as to the hamas -- the hamas is more complicated one. there's the outside hamas. there is hamas of the prime minister of the hamas in gaza. and there is the hamas of the military wing with others. and instead of answering your question, i'll tell you a story. and see if it works. when israel left gaza, two weeks before arafat came from tukneesa to gaza. we got a phone call and i went to gaza to talk to the hamas people. i went with a friend. now i know it was a crazy thing to do. i was utterly -- but i did it. and i met the one who is now what is called the foreign minister. so he was a doctor. and we went to his house. we were well received. there were a few people there. from the leadership. so what's on? so he said, look, in two weeks arafat is coming and he's going to slaughter us. namely, the hamas, and we want people of good will to know about it. all right. so i said it's a humanitarian appeal or there is politics to it? what's the politics, i said? he looked to me utterly mystified and said what do you mean is the politics of it? under islamic rule, you je

why is hamas a problem? why is hamas not allowed in its tracks and almost came back to a meeting pressure on the civilian population either for punitive purposes, and this isn't unique. the israelis have done this in the past for the west bank as well. if you are asking why we haven't heard that perspective i would simply say that in fact for the last year accepted the notable exception of a handful of very brief congressmen and congresswomen that in fact perspective you have heard every single day of the year which is the perspective why we need to continue publishing the civilian population. i even heard of american officials in the last administration they were trying to follow the kind of nicaragua policy. from the 1980's if you recall the policy. and so, it sounds harsh, i think it is hard to justify the israeli ambassador to the united states might be about to put a my source been than i can, but i think that if anybody has a more -- >> i.t. door observation seriously. it might be a good way to pursue

as hamas stand that we can't do anything for hamas stand. have to say, yeah, my friend, 75 percent of the people there are under 30, and another 60%, 58% are under 18. so they cannot vote for hamas. the majority of the residents didn't get it. we've got to help counteract this idea that anything gold in gaza because it's hamas. and i think that idea is operating. i think that whether or not the israelis are delivered late doing this or not, the policy, the de facto policy is a policy of provocation. and i know and i think we need to help our friends reflect on, you know, what they are doing because i don't think there is a real oddball idea about the overall impact of what the policy is. finally, we had to argue, can they have macaroni in gaza? i think they already have it. no, they don't. they say they don't have back or there. they don't have lentils and they don't have much of anything else. they said i will check on the macaroni. and a few days later, i heard there was a little background but i don't know if they're still macaroni or not

they didn't ask when hamas was going to do it.s a matter of fact no palestinian that we spoke with spoke about fatah or hamas. they spoke about the united states and asked the congressman when are you going to free basra. the idea that the allied states is in the tent or completely unable to exercise influence over israel or egypt and that the guide states cannot open the borders at all from either the egyptian side or from the sea or the israeli side is something that no palestinian in gaza the wimax believed. i suspect it is also something no muslim and the world believes. that puts a set quandary because it means over the last year the united states has been specifically associated with the siege on gaza which has become laconic of the palestinian struggle as a whole for the muslim world, and this would be a perfect place for the united states effectively begin. we are not hostage to the palestinians or the israelis. sometimes it seems we are what we are not in fact. we have our own decision making capacity. we have also eckert

hamas took 34 of the seats in the legislative council. when the hamas leader became prime minister comment he was given a number of preconditions set by the united states and the e.u.. when he refused to recognize israel's right to exist and refuse to forsake the use of violence and refuse to accept the terms both the u.s. and e refused to recognize his government and cut off funding to the palestinian authority. it was the beginning of the crisis that has resulted under gaza and the west bank and further undermining the scope for a meaningful peace process and the second american betrayal for the democracy came shortly after that in of lebanon where a probe western democracy movement rose in the aftermath of the 2005 assassination of former lebanese product it came for a full syrian withdrawal all with full support of the bush white house. they call the movement the revolution but the lebanese call it the independent and the father and a o is decried the use of the revolution that was met in a way to connect to the war and revolution the

