prepared to land in Detroit on Friday.

Transport Canada said it is trying to alleviate backlogs at security checkpoints, after passengers complained of chaos and long lines at Pearson International Airport in Toronto over the weekend and Monday morning.Police are now helping with security at four of Canada's biggest airports after Transport Canada requested assistance. Police are performing a secondary search of passengers after they pass the main security check point at airports in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta. About 40 Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers are doing searches at Pearson.Transport Canada spokesman Patrick Charette said the measures are expected to remain in place for at least several days.We hope the restrictions on those carry-on baggage will help to assure the effectiveness and efficiency of security screening,Charette said.At the Toronto airport Monday morning, every U.S.-bound passenger was subjected to a pat-down and luggage was inspected by hand. Getting through the checks took about three hours, with some information boards citing the security measures for several delays and cancelations.Trish Krale of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority said Monday went somewhat more smoothly at Pearson after a very difficult weekend. More than 130 flights were canceled.Air Canada and its affiliate Jazz canceled several short-haul flights to the U.S. due to security delays. Air Canada consolidated flights and operated larger aircraft on some routes —particularly from Toronto to destinations in the Northeastern U.S.We appreciate the cooperation and understanding of our customers during this challenging time and ask them to assist us in getting them to their destination faster by bringing as little carry-on as possible, Duncan Dee, Air Canada's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, said in a statement.Air Canada is doing everything it can to maintain its schedule, despite the delays caused by security screening issues outside its control. However, our number one priority remains the safety and security of our customers and staff.One woman said the lines are the worst she's seen during her family's annual Christmas trek to Canada.

This is probably five times the lines we've ever experienced,said Christin Grand, who was traveling home to Atlanta with her three children and husband.We come up every Christmas and never experienced lines like this. We usually show up an hour and fifteen minutes before our flight and we're two plus hours before and it's still crazy.Andre Belanger, a Montreal resident flying to Fort Lauderdale from Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, didn't mind that he was sent back to check in a carry-on bag.I'm not frustrated at all because I know that security commands things like that, so I will comply with the instructions, Belanger said. It's a question of lives, you know.

Canada airline shares fall as security beefed up
DEC 29,09

TORONTO (Reuters) – Shares of Canada's two biggest airlines fell on Tuesday after they warned U.S.-bound travelers to expect more flight delays and cancellations as security is beefed up in the wake of the failed Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. passenger plane.Shares of Air Canada, the country's No. 1 airline, were down 3.1 percent at C$1.25 on the Toronto Stock Exchange shortly after the market opened. Shares of WestJet Airlines Ltd fell 2.4 percent to C$12.16. The TSX was closed on Monday for the Boxing Day holiday.Over the weekend, which was one of the busiest of the year for air travel, the new security measures led to massive lineups and missed flights. At Toronto's Pearson International Airport, Canada's busiest, one in 10 U.S.-bound aircraft were canceled on Sunday.Air Canada said in a statement that passengers bound for the United States will now be subject to full searches both at airport screening points and before boarding at the aircraft gate area as a result of new rules enacted by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.Passengers flying to the United States are also being limited to one small piece of carry-on baggage. During the final hour in the air, they must remain seated and will not be allowed access to carry-on baggage, or to have personal belongings or other items on their laps.Passengers should also expect flight delays, cancellations and missed connections, the airline said.WestJet issued a similar statement on Tuesday, and said the new procedures are scheduled to be in effect until at least December 30.

