Todays World News

"WASHINGTON -- President Obama, determined to show he understands middle-class struggles, is offering new initiatives meant to help people pay bills and save for retirement. Obama was ready to announce the new steps Monday in a partial preview of his State of the Union address. The proposals to be unveiled by Obama and Vice President Joe Biden at the White House include a doubling of the child care tax credit for families earning under $85,000; a $1.6 billion increase in federal funding for child care programs and a program to cap student loan payments at 10 percent of income above "a basic living allowance." His initiatives also include expanding tax credits to match retirement savings and increasing aid for families taking care of elderly relatives. That program would also require all employers to provide the option of a workplace-based retirement savings plan. Obama is seeking to offer some attractive options to taxpayers, mindful of recent setbacks including the loss of a traditionally Democratic Senate seat in Massachusetts to Republican Scott Brown. Monday's rollout is designed to show sympathy with a frustrated public. "We are fighting every single day to put Americans back to work," Obama said in a statement released by the White House. The proposals are the result of the work of a middle class task force that Biden had headed. The White House says the proposals are aimed at the "sandwich generation" -- Americans struggling to care for both their children and their parents. The proposals fit into the economic message of his prime-time address to the nation on Wednesday, one that is likely to cover financial regulations, energy, education, immigration and a push to change the political tone in Washington. White House advisers see Wednesday's State of the Union speech as a key opportunity for Obama to recalibrate his message to better connect with the public and to reset his presidency after stinging setbacks. Obama has promised a sharper focus o

Federal regulators seized Charter Bank in New Mexico this week as its capitalization fell below requirements, making it the latest of scores of banks to have failed in the economic crisis. However, the Albuquerque Journal reports that Charter faced a very low default rate on residential loans and no commercial failures, either - until the Office of Thrift Supervision, its regulator, demanded that Charter increase its declared risk fivefold (hat tip HA reader Super5): Federal authorities on Friday closed Charter Bank, a closely held, family-run financial institution known for its financing of low-income housing in New Mexico and for the philanthropy of its owners. … Last fall, Office of Thrift Supervision examiners, responding to the national collapse of real estate development, ordered Charter to increase its allowance for loan losses from $10.8 million to $55.4 million, even though Charter had no delinquent commercial construction loans and only [0].34 percent of the loans in its commercial real estate portfolio were behind on their payments. That order reduced the level of capital Charter had on its books. Last Wednesday, OTS ordered Charter to find new capital as a buffer against insolvency or face closure. Charter had hoped to find a buyer, but none appeared. The owners' stake in the company was wiped out by the forced closure. How involved were they in low-income lending? The head of New Mexico's MFA makes it clear: Charter became a major real estate lender and was especially active in underwriting and servicing mortgages for low-income housing. It worked closely with the Mortgage Finance Authority, which was established by the State Legislature to help finance low-income housing construction. According to MFA executive director Jay Czar, Charter services about 95 percent of the mortgages issued through the agency. "They are just class bankers," Czar said. "These are guys who quite frankly really look out for the s

"About 55 million sickened, over 11,000 killed Updated: Friday, 15 Jan 2010, 12:05 PM EST Published : Friday, 15 Jan 2010, 12:05 PM EST A new government estimate says swine flu has sickened about 55 million Americans and killed about 11,160. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the estimates on Friday , which cover roughly the first eight months of the pandemic - from April through mid-December. The CDC last estimated that through mid-November, the pandemic had sickened 50 million Americans and killed 10,000. Swine flu infections have been waning since late October, and no states were reporting widespread cases as of last week."