. >> staying on the middle east, first question, is some sort of reunification between fata and hamas necessary for the peace process to go forward? >> i think we recognize the value of the unity government, but tweet wants to see a negotiation begin as soon as possible, so is a unity government a prerequisite, it is not. >> does that imply any talks say if they were to start tomorrow would be extensively with those who represent fata and not hamas? >> well, we are focused on working with president abbas and recognize his leadership, his historic interest in pursuing merely sfius, his acceptance of the fundamental principles which include israel's right to exist, it's right to security as well as the rights of the palestinians to have a state of their own yet as we have always said anyone who commits to these basic principles can play role in these negotiations, but that is a fundamental element in president abbas has accepted those principles and hamas has not. >> before the minister also use the word when he talked about the creation of a separate palestinian state, one that is cont

hamas officials are expected to give their reply to the deal any day now. german mediator returns to the region tomorrow. >> julie: thank you. election delays will not keep the troops to leave by the end of august according to ray odierno. the top u.s. general says he expects 100,000 troops will be in iraq in the march 7 elections. two months later, he will assess the country's stability and move troops out. they were supposed to hold the election this month but a political dispute pushed up the date to march. all u.s. troops are slated to leave iraq by september. leaders are welcoming the new year. a stop as we go around the world in 80 seconds. >> china. explosion at a fireworks factory leaving nine dead and at least eight others injured. the police searching for the factory owner who according to the state run media fled the scene. manufacturering of fireworks is a massive industry in china. and has long been known for lax safety standards. brazil. 19 are dead as torrential rains caused mountain side to collapse burying a result and three homes. more tha

if israel could get concessions for syria to stop destabilizing lebanon, to stop supporting hamas, that is an issue which ought to be considered. well, the hour is growing late. we're keeping staff here. but i thought this occasion on the 10,000th vote, as i said, i sat here for about an hour waiting for the vote to end before senator casey could make his comments. it gave me a few moments to reflect on why i was interested in running for public office originally, what those 10,000 votes have meant to me, with a very brief statement as to some of those votes during the administrations of president reagan, the first president bush, president clinton, the second president bush, and president obama, and what i'd like to see done in the future. and there is -- there is much to be done on so many, many lines. i said to senator casey, who's been here only three years, i'd like to be here to speak of him on his 10,000th vote. i don't entertain that seriously, but the issues that i talked about are ones that are very important to me, and i think to the future of my state and the future of my na

hezbollah or hamas or other terrorist groups.nybody listening has watched the development and iran over the last couple of months. i am sure those will continue. i think we need to be mindful of those events, of what is going on there and clearly, the need to continue to, i think, aggressively address the nuclear potential issue internationally. there are discussions of additional sanctions right now. we need to continue where possible to engage and have a dialogue. i talked about the lyqy of trust between the united states and pakistan. we are building on the 12-year gap. we are four or five years into establishing the trust. we have a relationship with iraq that goes back about six years now. we are looking for a long-term relationship with iraq. what i am in afghanistan, i get the same question asked is what i meant pakistan which is when will we leave? they remember very well. there's a trust issue their per there is uncertainty. there is an issue whether we will stay and there's a trust problem in afghanistan and a relations

and the palestinians that are in the west coast, there is now a division, i think you know, between hamas and sad ha so that there is a dichotomy of the people. so we now have a situation, instead of the dream that we'd hoped for and with some of us i think hoping that gaza would be the first step to normalization on the west bank led by sharon, as you know, sharon went into a comba where he is still, and the situation has eroded to the current situation. that's a very brief history of what happened for those of you that are not familiar with it. so now we're faced with a situation where the dream of a united palestine with talk of nationhood has receded into the background. although, in june, the prime minister made an announcement that was certainly a surprise to me that he would accept a two-state solution of palestinians and israelis subject to a couple conditions. one was that there would be limited military capacity on the part of the palestinians, and that the issue of immigration would be taken aust table in terms of the right of return to israel of palestinians, and there was a t

each offers us a perspective on the narrative that has been told to us in hamas cue lynn voice and from a masculine point of view. no matter how internately their lives were intertwined with those of their husbands, these women narrate the events in a different tempo and in a different cadence from those men. and their stories, taken together, i believe, and i hope you will agree, help us reconstruct their era with greater depth and greater complexity. thank you. [applause] >> carol has graciously said if you have any comments or questions, she will take them. >> i always tell my students, don't ask me anything i don't know the answer to. yes. >> i think you know the answer to this one. i'm on special assignment for mary chestnut, and i'm us impressed by the sense that she gave, that she and greta davis were good buddies. >> oh, yes. she and mary chestnut. mary chestnut was as smart as varina was and sarcastic about the other women and other things and mary chestnut and varina would sit together in richmond, where the ladies of richmond -- first of all, to the ladies of richmond, varin