The airline advised Canadians traveling abroad to be at the airport three hours before scheduled flight times.The moves follow an attempt by a Nigerian man on Friday to set off an explosive device on a Delta Air Lines flight from Europe as it approached Detroit. The man was overpowered by passengers and crew and the aircraft landed safely.A regional wing of al Qaeda in Yemen said it was behind the bombing attempt.(Reporting by John McCrank; editing by Peter Galloway)

Yemen: US never warned us about airline bomber By AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press Writer – DEC 29,09

SAN'A, Yemen – Yemen's government said Tuesday the U.S. should have shared its warnings about the Nigerian suspect in the botched Christmas Day airline attack, and said it was tightening restrictions on student visas like the one that allowed the young man to enter the country.Information Minister Hassan al-Lozy confirmed that Umar Faruk Abdulmutallab spent two extended periods in Yemen, as recently as this month, and that authorities were trying to determine what he did during that time. Investigators said he spent at least part of the time studying Arabic at a school in the capital of San'a, where students and administrators described him as friendly and outgoing with no overtly extremist views. As part of the investigation, the principal of a school where he studied was being questioned Tuesday.U.S. authorities have been trying to determine how Abdulmutallab, 23, managed to board a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit with explosives even though he was flagged on a watchlist as a possible terrorist. U.S. officials have said he told investigators after his arrest that he received training in Yemen.Al-Lozy said that the U.S. never shared its suspicions about Abdulmutallab with Yemen, a largely lawless country that has turned into a key stronghold for al-Qaida.We didn't get any notice from the Americans to put this man on a list, al-Lozy said.America should have told Yemen about this man, as they have of others.Abdulmutallab lived in Yemen for two different periods of time, a year from 2004-2005 and from August-December this year, he said. He arrived in August after receiving a visa to study Arabic in the capital San'a.

Yemen's Foreign Ministry said Monday Abdulmutallab received a Yemeni visa after authorities were reassured that he had several visas from a number of friendly countries. It noted that Abdulmutallab had a valid visa to the United States, which he had visited in the past. The embassy has now been instructed not to issue any more visas to students who want to study in the country without Interior Ministry approval.The San'a Institute for the Arabic Language told The Associated Press that Abdulmutallab was an Arabic student at the school in August. That has raised questions about what he did the rest of his time in Yemen. Administrators at the school said Monday that the director of the school, Muhammad al-Anisi, has spent two days being questioned by Yemeni security officials. He remained in custody Tuesday.

Al-Lozy later told The Associated Press authorities are also looking into Abdulmutallab's frequent visits to a mosque in the old, historic part of the city and the people he was with during his stay in Yemen.Students and administrators at the institute said Abdulmutallab was gregarious, had many Yemeni friends and was not overtly extremist. They noted, however, he was open about his sympathies toward the Palestinians and his anger over Israel's actions in Gaza.The students and administrators spoke on condition of anonymity because Yemeni security authorities have ordered them not to talk to the media.Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the attempted attack on the airliner and said it was retaliation for a U.S. operation against the group in Yemen. More than 60 militants were killed in airstrikes last week believed to have been carried out with U.S. assistance.

China and Britain clash over execution
By Maxim Duncan Maxim Duncan – DEC 29,09

URUMQI, China (Reuters) – China executed a Briton on Tuesday caught smuggling heroin, prompting a British outcry over what it said was the lack of any mental health assessment.Beijing called the British criticism groundless interference in its judicial sovereignty.Relatives of Akmal Shaikh, 53, and the British government had appealed for clemency, arguing the former businessman suffered from bipolar disorder, or manic depression. China's Supreme Court rejected the appeal, saying there was insufficient evidence of mental illness.Shaikh was the first European citizen executed in China since 1951, Western rights groups say.British Prime Minister Gordon Brown condemned the execution, carried out in Urumqi, capital of the far-west region of Xinjiang, saying he was appalled and disappointed that our persistent requests for clemency have not been granted.I am particularly concerned that no mental health assessment was undertaken, he said in a statement.British Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis summoned China's ambassador in London, Fu Ying, to protest at the execution.I made clear that the execution of Mr Shaikh was totally unacceptable and that China had failed in its basic human rights responsibilities in this case..., Lewis said in a statement after what he described as a difficult conversation.

China rejected the British criticism.Nobody has the right to speak ill of China's judicial sovereignty, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said. We express our strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition over the groundless British accusations.Shaikh was executed by injection, China's official Xinhua news agency reported. His family said it was stunned and disappointed and criticized China's stance on his mental health.

