Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that although some of his decisions have been unpopular, they have been essential to preserving the free market system.
“Some of the things that I’ve been part of have been very, very objectionable decisions but they’ve not been difficult decisions because they are much [better] than the alternatives,” said Paulson during a forum on business and policy issues sponsored by Fortune magazine.
When asked if there was any line that he would not cross in order to protect the economy, the Secretary was reluctant to answer.
“You’re not going to get me to say ‘never’ and tell you where I’ll draw the line, because if you were to ask me the question a year ago, I would have drawn the line in a different place than I actually did when I was faced with the choice.”
Paulson explained that in order to combat the recent economic setbacks, there are several steps that need to be taken, such as creating more effective regulation in the financial system, establishing authorities to deal with non bank institutions, and updating infrastructure to better handle OTC derivatives. The Treasury Secretary contended that taking these actions warrants more immediate concern than finding the origins of the crisis.
“We don’t want to rush to a quick conclusion…we should be focusing on getting through the night first and then when recovery is well underway we can look in the rearview mirror and really understand the nature of the problem.”

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon talks about the prevalence of HIV/AIDS worldwide and the need for leadership to take the lead on this issue. (0:50)

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President of the UN Foundation and Better World Fund and Former Sen. Timothy Wirth (D-Colo.) says that women are getting severely affected by HIV/AIDS worldwide, and we must continue to treat and prevent the virus globally. (0:41)

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UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said while “fewer are being infected with HIV,” there is “no room for complacency” in the fight against AIDS.
In a luncheon presented by UNAIDS, Moon said via webcast that while there have been successes in the fight against HIV/AIDS, it is still one of the “top ten causes of death worldwide” and the leading cause of death in Africa. He felt that the worldwide goal should be to “create a future without AIDS.
President of the UN Foundation and Better World Fund and Former Sen. Timothy Wirth (D-Colo.) felt the issues of AIDS treatment and family planning have “got to be brought together” worldwide. He said that while there are approximately 35 million people with HIV/AIDS in the world, there are almost 200 million couples who want family planning services but cannot get them.
Wirth said the focus of AIDS prevention should be on “adolescent girls in particular.” Wirth claimed that over half of all new AIDS infections are women. He said that bringing prevention and treatment to women has been more difficult because anti-women forces have “reared their head.” Director of the Washington Office for UNAIDS John Hassell echoed Wirth’s statements saying HIV/AIDS is “definitely not a gay disease.
Thembi Nkambule, National Coordinator of the Swaziland National Network of People Living with AIDS, said that while “more people than ever” have access to care, the fight is “far from over.” She estimated that in her home country of Swaziland, around 20 percent of the population is infected. She advocated that HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention should be “priorities in the global agenda.” “We need to keep people living with HIV alive as long as possible,” remarked Nkambule.
Jahnabi Goswani, General Secretary of the India Network of People Living with AIDS, said that HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment should focus on “vulnerable communities” as well as women. She also stated that people with AIDS must be proactive in educating communities because they understand the virus “better than anyone.”

Governor Jim Douglas (R-Vt.) said “The challenge that we’re facing right now is a real one, and it has a cascading affect when the economy begins to go sour. Economic activity declines, investment is lower, the number of jobs decreases, income tax receipts are down, so a state’s fiscal fixtures begin to deteriorate… States are taking the lead in tightening our belts and reducing state spending… But economists across the political spectrum have made it clear that counter-cyclical spending by the federal government can accelerate our recovery.”
This is why Gov. Douglas says the National Governors Association (NGA) is making two considerate requests of Congress for a state stimulus package. First, support for infrastructure investment. Funding would go to “ready-to-go” state projects, of which more than 70% would go to transportation, and the remainder to renewable energy projects, water and sewage treatment, and investment in broadband infrastructure. Second, the NGA is requesting an increase in support for state Medicaid Programs, which are increasingly demanded during this economic downturn.
Governor Ed Rendell (D-Pa.), Gov. Douglas, and North Carolina General Assembly Speaker Joe Hackney agreed that President-Elect Obama will be very responsive to the NGA’s requests—the question is where the funding will be allocated and in what fashion.