and it appears that fatah and hamas are political and odds. what to do it the times will egyptians enjoy dance as well as secretary clinton bring to the table to lessen those animosities? >> let me take half of that question and certainly you heard some passionate staymans little while ago from said net -- from secretary clinton from foreign minister judah, and that the critical importance of the middle east peace, the urgency that we all feel, the need to make progress as soon as possible. we will be meeting with the egyptians this afternoon. egyptians have been working over several months on the reconciliation process. we certainly support the formation of a unity government in palestine, one that, of course, and here's to the quartet principles.

that industry problems with hamas and hezbollah. would they be better off if their military budget was so solve% higher or something. -- 10% higher or something. they have the case under control. you can make an argument that that's been a waste for them. they don't seem to have gained anything from it. >> yeah, a couple of yeahs. one are you suggesting that, for example, if hitler had somehow gotten the bomb before -- and not the united states during world war ii that there would have been no consequences? that's one question. secondly, both obama as well as kissinger have articulated a vision after nuclear free world. in your judgment, how doable is it? can we put the genie back in the bottle? untrain, develop a system for testing cheating that could lead to that sort of vision? >> yeah, the case of the hitler question, what i said is that nuclear weapons haven't made any difference in history, at least since world war ii. however, not the same as saying they couldn't. one reason for getting nuclear weapons, you might say, and i s

there are established channels for that and those established channels should not be hindered by hamasrty in gaza. we do support the humanitarian supplies flowing into gaza. >> you'd like to see the egyptians open the border for aid then? >> we'd like to see hamas to stop using the border crossings as methods for struggling -- smuggling in weapons and let's get the weapons smuggling stopped but look for ways to improve the lives of ordinary gaza zanns. >> can you speak about the political scope of the wall. it's creating a political rift inside egypt's parliament as well as the upcoming election. they view this wall being built as a possible hindrance to egypt acting as an honest broker through the peace process. is that a concern to you? >> we will continue to work with egypt as one of the parties that has much influence in the region and has been working to try to get the parties back to the negotiating table. that is our concern right now. we want to see the parties are return to the negotiating table and start talking about the issues that will lead to a settlement or that cab lead

and ahey have obvious problems with hamas and hezbollah and so forth. where nuclear weapons are totally irvelvet. -- irrelevant. would they be better if their military budget was 10% higher or something. even in the case of israel, which has the thing pretty much under control, you could make an argument that's been a waste for them. they don't seem to have gained anything from it. yes, back there. >> a couple of questions. are you suggesting that, for example, if hitler had somehow gotten the bomb and not the united states during world war that there would have been no consequences? that's one question. secondly, both obama as well as henry kissinger and schultz and others as you know have articulated a vision of a nuclear-free world. in your judgment, how doable is it. can we put the genie back in the bottle, untrain nuclear scientists, develop a system for detecting cheating, et cetera, et cetera that could lead to the vision. >> the case of the hitler question, what i've said is that nuclear weapons haven't made any difference in history at least si

hamas claimed responsibility for the bombing.june 25 of 1996, a fuel truck carrying a bomb exploded outside the u.s. cow baltimore towers having the -- khobalt towers, wounding 515 persons including 240 u.s. personnel. saudis hezbollah was the group responsible. they were at war, but the united states still did not recognize it and still turning over secrets and intelligence-gathering information through trials, through the courts and the united states district court. what a mistake. 1997, september 4, the bombing on a street in jerusalem. hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. there are so many others. but november 12, two gunmen shut to death two u.s. auditors and their pakistani driver as they drove from the hotel. two groups claimed two groups claimed responsibility. islamic council and islamic revolutionary council also known as the emerald action committee. august 7, 1998, car bomb exploded at the rear entrance of the u.s. embassy in nairobi and killed 12 u.s. citizens and injured 5,000. they claimed responsibility pa