INTERNATIONAL CRITICISM

The European Union and France both condemned the execution.The 27-nation EU's presidency said it deeply regretted that China had not heeded repeated calls from the EU and Britain for Shaikh to be spared the death penalty.Human rights group Amnesty International said Shaikh's execution highlights the injustice and inhumanity of the death penalty, particularly as it is implemented in China.Lewis told BBC radio the execution made him feel sick to the stomach, but said Britain must and will continue to engage with China.China executes more people than any other country, with about 1,718 executions in 2008, far surpassing Iran at 346 and the United States at 111, according to Amnesty International. China does not release an official count of its executions.The case could increase Chinese resentment over what Beijing often calls interference in its internal affairs, mindful of humiliating defeats by Britain during the Opium Wars of the 1800s. We hope that the British side can view this matter rationally, and not create new obstacles in bilateral relations, Jiang said. Britain is China's third-largest trade partner in Europe, with total trade of $45 billion in 2008. British economic ties with China have strengthened under Brown, although the two nations recently criticized one another over the troubled Copenhagen climate change negotiations. Heroin use is a major problem in Xinjiang, which borders Central Asia. The majority Muslim region was convulsed by ethnic violence and protests in July, with further protests in September after widespread panic over alleged syringe attacks. Shaikh's defenders, including British rights group Reprieve which lobbies against the death penalty, say he was duped into smuggling heroin by a gang who promised to make him a pop star.

Arrested in 2007, Shaikh, a Muslim, had had his last appeal rejected by a Chinese court on December 21. Reprieve posted on the Internet a recording Shaikh made of a song,Come Little Rabbit, which it said he believed would be an international hit and help bring about world peace. (Additional reporting by K.J. Kwon in Beijing; Tim Castle in London and Marcin Grajewski in Brussels; writing by Lucy Hornby, Chris Buckley and Adrian Croft; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Putin urges US to share missile defense data By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer – DEC 29,09

MOSCOW – Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia will build new weapons to offset the planned U.S. missile defense and urged Washington to share detailed data about its missile shield under a new arms control deal.Putin's remarks posted on the Cabinet's Web site set a defiant tone and signaled new difficulties in talks between the two nations on a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that expired on Dec. 5. Moscow and Washington had hoped to strike a deal before the end of the year but problems persist.Putin's comments also showed that the former Russian president is continuing to shape Russian foreign policy, which under the constitution should be set by his successor, Dmitry Medvedev.He said that the arms control talks were proceeding in a positive way and added that Medvedev and President Barack Obama will eventually decide whether to strike an arms deal.But Putin warned that a missile defense system would give the U.S. an edge and could erode the deterrent value of Russia's nuclear forces.The problem is that our American partners are developing missile defenses, and we are not, Putin said.But the issues of missile defense and offensive weapons are closely interconnected. ... There could be a danger that having created an umbrella against offensive strike systems, our partners may come to feel completely safe. After the balance is broken, they will do whatever they want and grow more aggressive.Obama removed a major irritant in relations earlier this year by scrapping the previous administration's plans to place interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic — deployments Russia treated as a threat.The Kremlin has praised Obama for the decision, but Russian officials have also said they want to know more about the sea- and land-based systems the U.S. plans to put in place instead.Putin said that Russia has no intention to build a missile shield of its own, but will have to develop new offensive weapons to offset a future U.S. missile defense.In order to preserve a balance while we aren't planning to build a missile defense of our own, as it's very expensive and its efficiency is not quite clear yet, we have to develop offensive strike systems, he said.Putin added that the U.S. must share information about their missile defense plans if they want Russia to provide data on its new weapons.They should give us all the information about the missile defense, and we will be ready then to provide some information about offensive weapons, Putin said.Russia had been pushing for an explicit link in the new treaty between offensive weapons and missile defense. A joint statement in July by Medvedev and Obama linked the two, but the U.S. will be unlikely to accept any missile defense restrictions.