"Hindu Militants Attack Prayer Service; 11 Injured Friday, January 22, 2010 (5:34 am) By Worthy News Asia Service NEW DELHI, INDIA (Worthy News)-- Indian police have released on bail Hindu militants who allegedly attacked a Christian prayermeeting in Western India, seriously injuring at least 11 Christians, a rights group said Friday, January 22. U.S.-based International Christian Concern (ICC) said the January 17 violence in the city of Udaipur in Rajastha beganwhen members of the radical Hindu group Rashtriya Swayamsavak Sangh (RSS) raided the Faith Calvary Church prayer meetingarmed with machetes, axes and sticks "and proceeded to beat Pastor Surajth Bhagari and church members of the church." FCC founder and director T.M. Omkar was quoted as saying that Christians suffered broken legs, arms and injuries to their heads. The victims were reportedly taken to a nearby government hospital where they "were partially" treated. Administrators of the hospital allegedly refused to issue them a medical certificate. "We felt that the hospital administration waspressured by some group who are keen to create trouble for the Christians. We are taking the matter to the court," Omkar reportedlysaid. Police briefly detained six "Hindu extremists" on charges that included "rioting, being armed with deadly weapons, unlawful assembly in prosecution of [a] common object, house trespass and punishment for voluntarily causing hurt," ICCsaid. RELEASED ON BAIL However the suspects were released on bail the same day, the group added. In a statement, police reportedly said however they would "protect the Christians from further attacks" but ICC questions the officers intentions. ICC said Christians already filed a police complaint immediately after the violence but that officers only wrote a report onthe crime the next day after initially refusing to provide a so-called First Information Report. "We condemn the attacks on Faith Calvary Church by Hindu radicals. We urge Indian offi

"PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday proposed setting up a group of 28 countries to guide global negotiations on climate change and avoid a repetition of last year's chaotic talks in Copenhagen. In a New Year address to the diplomatic community, Sarkozy said United Nations climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December had failed because of the huge number of countries involved in preparing the accord. "The main lesson from Copenhagen is that you can't negotiate in a round of 192," Sarkozy said, arguing that national leaders had arrived in the Danish capital to sign the accord only to find an illegible text full of disputed clauses. He proposed forming a "balanced, representative" group of 28 countries that would provide ideas and prepare for the next round of negotiations in Cancun. He did not name any of the proposed participants. "The wisest option would be to pursue a twin strategy -- talks among the 192, as that involves the whole international community, and among ministers and sherpas from the Group of 28," he said. Sarkozy said he wanted the Group of 28 to hold monthly meetings, starting in March, in New York or Bonn. Last month's Copenhagen talks ended with a bare-minimum agreement when delegates "noted" a deal struck by the United States, China and other emerging powers that fell short of the conference's original goals. Mexico will host the next talks in Cancun in November/December, building on the Copenhagen deal which seeks to limit the rise in temperature to 2 Celsius above the average recorded in pre-industrial times. The Copenhagen accord did not spell out how to achieve that goal."

"The US army is training a crack unit to seal off and snatch back Pakistani nuclear weapons in the event that militants, possibly from inside the country's security apparatus, get their hands on a nuclear device or materials that could make one. The specialised unit would be charged with recovering the nuclear materials and securing them. The move follows growing anti-Americanism in Pakistan's military, a series of attacks on sensitive installations over the past two years, several of which housed nuclear facilities, and rising tension that has seen a series of official complaints by US authorities to Islamabad in the past fortnight. "What you have in Pakistan is nuclear weapons mixed with the highest density of extremists in the world, so we have a right to be concerned," said Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, a former CIA officer who used to run the US energy department's intelligence unit. "There have been attacks on army bases which stored nuclear weapons and there have been breaches and infiltrations by terrorists into military facilities." "

"Even though the U.S. financial system nearly experienced a total meltdown in late 2008, the truth is that most Americans simply have no idea what is happening to the U.S. economy. Most people seem to think that the nasty little recession that we have just been through is almost over and that we will be experiencing another time of economic growth and prosperity very shortly. But this time around that is not the case. The reality is that we are being sucked into an economic black hole from which the U.S. economy will never fully recover. The problem is debt. Collectively, the U.S. government, the state governments, corporate America and American consumers have accumulated the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world. Our massive debt binge has financed our tremendous growth and prosperity over the last couple of decades, but now the day of reckoning is here. And it is going to be painful. The following are 20 reasons why the U.S. economy is dying and is simply not going to recover.... #1) Do you remember that massive wave of subprime mortgages that defaulted in 2007 and 2008 and caused the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression? Well, the "second wave" of mortgage defaults in on the way and there is simply no way that we are going to be able to avoid it. A huge mountain of mortgages is going to reset starting in 2010, and once those mortgage payments go up there are once again going to be millons of people who simply cannot pay their mortgages. The chart below reveals just how bad the second wave of adjustable rate mortgages is likely to be over the next several years...."