that is the problem with dealing with hamas.israel is a member of the un, a nation state, i am not sure why we should feel any compunction or problems with supporting israel. israel is an important ally. >> thank you. >> i am from soulful university. my question for you is you mentioned a column in the washington post, and our detention model we have today in the united states. what would you advise in preventing the re-emergence of former detainees from once again resuming terrorist activity? >> it needs to be recognized that the bush administration was trying to close guantanamo. president bush said in 2006 that he wanted to close guantanamo but we had to deal with these dangerous individuals first. this administration is starting to talk about it now. the bush administration released 500 from guantanamo some of whom were sent back to yemen and saudi arabia and some of whom returned to the battlefield. we have got to realize there is a risk any time you send these known actors back to a home country the bridge will they could

hamas would do the same in the south so involve israel in two hot wars immediately. it will be very dangerous and difficult for the israelis to -- a very hard choice to make. i find it almost impossible to believe that they will accept six million jews living under the threat of nuclear destruction particularly given the history of the jewish people. and i think that will trump all other considerations. they can deal with the other problems i think they think, which are at a conventional level. they have dealt with those in the past. but a nuclear country pledged openly to the eradication of israel and the killing of all of its people is a threat that i don't think the israelis will live with. >> we have time for one more question. . repay, you're in trouble. i think the threat over time is that they may try to wean themselves off. the dollar may be part of a basket of international currencies and we lose our place as the international currency of the world which is a huge advantage for us. it would be catastrophic for the chinese, if they send the dollar into a spir

hamas will do the same from the south. it will involve israel in two very hot wars very easily. it will be very dangerous and difficult for the israelis, a very hard choice to make. nonetheless i find it almost impossible to believe that they will accept 6 million jews living under the threat of nuclear annihilation, particularly given the history of the jewish people. and i think that will trump all other considerations. . >> two questions on the apocalypse. [laughter] i am not sure if the chinese would do that. it is not in their self- interest. if you owed the bank billion dollars, you can not bitter the bay controls it. we are not together. i think the threat over time is it they may try to wean themselves off. we will lose. it'll be catastrophic for the chinese, because then they will be holding a lot of dollars. that will evaporate. the wary is that we will inflate our way out of the dead said there will be a gradual loss of the value of what they are holding i think it is clever in the long run and they will try to diversify their holdings. to not show up at the auction a

given their internal divisions within the palestinian authority and between the five top -- fatah and hamas. it has been unchanged whether we negotiate or not negotiate, this would lead the regime to change its policy because it could result in regime collapse. it would be unmanageable and very difficult for china. finally, i want to in on one issue which i treated a little differently -- in on one issue which i treated a lot differently in my piece. -- in the on one issue which i treated a lot different in my piece -- end on one issue which i treated a lot differently in my piece. they could use nuclear weapons and give them to has blocked -- hezbolah. iran is not restraint the with the others are. the russians and the chinese need to be looked at through their national self-interest. one fundamental major challenge in the administration, and i think it is a challenge that the administration can be judged, is whether or not to get russian and chinese cooperation in terms of bringing additional pressure on iran. there is also the possibility of a naval blockade. there is no real chance of a

president abbas of the palestinian authority a white thing genuinely wants peace has to deal with hamass not recognize israel and has not disallowed violence, and so we are working to try to strengthen the ability of both parties to sit down across the table and to begin serious negotiations and i think it is important when we are talking about this issue to make sure that we don't just use language that is inflammatory or in some fashion discourages negotiation. both the palestinian people and israelis have legitimate aspirations and they can be best served at the united states is helping them understand each other as opposed to demonizing each other. alright? okay. it is a gentleman's turn. it is a gentleman's turn. this gentleman here. i'm going to go on the other side of the room. the gentleman with the yellow tie. >> bill segall, orange county commissioner. welcome mr. president. what is the decision matrix going to look like for high-speed rail and power be going to decide who gets what and when is the announcement going to be made? >> well, i probably should have mr. biden talk a

as well as their continued support for terrorism whether it is hezbollah or hamas, or other terrorist groups that they are -- they are supporting. so, and certainly, i like, i am sure like everybody in this room, and anybody listening have watched the developments in iran over the last several months. and i am sure that those will continue. i think that we need to be mindful obviously, of those events. of those -- what is going on there. including the need to i think, aggressively address the nuclear potential and nuclear weapons issue. internationally. discussions right now of additional sanctions. and to continue where possible to engage and to have a dialogue. i talked about the lack of trust between the united states and pakistan. built very well on that 12-year gap. which we are renew sog we are 4 to 5 years back into establishing working to establish that trust. >> we have got a relationship with iraq that goes back about 6 years now. to 2003. as we look for a long-term relationship, with iraq. when i am in afghanistan. i get the same question asked as when i am in pakistan. wil