Japan minister bemoans deadlock in Russia islands row
DEC 29,09

TOKYO (AFP) – Japan and Russia failed to make progress in resolving a territorial dispute in their latest talks, remaining sharply at odds on the issue, Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said Tuesday.There are huge differences between the positions of each country, Okada said after returning from talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Monday.I told him that it is a problem that there has been no tangible progress in the territorial issue, Okada told reporters.

The neighbours have yet to sign a World War II peace treaty because they both lay claim to four islands off northern Japan seized in 1945 by Soviet troops, who expelled Japanese residents.The disputed territory is known as the South Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan.In Moscow, foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko called for a respectful and attentive approach on the issue.The creation of trust, which is necessary to finding a solution on mutual agreement to the problem of a peace accord, is a sensitive process that requires a respectful and attentive approach to the position of one's partner, he said in a televised briefing.

World War II was an especially sensitive issue for Russia due to the huge Soviet loss of life, he added.Lavrov said Monday that Russia was ready to explore original solutions to the dispute but did not elaborate. Okada said there was no new proposal by Moscow on how to tackle the issue.He ruled out cooperating with Russia in the economic development of the islands before the territorial row was resolved.Economy and politics are two wheels of one cart, but I told him (Lavrov) that without progress in politics, or the territorial issue, the cart won't roll properly,Okada said.Last month, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that Moscow's proposal to return two of the islands would be unacceptable to the Japanese people.

Broadcasters' woes could spell trouble for free TV By ANDREW VANACORE, AP Business Writer – DEC 29,09

NEW YORK – For more than 60 years, TV stations have broadcast news, sports and entertainment for free and made their money by showing commercials. That might not work much longer.The business model is unraveling at ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox and the local stations that carry the networks' programming. Cable TV and the Web have fractured the audience for free TV and siphoned its ad dollars. The recession has squeezed advertising further, forcing broadcasters to accelerate their push for new revenue to pay for programming.That will play out in living rooms across the country. The changes could mean higher cable or satellite TV bills, as the networks and local stations squeeze more fees from pay-TV providers such as Comcast and DirecTV for the right to show broadcast TV channels in their lineups. The networks might even ditch free broadcast signals in the next few years. Instead, they could operate as cable channels — a move that could spell the end of free TV as Americans have known it since the 1940s.Good programing is expensive, Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp. owns Fox, told a shareholder meeting this fall.It can no longer be supported solely by advertising revenues.Fox is pursuing its strategy in public, warning that its broadcasts — including college football bowl games — could go dark Friday for subscribers of Time Warner Cable, unless the pay-TV operator gives Fox higher fees. For its part, Time Warner Cable is asking customers whether it should roll over or get tough in negotiations.The future of free TV also could be altered as the biggest pay-TV provider, Comcast Corp., prepares to take control of NBC. Comcast has not signaled plans to end NBC's free broadcasts. But Jeff Zucker, who runs NBC and its sister cable channels such as CNBC and Bravo, told investors this month that the cable model is just superior to the broadcast model.The traditional broadcast model works like this: CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox distribute shows through a network of local stations. The networks own a few stations in big markets, but most are affiliates,owned by separate companies.