"(CNSNews.com) - The new federal hate crimes law has all the potential to be a major attack on religious liberty and freedom of speech, according to top religious liberty attorneys. The law was chosen the number one anti-Christian act of 2009 by the Christian Anti-Defamation League. Attorneys who defend religious rights agree: The recently enacted hate-crimes law is a threat to religious liberty. "The very fact that this law elevates 'sexual orientation' and 'gender identity' to the same protected status as race - that in and of itself is a cataclysmic shift in policy," said Mathew Staver, president of the religious liberty law firm Liberty Counsel and dean of the Liberty University Law School. "That will have a ripple effect far beyond the specific words of this bill," he added. "That is contrary to our Judeo-Christian heritage and beliefs, far beyond any particular disclaimer that it is not going to affect speech." Erik Stanley, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, which is based in Scottsdale, Ariz., said the hate-crimes law is not about punishing crimes. It's about punishing beliefs and ideas. "It is actually a thought-crimes law," Stanley said. "There is no difference between, say, an assault that is already punishable, and an assault that is punishable as a hate crime, other than the belief of the perpetrator." "

"KABUL - The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan plans to tighten the rules on night raids, The Associated Press has learned, in a new step to curb public anger over perceived violations against civilians. Such raids have emerged as the No. 1 complaint among Afghans after Gen. Stanley McChrystal curbed the use of airstrikes and other weaponry last year. NATO spokesman Rear Adm. Gregory Smith told the AP a new directive would be issued soon to set down new rules for night raids. "It addresses the issue that's probably the most socially irritating thing that we do and that is entering people's homes at night," he said Wednesday. He would not elaborate pending a formal announcement. The U.S.-led force has become increasingly sensitive to complaints by Afghan civilians as part of a renewed effort to win support among the public and lure people away from the Taliban. Last year McChrystal curbed the use of airpower and heavy weapons if civilians could be put at risk. Smith said complaints about civilian deaths from airstrikes had dropped sharply after McChrystal's order last year but Afghans are "not seeing enough difference in our nighttime operations." He acknowledged the possible tactical difficulties but said the problem needed to be addressed in the effort to win the confidence of Afghan civilians and keep them from supporting the Taliban."

"WASHINGTON - Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she lacks the votes to quickly move the Senate's sweeping health overhaul bill through the House, a potentially devastating blow to President Barack Obama's signature issue. Pelosi, D-Calif., made the comment to reporters after House Democrats held a closed-door meeting at which participants vented frustration with the Senate's massive version of the legislation. Her concession meant there was little hope for a White House-backed plan to quickly push the Senate-approved health bill through the House, followed by a separate measure making changes sought by House members, such as easing the Senate's tax on higher-cost health plans. Such an approach would be "problematic," she said, though Democrats haven't completely ruled out pursuing it. "In its present form without any changes I don't think it's possible to pass the Senate bill in the House," Pelosi said, adding, "I don't see the votes for it at this time." Pelosi also signaled that advancing health legislation through Congress will likely be a lengthy process - despite Democrats' desire for a quick election-year pivot to address jobs and the economy, which polls show are the public's top concern. "We're not in a big rush" on health care, Pelosi said. "Pause, reflect." Two days after the stunning special election in Massachusetts - where Republicans captured the Senate seat held for decades by the late Edward Kennedy - many House Democrats said one lesson was that the public wanted a more modest approach to overhauling the health care system. Several said Democrats should refocus the legislation onto popular proposals like barring insurance companies from denying coverage to sick people."

"Dubai: The government of Dubai on Thursday announced that it is fully prepared to host the headquarters of the United Nations if its officials decide to move from New York where the organisation is currently located. According to an official source in the Dubai government, the announcement was made in light of the UAE's - and Dubai's - appreciation of the vital role the United Nations plays in all areas, and in the protection of international peace and security and economic development in particular. The source said Dubai welcomes dialogue with UN officials to provide them with full information on the capabilities which the emirate can provide and which could make it the optimal choice as the new seat of the UN headquarters if a final decision is taken to move out of New York. Among the capabilities which Dubai possesses are suitable geographical location and world-class infrastructure and air, land and sea transport systems which make the emirate an easily accessible meeting point in the middle of the world, noted the source. Dubai's offer is part of efforts the UAE is making to assume its full role as a responsible and effective member of the international community and to find alternatives to contribute to stronger international joint actions."