i said at the beginning hamas this means to me to be able to travel. that is true now more than ever. there is no doubt that it is easy to get it in washington. there are guys creating folks are raising their kids and working hard. i am reminded of the strength and resilience of the american people. i am reminded of the fundamental character of the americans that i am so privileged to serve. it is rare for them what we are going through right now. it will carry us through this to better days ahead. i am confident of that. i am very grateful. thank you. thank you. thank you. let's take some questions. you guys -- everybody, sit down, sit back down. all right. so i'm just going to call on people. we're going to do girl-boy-girl- boy so that there's no accusations of bias. but we'll try to get as many questions in as we can. all right, this young lady right back here. yes, you. there should be a microphone -- wait till the mic comes so everybody can hear you. oh, i'm sorry -- that's okay, i'll call on you next. well, one of you ask your question. >> thank

i also directed my counter terrorism and hamas security adviser to lead a thorough review into our terrorist watch system so we can fix what went wrong. this ongoing review reveals more about the human and systemic failures that almost cost nearly 300 lives. we will make a summary of this preliminary report public within the next few days. let me share what we know so far. elements of our intelligence community knew that the man had traveled to yemen and joined up with extremists there. our intelligence community knew of other red flags. that al qaeda sought to strike american targets in yemen and the united states as well. we had information that this group was working with an individual who was known -- who we now know was the individual involved in the christmas attack. the u.s. government had sufficient information to uncover this plot and disrupt the christmas day attack. our intelligence committee failed to connect the dots which would have placed the suspect on a no-fly list. it was not a failure to collect intelligence but to understand the intelligence we already had. the informatio

the drones, there is a similar technology that is rail -- that israel uses in joe'qgaza to go after hamasw many countries will try to get drones, what is the future of remote control more. you see it in places -- other places, what happens when the united states and the meat getsk -- united states and in thenemya drone -- host:ç it is not just the united states and israel. there are others who are trying to get a -- guest: i believe that actually it israel is the first to have this technology. it is something that would be easily duplicated, or could be easily duplicated. it does sort of change the dynamics of how you go to war. i think the concern of some is that it is too easy. it is too easy to push a button and launch a missile. it takes a lot of the document -- a lot of the human calculus out of war. why does the cia used drones so much, why does the obama administration rely so heavily on the dron program? it is in their minds the only solution, because they're not going to send troops into pakistan, because it would not be accepted in pakistan, because it is a sovereign country an

[unintelligible] hamas >> a lot of the people here do not have anything to eat or houses. and we distribute food. we tried to give things like blankets and clothing. [unintelligible] [unintelligible] >> as relief efforts continue in haiti, the house unanimously approved a bill that will allow charitable contributions to hate to leave by march 1 be deductible on 2009 taxes. this is half an hour. >> all of us have witnessed this horrendous events that in our continent and i know whether republican or democrat that we all want to be able to do whatever we can to ease the pain on these poor people. that is why i am glad that we are representing the republicans on the committee that did not hesitate to meet and decide what we could do as a committee to make it easier to encourage cable to make contributions. i know that people are collecting clothes and food and things of that nature. the bottom line is they need cash and checks and this is what we have decided to do. we have a non-partisan bill here that deals with the technicality on the joint committee website. it is listed

within the palestinian authority and between gaza and hamas, there's not anything the looks like a credibleommitment. if you look at your career, the problem which has been unchanged regardless of whether we are negotiating or not is that the chinese are not willing to but the kind of pressure on north korea which would lead to the regime to change its policies because it could actually result with a collapse. regime collapsed in korea would be unmanageable and very difficult for china. finally, i want to end on one issue which are treated differently in my piece and that is iran. if they get nuclear weapons it could be extremely problematic. iran would not have a second strike capabilities, so they might take ani israeli attack -- take an israeli attack. . . one challenge is whether or not it gets russian and chinese cooperation in terms of bringing additional pressure on iran. this pressure could be sanctioned. that is obviously mentioned. there's also the possibility of a naval blockade. i think there is no real chance of a military attack from the united states or israel, but there are

