morning to deal with whatever topic happens to be on the agenda. today it was iran and the iran sanctions committee report, and the report of the peace building function in burundi. they give you a sense of how varied the agenda is on a given day. i might often meet with other programs or to dissipate in meetings or negotiating sessions of the general assembly on various issues. we are not in the latter stages of working through the annual budget. on a typical day i might participate in a senior level interagency meeting by video teleconference. we will hovel at the end of the day again, the senior team, and

wrap up the sharing of information. more often than not, i might be of to our reception or dinner or the work of the united nations that continues in these more social settings until 9:00 or 10:00 or later. that is more or less a typical day. >> there are many questions i could have asked, but you have entered a lot of them -- answered a lot of them. i like to thank you for a very interesting conversation and those in the audience for being here. one of the things we do donewseum is encouraged you to participate. those watching from home and make a pledge online at our website. for those in the audience, we

are keeping our special exhibitions open until 9:00. one highlights contemporary genocide. another focuses on nazi propaganda. i will just conclude by saying a big thank-you to ambassador righwright. >> thank you for hosting me and thank you all for being here and participating. i thank you for the very important work to do on the real issues of genocide and atrocities every day. we needed, and we value it. >> thank you very much. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009]

>> in his weekly online address, president obama talks about the connection between an al qaeda group and the attempted christmas day terrorist bombing on a jet. it is all about the republican address with mitch mcconnell, who talks about the domestic and foreign policy challenges that lie ahead for the nation and the need for leaders to come together to solve these problems. >> it has now been more than a week since the attempted act of terrorism on board a flight on christmas day. on thursday, i received the preliminary findings of the review that i ordered into our terrorist watch list system. i directed my counter-terrorism and home and security adviser to lead the review going forward

and present the final results to me in the days to come. i will do everything in my power to make sure of our hard-working men and women in our intelligence, law enforcement, and elan security committees have the tools and resources they need to keep america's sake. this includes making sure these communities and people in them are coordinated effectively and held accountable at every level. meanwhile, the investigation into the christmas day incident continues, and we are learning more about the suspect. we know that he traveled to yemen, a cup project a country dealing with deadly insurgencies. -- a country dealing with deadly insurgencies. he was directed to attack that plane headed for america. this is not the first time this group has targeted us. they have bomb humani government facilities and our embassy in

2008, killing one american. i have made it a priority to strengthen our partnership with the yemeni government. even before christmas day, we have seen the results. plots have been disrupted and leaders eliminated. all those involved in the attempted act must know, you, too, will be held to account. it has been nearly a year since i stood on the steps of the u.s. capitol and took the oath of office as your president. with that 0 came the solemn responsibility i carry with me every moment of every day, the responsibility to protect the safety and security of the american people. i also made it very clear on that day, our nation is at war against a far reaching network of violence and hatred. we will do whatever is necessary to protect our country. make no mistake, that is exactly

what we have been doing. that is why i refocused the fight of bringing to a responsible in the war in iraq, which had nothing to do with the 9/11 attack. al qaeda is based in afghanistan and pakistan. that is why have set a clear and achievable mission should dismantle al qaeda and prevent its return to either country. it is what we have forge new partnerships, as in yemen, to put pressure on these groups from east africa to southeast asia, from europe to the persian gulf. our progress has been unmistakable. we have disrupted terrorist financing, cut off recruiting trains and thwarted a plot here in the united states and saved countless american lives. as the christmas day attempt illustrates, and as we were reminded this week by the

sacrifices of more red americans in afghanistan, including the 7 dedicated men and women of the cia, the hard work of protecting our nation is never done. we will ask the questions that need to be asked and make the changes that need to be made. let us debate the best way to protect the country we all love. that is the right and responsibility of every american and every elected official. our adversaries are those who would attack our country, not our fellow americans and not each other. instead of giving in to fear and cynicism, let's renew that timeless american spirit of resolve and confidence and optimism. instead of succumbing to partisanship and division, less some of the unity that this moment demands and work together with purpose to do what must be done to keep our country

safe. as we begin this new year, i cannot imagine a more fitting resolution to guide us as a people and a nation. happy new year. >> this is senator mitch mcconnell of kentucky. the new year always brings with a renewed hope and a spirit of optimism. qualities that have exemplified our nation and its people from the very start. one moment that stands out took place on this very day in 1777 along the new jersey- pennsylvania border. the continental army, under the direction of george washington, had just finished a daring but successful surprise attack on the british at trenton. in retaliation, the british launched an attack of its on on the, no army. instead of retreating, washington ordered his troops to stay and fight. it was a daring move. when the soldiers in the contra army saw the size and strength of the enemy, many of them were filled with dread.

as one historian put it, even in that awful moment, these men had a sense of their own strength, a confidence in what an upper, and a feeling that province was with them that night. -- confidence in one another. against impossible odds, they broke the enemy column, forcing the british to retreat. at a moment of victory, the entire, it is said to have triumphantly shouted as one. the second battle of trenton was a great victory for washington's troops. the young nation had become exhausted and discouraged by war. 233 is later, americans have not lost the spirit of trenton. two long and difficult wars have prolonged recession and double-digit unemployment. these are difficult days for our nation. in this new year, we are grateful for the courageous men and women who keep a lonely watch to defend the cause of liberty.

we are painfully aware of how many americans were out of work this christmas. but these challenges do not define us as a people. what has always defined america is its ability to overcome even the most daunting difficulties. so in this new year, we can be filled with new hope and optimism that our greatest challenges will be met, that better days are ahead, and that in these difficult times, we will persevere as we always have, not just for our own individual good, but for the good of all our country and, because we believe that for those to whom much is given, much as expected. some look at washington and wonder how lawmakers who always seem to disagree can ever saw any of our problems. well is true that many of us approached issues differently, at the beginning of a new year is important to remember that we are all united by our love of country and by a common belief

that no challenge is too great for the american people to overcome. political disagreements will continue in the years ahead. americans expect and deserve their elected leaders to put country first and work together to solve our common problems. powerful forces may be aligned against us, just as they did against the continental army on that cold january night in 1777. but when the challenges are greatest, americans always join ranks. it was true in trenton, and is no less true today. thank you, and happy new year. >> you are watching c-span, created for you as a public service. coming up, the president of a group that manages the internet's names and addresses. after that, supreme court clerk william suter on his job and how

the court decides to take cases. at 8:00 eastern, panelists discussed the first year of president obama's administration. >> box news contributor michelle malkin is our guest this week on "in-depth." we will take your calls, emailed, and tweets. >> after a while, it really sinks in, it is gone. you are trespassing. and that hurts. my possessions are now in a storage bin, what i was able to get out before the house was locked up. >> this week, on q&a, the award winning documentary on the impact of subprime mortgages on minorities.

that is sunday night at 8:00. >> this week on "the communicators," a discussion about the internet with rod beckstrom. >> this week we are pleased to have the president and ceo of ican, rod beckstrom. >> start by explaining explainingican is. >> there are basically four things we do that are related. we set the global policies for all 200 million internet domain names, so all names in the world have to be unique. we enforce that integrity through our partners around the world. we keep the natural listing of all internet addresses. names and addresses, and the system that links them so that the internet actually works when you type in c-span.org.

that is called a domain name system. we help coordinate that with many different partners around the world. finally, we are the master repository for all the internet standards. they are called parameters and protocols that hold the internet together. there are over 1000 standards, developed by engineers around the world. we or the official publisher of that. some of the glue that keeps the internet together. we are a nonprofit organization based in califni