“Since Hamas’ violent takeover in the summer of 2007, living conditions have worsened for Palestinians in Gaza,” Bush says in prepared remarks released Friday by the White House. “By spending its resources on rocket launchers instead of roads and schools, Hamas has demonstrated that it has no intention of serving the Palestinian people.”

In a radio address to air Saturday, Bush says Hamas committed an act of terrorism when it renewed rocket attacks into Israel last month, provoking this week’s airstrikes by Israel.

“In response to these attacks on their people, the leaders of Israel have launched military operations on Hamas positions in Gaza,” Bush says. “As a part of their strategy, Hamas terrorists often hide within the civilian population, which puts innocent Palestinians at risk.”

President-elect Barack Obama is said to be monitoring the situation. He has been in contact with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton, the nominee for secretary of state.

The president of the U.N. General Assembly blasted Israel’s ground assault into Gaza on Saturday and criticized the actions of the U.N. Security Council.

“I think it’s a monstrosity; there’s no other way to name it,” Miguel D’escoto Brockmann of Nicaragua said Saturday when asked about the Israeli incursion launched just hours before. “Once again, the world is watching in dismay the disfunctionality of the Security Council.”

Earlier Saturday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over the start of the ground offensive, saying it complicates the international community’s efforts to achieve a cease-fire between the Jewish state and Hamas.

Ban “conveyed his extreme concern and disappointment” to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, a spokesman for the secretary-general said.

“He is convinced and alarmed that this escalation will inevitably increase the already heavy suffering of the affected civilian populations.”

Ban renewed his call for an immediate cease-fire and condemned the continued rocket attacks by Hamas.

After a week of pounding Gaza with airstrikes, Israeli troops rolled into Gaza on Saturday night, launching the second phase of an offensive meant to end rocket attacks staged in the Hamas-ruled territory. The incursion happened just hours after the European Union announced that a delegation is heading to the Middle East to meet with leaders from the region and seek a Gaza cease-fire.

A broader Middle East “Quartet” — consisting of the European Union, the United States, the United Nations and Russia — is also trying to broker a truce.

“Today’s developments complicate the efforts of the Quartet and others to end the violence,” Ban’s spokesman said.

A statement from the French government conveyed a similar message, saying the ground assault “complicated the efforts” of the European Union, the Quartet, France and others seeking an immediate cease-fire.

Earlier, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet with the EU delegation Monday in Ramallah, West Bank. Abbas then plans to head to New York for meetings at the United Nations, Erekat said.

Monday’s meeting will include members of the European Union leadership and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country just finished a six-month EU presidency. The Czech Republic, which took over the role from France, will lead the delegation, the Czech presidency said.

The officials will try to start a dialogue between the EU and Middle East to look for ways of re-establishing armistice in Gaza, the Czech presidency said. They will also be looking for ways to provide humanitarian aid to people in Gaza.

Duration : 0:1:21

Technorati Tags: 2009, air, Al, algeria, algerie, ali, allah, america, arabs, army, australia, bush, China, CNN, egypt, england, f-16, France, Gaza, germany, ground, Hamas, IDF, invasion, Iran, iraq, islam, Israel, israeli, japan, jazeera, jews, jihad, malaysia, missile, muslims, obama, offensive, oil, pakistan, Palestine, reacts, russia, sarkozy, strike, terrorism, TV, U.S., USA;, war, إسرائيل, إسلام, الجزائر, الجزيرة, السعودية, العراق, المغرب, جهاد, حرب, حماس, غزة, فلسطين, مصر

Duration : 0:1:44

Technorati Tags: cards, credit, DEBT, interest, loans, mortgages, personal, rates

Duration : 0:0:30

Technorati Tags: 30, bank, commercial, credit, funny, lessgage, moregage, mortgage, rates, seconds, Ukrainian, union, vera

There are is a wide range of lenders offering all types of loans and credit cards providers that are ready to provide you with some very good deals.  No matter your needs or circumstances, you will be able to choose from a variety of options. The best way to begin this process is to dig in and do some research on different lenders so you will know which ones offer the most reasonable deals, especially those that save you money.

Thankfully, the internet has done a tremendous amount to cut down the hassles and frustrations than many feel when looking for loans or credit cards.  It is possible to review and compare card offers and different lenders in a stress-free environment, such as your personal computer or a library.  No more hasty decisions motivated by high-press situations that you might regret later.

When you’ve begun to browse for different lender’s quotes and are comparing different credit card offers, you should focus your attention on what sort of interest rates are available.  Keeping this factor in mind will ensure that you locate a reasonable offer. Find out all that you can about the levels of interest that are included in both loans and credit card so you can get a picture about how much payments will cost you each month.  Know that your situation will be a factor that may determine the interest rate. The amount of the loan, financial status, credit rating and employment status will all play a part in determining what kind of deal you can obtain.

If you want to compare different rates on credit cards and loans to find the right deal, you may also think about the following points. You may prefer to do a detailed review of the lenders’ websites to get a comprehensive picture. Second, you could make use of any number of price comparison websites that allow you to enter your personal information in order to get a quote from multiple participating lenders all on one site.  This second approach is made more effective when you use more than one site to generate quotes since the market coverage of potential lenders will be broadly touched.