, president abbas of the palestinian authority, who i think genuinely wants peace has to deal with hamas, an organization that has not recognized israel and has not disavowed violence, so we are working to strengthen the ability of both parties to sit down across the table and to begin serious negotiations. and i think it's important when we're talking about this issue to make sure that we don't just knee-jerk, use language that is inflammatory or in some fashion discourages the possibility of negotiation. we've got to recognize that both the palestinian people and israelis have legitimate aspirations and they can be best served if the united states is helping them understand each other as opposed to demonizing each other. . >> let me make a general statement about high-speed rail. number one is that making an investment in infrastructure is a twofer because it creates jobs immediately and it lays the foundation for a vibrant economy in the future. it is one of our best investments. it is expensive. we have a couple of trillion dollars worth of infrastructure repairs just on our old exis

be populism, people who are disgusted with both sides, both political parties, even as president of hamas numbers go down at high levels of disaffection with a democrat -- democratic majorities in the house and senate you don't see commensurate rise in terms of identification with republicans at this this juncture. people are highly critical of obama. people remain highly critical of the republicans. and i wonder what is going to happen with things like the tea parties, the town hall meetings, that energy. that energy is anti-government, antibig tax big spending. it would be surprised on the left there is still a great deal of dissatisfaction about the war effort and president of polis commitment -- president obama's commitment. what happens to that as we approach 2010? it is as we were saying earlier about things like health care. it is about the president's expressed agenda in the congress on energy, cap and trade and the like but if you are out in the grassroots talking to the american people they are much more focused on the idea we just want more change. obama was once the vessel for

as well as their continued support for terrorism, whether it's hamas or hezbollah or other terrorist groups that they are supporting an certainly i like anybody in this room or listening has watched the developments in iran over the last several months and i am sure that those will continue and i think we just need to be mindful obviously of those events, of what's going on there, and clearly the need to continue to, i think, aggressively address the potential nuclear weapons issues internationally. there are discussions right now of additional sanctions, and to continue where possible to engage and have a dialogue. i talked about the lack of trust between the united states and pakistan. built very well on that 12-year gap, which we're renewing, so we're four, five years back into establishing -- working to establish that trust. we've got a relationship with iraq that goes back about six years now, to 2003. as we look forward a long-term relationship with iraq. when i'm in ago, i get the same question asked as when i'm in pakistan, which is are you going to leave us again, because th

that is the problem with potential dealings with hamas. that is the reality of the chartered instruction with the state of israel. israel is a recognized nation state with the u.n. i'm not sure why we should feel any compunction or any problems with supporting israel. i think they are an important ally. >> i am from suffolk university. my question for you is, you mentioned ruth marcus is opinion column today in the washington post and the problems with our preventive detention model that we have today in the united states. my question for you is, what would you advise in fixing this legally to prevent the reemergence of former detainees from once again resuming to terroristic activity? >> two points, first, it needs to be recognized that the bush administration was trying to close oconomowoc. president bush himself said in 2006 that he wanted to close guantanamo, but you have to resolve the problem of how to deal with the dangerous individuals first. this administration is starting to talk about it now, the reality that the bush administra

i said at the beginning hamas this means to me to be able to travel. that is true now more than ever. there is no doubt that it is easy to get it in washington. there are guys creating folks are raising their kids and working hard. i am reminded of the strength and resilience of the american people. i am reminded of the fundamental character of the americans that i am so privileged to serve. it is rare for them what we are going through right now. it will carry us through this to better days ahead. i am confident of that. i am very grateful. thank you. thank you. thank you. let's take some questions. you guys -- everybody, sit down, sit back down. all right. so i'm just going to call on people. we're going to do girl-boy-girl- boy so that there's no accusations of bias. but we'll try to get as many questions in as we can. all right, this young lady right back here. yes, you. there should be a microphone -- wait till the mic comes so everybody can hear you. oh, i'm sorry -- that's okay, i'll call on you next. well, one of you ask your question. >> thank

frank, maybe it has happened but i have not in one year of discussions heard an in-depth discussion of hamas as in -- in-depth discussion of harmonizing exchanges with state insurance regulation. i know in massachusetts we work hand to hand with the state division. if you want to take an existing product of the market because we are standardizing benefits, that directly impacts the regulations on preserving access for the existing members of that product you would like to subset. that is something we will work out in conjunction with the massachusetts division. were the new england it exchange want to do something similar, they have to deal with -- were the new england exchange wanted to do something, they would have to deal with many roles. >> i will agree with that. any time we are making changes within our exchange, even though we are in the private sector we are looking at the insurance law and talking to insurance departments and sometimes meeting with them to determine what we can do going forward. as i said earlier, it touches everybody. is local, -- it is local, so it will play out m