"When staff members at a Wellesley, Mass., school went to the nurse last Friday, they expected to be injected with a vaccine for theH1N1 flu. What they received instead was a shot of insulin resulting in a bout with low blood sugar. Share Seasonal shots may "prime" the immune system to react to the H1N1 virus. While the staffers seem to be suffering no long-term damage from mistakenly receiving the insulin injections, investigations are ongoing to determine what caused the medical error. Indications thus far have been that a school nurse was responsible. The nurse has been temporarily relieved of duty. While ABC News contacted people at the departments of health for the town of Wellesley and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the Wellesley School District, it remains unclear how the flu vaccine, which is distributed in pre-filled syringes, was mistaken for insulin, which is drawn from a vial because each dose needs to be calibrated when it is given. Such errors have happened before. This past fall, a number of people in the neighboring town of Needham received a seasonal flu vaccine in place of the H1N1 vaccines they were supposed to receive. And in 2007, a teacher in the nearby town of Attleboro also received an injection of insulin instead of the intended flu shot. "

"This analysis was eritten by Hamid Ghoriafi, Middle East Analyst & Journalist, Published on 07/01/10 by the Kuwaiti Daily Al-Seyassah, Translated from Arabic by Elias Bejjani, LCCC Chairman *Israel is providing her 4.5 million citizens with anti-weapons of mass destruction masks. *Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is expecting a war with Hezbollah and Iran by the end of next March. *The Israeli army fears that Hezbollah might launch missiles with biological and chemical warheads. *Israel confirmed that its response would include southern Lebanon, the suburbs of Beirut, the Bekaa valley and the heart of the Gaza strip."

"No presidential statement or White House press briefing was held on it. In fact, all that can be found about it on the official White House Web site is the Dec. 17 announcement and one-paragraph text of President Obama's Executive Order 12425, with this innocuous headline: "Amending Executive Order 12425 Designating Interpol as a public international organization entitled to enjoy certain privileges, exemptions, and immunities."In fact, this new directive from Obama may be the most destructive blow ever struck against American constitutional civil liberties. No wonder the White House said as little as possible about it. There are multiple reasons why this Obama decision is so deeply disturbing. First, the Obama order reverses a 1983 Reagan administration decision in order to grant Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, two key privileges. First, Obama has granted Interpol the ability to operate within the territorial limits of the United States without being subject to the same constitutional restraints that apply to all domestic law enforcement agencies such as the FBI. Second, Obama has exempted Interpol's domestic facilities -- including its office within the U.S. Department of Justice -- from search and seizure by U.S. authorities and from disclosure of archived documents in response to Freedom of Information Act requests filed by U.S. citizens. Think very carefully about what you just read: Obama has given an international law enforcement organization that is accountable to no other national authority the ability to operate as it pleases within our own borders, and he has freed it from the most basic measure of official transparency and accountability, the FOIA. The Examiner has asked for but not yet received from the White House press office an explanation of why the president signed this executive order and who among his advisers was involved in the process leading to his doing so. Unless the White House can provide credible reasons to t

"Now that Copenhagen is past history, what is the next step in the man-made global warming controversy? Without question, there should be an immediate and thorough investigation of the scientific debauchery revealed by "Climategate." If you have not heard, hackers penetrated the computers of the Climate Research Unit, or CRU, of the United Kingdom's University of East Anglia, exposing thousands of e-mails and other documents. CRU is one of the top climate research centers in the world. Many of the exchanges were between top mainstream climate scientists in Britain and the U.S. who are closely associated with the authoritative (albeit controversial) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Among the more troubling revelations were data adjustments enhancing the perception that man is causing global warming through the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other atmospheric greenhouse gases. Particularly disturbing was the way the core IPCC scientists (the believers) marginalized the skeptics of the theory that man-made global warming is large and potentially catastrophic. The e-mails document that the attack on the skeptics was twofold. First, the believers gained control of the main climate-profession journals. This allowed them to block publication of papers written by the skeptics and prohibit unfriendly peer review of their own papers. Second, the skeptics were demonized through false labeling and false accusations. Climate alarmists would like you to believe the science has been settled and all respectable atmospheric scientists support their position. The believers also would like you to believe the skeptics are involved only because of the support of Big Oil and that they are few in number with minimal qualifications."