If at all possible, take your time during this research process.  There is no reason to hurry and make poor choices when it comes to find the best rates for credit cards and loans.

Technorati Tags: credit cards, loans, personal loans, secured loans

For me, I selected 5 stories which I thought were of major importance.

1 Obama Elected President of the United States

Barack Obama, the freshman U.S. senator from Illinois was elected to be the 44th President of the United States. Obama becomes the first man of African-American lineage to be elected to the highest office in the land.

One year ago the race was predicted to be between Hillary Clinton, the former first lady and U.S, senator from New York for the Democrats and the former mayor of New York Rudy Guilliani was predicted to lead the charge for the Republicans. While Clinton came close in her contest against Obama, Guilliani flamed out early.

Obama and his running mate, U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, eventually went on to defeat Sen. John McCain and his running mate, governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, the first woman on a national Republican ticket.

Obama represents a seed change as to how the world will look at the U.S. It shows the world that a man from a bi-racial background can fulfill the American dream and rise to what can be seen as the most important job on the planet.

2 The Collapse of the Financial Markets

As the economy continued to weaken, we saw a number of banks and brokerage houses fail which led to a massive and controversial bailout for Wall Street. Lehman Brothers. closed its doors. Bear Stearns ended up being bought by J. P. Morgan. Insurance giant A.I.G., which insured transactions between financial institutions, was basically nationalized by the U.S. government. Housing prices dropped and foreclosures were seen at record rates. In addition, the Big Three auto makers in Detroit were also given loans to allow them to continue in business and hopefully stop a recession from turning in a depression.

3 The Terror Attacks in Mumbai

In a coordinated rampage though the streets of this Indian city, Pakistani extremists killed innocent civilians in restaurants, two major hotels and as well as the Mumbai railway station. The Indian response during the attacks was feeble at best and they lost control of the situation which lasted for almost two days. This attack raised tensions between these two countries which have been at odds with each other for the last 60 years. What is even more frightening is they are both nuclear powers.

4 The Russia ??? Georgian Conflict over South Ossetia

We all thought with the collapse of the Soviet Union that the days of Russian aggression was over. Vladimir Putin and his hand picked successor Dmitry Medeyev had other thoughts. While it was unclear at the time who started this conflict, the Russians clearly had an agenda and were prepared to act on it, which the did, and inflicted a lot of damage on Georgia and its armed forces could not handle the much better equipped Russian Army

.

5 The Rise and Fall of Oil Prices

During the summer, we saw petroleum prices rise to record levels. Around the world we saw gas prices escalate on a daily basis. In some parts of the U.S., gas prices at the pump were closing in on $5 per gallon. While to many parts of the world, this looks cheap, American consumers were shocked and cut back on taking to the roads. Surcharges were imposed by airlines and prices on goods skyrocketed in response to the cost of fuel. As the year closed and the global economy weakened demand the prices returned to a more affordable level, closing the year in the low $40 per barrel.

There were a number of other stories that gripped the world that could have made the list. Certainly the devastation of the earthquakes in China, the cyclone that ravaged Myanmar (Burma) and the continual genocides that are occurring on the continent of Africa should not be overlooked. To Iraqis and Afghanis the conflicts in these two countries and the continuing presence of American troops can not be ignored. We are also witnessing this week another round of the never ending hostilities between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

As we move into 2009 and a time of renewal, all we can do is hope that these situations will end and that we can all unite in peace and harmony.

On behalf of all of us at News Talk Online on Paltalk.com, we wish you all a happy and healthy New Year!

Duration : 0:7:31

Technorati Tags: Baumgarten, Gary, news, online, Paltalk, Talk

Duration : 0:9:57

Technorati Tags: 401k, ACCOUNTS, agency, ammunitions, analysis, bailout, bank, Barack, Ben, Bernanke, Biden, brokerage, bullets, bush, coins, collection, commentary, credit, crisis, daniels, documentary, financial, fraud, fund, funds, George, global, Gold;, industry, jack, Joe, Kashkari, Keiser, Limbaugh, lookback, Max, money, mutual, Neel, New, O'Reilly, obama, Order, pension, Peter, president, robbery, Rush, Schiff, stealing, street, trade, wall, World

Duration : 0:1:17

Technorati Tags: credit, Education, Finance, financial, Kids, literacy, money, personal, program, union, Youth

Duration : 0:4:6

Technorati Tags: "domain, "final, "iShowU, "Monroe, "steve, Apple, bluehost, county, Cut, express", HD, keynote", name", NC", Pro", scoop", screencast, sherron", union

Duration : 0:1:15

Technorati Tags: cards, credit, DEBT, interest, loans, mortgages, personal, rates

Ed Jacob, CEO of the $9 million North Side Community FCU, Chicago, described how the credit union had been able to reach out specifically to employers in the surrounding areas which had concentrations of lower income workers. The video tells the story of a payday lending victim who then became a financially literate credit union member with the credit union’s help.

More info:
http://www.ncuf.coop

Duration : 0:4:14

Technorati Tags: chicago, Community, credit, Ed, foundation, jacob, Lending, national, north, payday, side, union