frank, maybe it has happened but i have not in one year of discussions heard an in-depth discussion of hamas as in -- in-depth discussion of harmonizing exchanges with state insurance regulation. i know in massachusetts we work hand to hand with the state division. if you want to take an existing product of the market because we are standardizing benefits, that directly impacts the regulations on preserving access for the existing members of that product you would like to subset. that is something we will work out in conjunction with the massachusetts division. were the new england it exchange want to do something similar, they have to deal with -- were the new england exchange wanted to do something, they would have to deal with many roles. >> i will agree with that. any time we are making changes within our exchange, even though we are in the private sector we are looking at the insurance law and talking to insurance departments and sometimes meeting with them to determine what we can do going forward. as i said earlier, it touches everybody. is local, -- it is local, so it will play out m

hamas does the same thing in the south. over 12,000 missiles have been launched into israel from the gaza strip alone. i have been to israel and it's a small country. and it's the size -- smaller than the size of new jersey, but yet from the north they get missiles, from the south they get missiles. but they still exist. and they have the right to exist. israeli citizens fight these radicals rather than give up and surrender. after all, victory never comes by taking the path of least resistence. these are unprovoked attacks into this nation. yet israel is assured by us, the united states, that she has a right to defend herself. but sometimes we try to interfere with her own national defense. israel is our strongest ally in the middle east and we need to treat her as such. and the whole situation is made even more complicated by iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons. the tiny tyrant in the desert, ahmadinejad, has meant to hit israel with missiles. not only israel but our troops in iraq and afghanistan. iran is the largest state

hamas will do the same for the south. there will be to wars immediately. -- two wars immediately.n the dangers. for the israelis, it is a difficult choice to make. i find it almost impossible to believe that they will except 6 million jews living under the threat of nuclear annihilation given the history of jewish people. i think that will trump all other considerations. they can deal with the other problems, i think. it is at the conventional level. they have dealt with those. a nuclear country pledges openly to the eradication of israel. it is a threat but i do not think the israelis will live with. >> we have time for one more question. over there? >> i want to thank you for your contributions that you have made. your listeners learn from new an awful lot. my question is relative to spending. what happened in 2010 if the chinese decide to not show up at the auction block to buy our bonds? >> two questions on the apocalypse, huh? [laughter] i am not sure the chinese would do that. it is not in their self- interest. it is the old joke -- if you owe the bank $100 and it cannot rep

hamas would do the same from the south. so involve israel into beriberi hot wars immediately.it will be very dangerous and difficult. for the israelis a very hard choice to make. nonetheless, i find it almost impossible to believe that they will accept 6 million jews living under the threat of nuclear annihilation, particularly given the history of jewish people. and i think that will trump all other considerations. they can deal with the other problems, i think they think, which are at a conventional level. they have dealt with those in the past. but a nuclear country pledged openly to the eradication of israel, and the killing of all its inhabitants. is a threat that i don't think the israelis will live with. >> we have time for one more question. >> charles, i just want to thank you for your contributions. your listeners learn from you and also love you. my question is this, relative to spending. what happens in 2010 if the chinese decide to not show up at the auction block to buy our bonds? >> two questions. on the apocalypse? [laughter] >> i'm not sure the chinese would d

we are working with the servicers, attorneys and treasury in creating a solution for hamas and bankruptcy. i -- for homeowners in bankruptcy. there are ongoing issues and struggles for the program. we're working on many of these and i would like to highlight a few i have recommended to treasury. one is to streamline the documentation. the requirements should strike a balance of being less extensive. the document collection is often the cause of delays in turning try modifications to plummet. we believe that treasury should eliminate the requirement for wage earners and allow them to use the most recent w-2. some services estimate an uptick of 20%-30% a permanent modifications. another is to revise the model, the net present value model should be updated. servicer data indicates that people who are successful in completing three month trial modifications have significantly better performance than those who do not. would these changes, we anticipate the improvement could include more borrowers and a better pick up on productivity. in conclusion, they are dedicated to providing solutions to