"MONTPELIER, Vt. - Snow falling like New Year's confetti joined forces with a chill that dipped deep to the South on Monday to close schools, delay commuters, threaten fruit farmers and shut down at least one nuclear power plant. A weekend snowstorm dumped an all-time record of more than 33 inches on Burlington, the largest city in Vermont. That broke a single-storm record of nearly 30 inches set in 1969. "It just dropped a tremendous amount of snow," said Steve Goodkind, public works director for the city of Burlington, which had a dozen plows and nine sidewalk snow removers out Monday. "It looks like mid-January, after we'd have a bunch of smaller storms." Most Vermonters took it in stride. Others took it too far: Vermont State Police cited a man after stopping him pulling a sled - with a rider in it - behind his car on Interstate 89 on Sunday. The driver was cited for driving with a suspended license. In upstate New York, it was a similar scene. So-called "lake effect snow" blanketed parts of the state with more than 3 feet. Fulton, in Oswego County, had received 42 inches since last Friday night, while Williamson, which is on Lake Ontario east of Rochester, got nearly 27 inches, according to the National Weather Service."

"I spent twenty-two years serving in the Colorado criminal justice arena. I worked as a municipal police patrolman, a police detective, a patrol sergeant, and as a uniformed county sheriff's deputy and detective. Following twenty years as a cop, I also spent two years on the other side of t he Courtroom as an Investigator for the Colorado State Public Defender's Office. So, I saw crime and punishment from both sides of the Courtroom. I spent my share of time at crime scenes gathering facts and evidence, then in Courts of Law, presenting the evidence and testifying under oath in trials. Sometimes, warrant in hand, I actually kicked in doors and made arrests at gunpoint, but not exactly like this Clint Eastwood "Dirty Harry" operation. Real cops don't get to do business like Dirty Harry did - but it is fun to watch his movies. To convince a judge to sign a search or arrest warrant I had to first make sure that in preparing my affidavit for arrest or search warrant I had jumped through all of the hoops within the Fourth Amendment, which guarantees protection from unreasonable police searches of our homes, and capricious or illegal arrests. All of my reports, photos, and collected evidence were a matter of public record, available to defense attorneys through motions for discovery, to lay members of the public, and to members of the press via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Imagine now a foreign international police department that does not have to worry about the constraints of the Fourth Amendment, an agency that has license to bypass American Courts of Law, can investigate and arrest American citizens within our own borders, haul them off to Court in a foreign land, and does not have to reveal any records or documents to anyone in the United States. Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. I can foresee American military officers and enlisted personnel, CIA agents, former White House policy makers, even Dick Cheney and George Bush in jeo

"On Dec. 17, security police and undercover officers attacked a Christmas gathering of more than 70 newly converted Christians in the city of Karaj, Iran, according to Farsi Christian News. Officers photographed and videotaped the believers and also confiscated Bibles, Christian books and a computer. Christians were told they must be available during the period leading up to formal and legal interrogations and that they must appear before prosecutors when ordered. Two of the leaders of the group, Kambiz Saghaee and Ali Keshvar-Doost, were arrested. At last report, Saghaee and Keshvar-Doost remained in detention at an undisclosed location, and their families had neither been able to contact them nor received confirmation from police of their whereabouts. Pray that Saghaee and Keshvar-Doost will be released. Pray that the new converts who attended this meeting will grow stronger in their faith in Christ. Pray for the safety of Iranian believers celebrating the birth of Jesus and the beginning of a new blessed year, as many must gather in secret to avoid attention from authorities. "

"On Dec. 17, a mob of nearly 1,000 Muslims attacked a church building under construction in Bekasi Regency, near Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, according to VOM Canada. At midnight, Muslims arrived on bikes and on foot at the Church of Saint Albert. They stormed into the building, carrying banners and tanks of kerosene. One witness reported hearing them shout, "Destroy! Destroy it! Replace the church with mosque!" Muslims damaged bricks, broke lights, uprooted newly planted trees and set the building on fire. Praise God, no one was injured in the attack, but damage amounted to about 60 million rupees (approximately $6,235). Local Christians were planning to use the nearly completed building for a Christmas service. Following the attack, a leader of the church's construction committee said, "Even though our chapel was attacked, we are not afraid. We will continue the construction of this chapel until its completion." The Voice of the Martyrs actively supports persecuted believers in Indonesia by providing resources for churches and pastors and helping displaced believers rebuild their lives. VOM encourages you to pray that these believers will not be discouraged but will continue to rest in the joy and provision of Christ. Pray that Indonesian Christians will be emboldened by the Holy Spirit to share the truth of the Lord. "

""Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. "In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. "And where I go you know, and the way you know." Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." John 14:1-7"