Traditionally the networks paid affiliates to broadcast their shows, though those fees have dwindled to near nothing as local stations have seen their audience shrink. What hasn't changed is where the money mainly comes from: advertising.Cable channels make most of their money by charging pay-TV providers a monthly fee per subscriber for their programing. On average, the pay-TV providers pay about 26 cents for each channel they carry, according to research firm SNL Kagan. A channel as highly rated as ESPN can get close to $4, while some, such as MTV2, go for just a few pennies.With both advertising and fees, ESPN has seen its revenue grow to $6.3 billion this year from $1.8 billion a decade ago, according to SNL Kagan estimates. It has been able to bid for premium events that networks had traditionally aired, such as football games. Cable channels also have been able to fund high-quality shows, such as AMC's Mad Men,rather than recycling movies and TV series.That, plus a growing number of channels, has given cable a bigger share of the ad pie. In 1998, cable channels drew roughly $9.1 billion, or 24 percent of total TV ad spending, according to the Television Bureau of Advertising. By 2008, they were getting $21.6 billion, or 39 percent.Having two revenue streams — advertising and fees from pay-TV providers — has insulated cable channels from the recession. In contrast, over-the-air stations have been forced to cut staff, and at least two broadcast groups sought bankruptcy protection this year.Fox illustrates the trend: Its broadcast operations reported a 54 percent drop in operating income for the quarter that ended in September. Its cable channels, which include Fox News and FX, grew their operating income 41 percent.Analyst Tom Love of ZenithOptimedia said he expects the big networks will end the year with a 9 percent drop in ad revenue, followed by an 8 percent drop in 2010 and zero growth in 2011.A small chunk of the ad revenue is being recouped online, where the networks sell episodes for a few dollars each or run ads alongside shows on sites such as Hulu. Media economist Jack Myers projects online video advertising will grow into a $2 billion business by 2012, from just $350 million to $400 million this year.But that is not significant enough to make up for the lost ad revenue on the airwaves. Advertisers spent $34 billion on broadcast commercials in 2008, down by $2.4 billion from two years earlier, according to the Television Bureau of Advertising.So rather than wait for the Internet to become a bigger source of income, the networks and local stations are mimicking what cable channels do: They're charging pay-TV companies a monthly fee per subscriber to carry their programming.Since 1994, the Federal Communications Commission has let networks and their affiliates seek payments for including their programming in the pay-TV lineup. Not everyone demanded payments at first. Instead they relied on the broader audience that cable and satellite gave them to increase what they could charge advertisers.The big networks also were content to let their broadcast stations essentially be subsidized by higher fees for the cable channels that fell under the same corporate umbrella. A pay-TV company negotiating with the Walt Disney Co., which owns ABC, is likely paying more for the ABC Family channel than it otherwise would, with the extra assumed to help Disney cover its costs for the ABC network broadcasts.

But over time — such contracts generally run about three years — more networks began demanding payments for the stations they own. And affiliates already receiving the fees have bargained for more money. Some talks have been tense. In 2007, Sinclair Broadcast Group, which operates 32 network-affiliated stations around the country, pulled its signals for nearly a month from Mediacom Communications Corp., which provides cable TV to about 1.3 million subscribers, mainly in small cities. The American Cable Association says its members — mainly small cable TV providers — have seen their costs for carrying local TV stations more than triple over the past three years. The group's head, Matt Polka, says those fees have gone straight to consumers' pocketbooks in the form of higher cable bills. Gannett Co., for instance, which operates 23 stations, has taken in $56 million in fees from pay-TV operators this year after negotiating a new batch of agreements, up from $18 million in 2008. Dave Lougee, president of Gannett's broadcast arm, defends the fees, saying broadcasters were late to the game in really starting to go after the fair market value of their signals.Analysts estimate CBS managed to get as much as 50 cents per subscriber in its most recent talks with pay-TV providers that carry CBS-owned stations. CBS Corp. chief Leslie Moonves said such fees should add hundreds of millions of dollars to revenues annually.That could be just the beginning. CBS and Fox are also asking for a portion of the fees that their affiliates get, arguing that the networks' shows are what give local stations the leverage to ask for fees.

Over time, the networks might be able to get even more money by abandoning the affiliate structure and undoing a key element of free TV. Here's why: Pay-TV providers are paying the networks only for the stations the networks own. That amounts to a little less than a third of the TV audience, which means local affiliates recoup two-thirds of the fees. If a network operated purely as a cable channel and cut the affiliates out, the network could get the fees for the entire pay-TV audience. If forced to go independent, affiliates would have to air their own programming, including local news and syndicated shows. Fitch Ratings analyst Jamie Rizzo predicts that at least one of the four broadcast networks could explore becoming a cable channel as early as 2011. Any shift would take years, as the networks untangle complicated affiliate contracts. At an analyst conference last year, CBS's Moonves called the idea an a very interesting proposition. But he added that it would really change the universe that we're in.