President-elect Obama officially announced his nominees for important National Security positions.
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) will serve as Secretary of State; Defense Secretary Robert Gates will continue to serve in his position; Eric Holder, former Deputy Attorney General, will serve as Attorney General; Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona, will serve as Secretary of Homeland Security; Dr. Susan Rice, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in the Clinton administration, will serve as Permanent UN Secretary; and retired General James Jones, Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, will serve as National Security advisor
“In their past service and plans for the future, these men and women represent all of those elements of American power, and the very best of the American example. They have served in uniform and as diplomats; they have worked as legislators, law enforcement officials, and executives. They share my pragmatism about the use of power, and my sense of purpose about America’s role as a leader in the world,” said Obama during a news conference at the Chicago Hilton hotel.
The President-elect responded to concerns over past ideological differences with some of his nominees, including Hillary Clinton, against whom Obama ran a heated campaign during the Democratic primary.
“I think if you look at the statements that Hillary Clinton and I have made outside the heat of the campaign, we share the view that America needs to be safe and secure and in order to do that we need to use military power with strengthened diplomacy.”

The Washington Bureau will be covering a news conference to provide an update on current state fiscal and a push for an economic recovery package with Gov. Ed Rendell, D-Pa.; Gov. Jim Douglas, R-Vt.; North Carolina General Assembly Speaker Joe Hackney; and Delaware Rep. Donna Stone, and a news conference on “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise,” in commemoration of World AIDS Day.
The Washington Bureau will also be covering remarks devilvered by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on “Update on the Economy and Markets.”

Ms. Catherine Braggs, Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), briefed reporters on the desperate humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe.  “The situation is acute and is expected to worsen towards the end of the year.”  She also said extreme food insecurity and an outbreak of cholera –which has killed 366 and infected 9,000 people countrywide has prompted an immediate UN call for action.
Many communities have now depleted their ability to provide clean water due to the collapse of the health and sanitation system. For a country that used to have a 90 percent record on school attendance– now there is little or no attendance in schools due to costs for transport and school fees. Currently, nine out of every 45 schools are closed and school attendance is below 50 percent countrywide –at 42 percent.
The UN has appealed for $100 million, the largest amount ever requested to assist 3 million people in desperate need of aid.
The alarming degradation of Zimbabwe’s economy and rise in social vulnerability are cited as causal factors.  United Nations officials had hoped that further deterioration of the humanitarian situation could be averted if, “following the initial political agreement reached between the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Population Front (ZANU-PF) and the Movement for Democratic Change in September, a government of unity can be created.” However, it appears these agreements have not prevented the growing humanitarian crisis.
Through the office of humanitarian coordination, Ms. Braggs says the main challenge is dealing with the increasingly urgent humanitarian needs of millions of vulnerable Zimbabweans. In the last several weeks, there has also been a vast closure of hospitals and a rapid drain of health care workers.

UN Correspondent Tala Dowlatshahi is covering a UN briefing on Zimbabwe.

Inés Alberdi, Executive Director of UNIFEM ( the United Nations Development Fund for Women) and UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman gave an update on the current global financial commitments to the U.N. Trust Fund to Eliminate Violence against Women and to ask for more government support to UNIFEM’s “Say No to Violence against Women” campaign.
For women aged 15 to 44 years, violence is a major cause of death and disability.  Globally, there are increasing links between violence against women and HIV/AIDS. UNIFEM says women who have experienced violence are at a higher risk of HIV infection: a survey among 1,366 South African women showed that women who were beaten by their partners were 48 percent more likely to be infected with HIV than those who were not abused.
Trafficking, honor killing and harassment are included in the list of violent acts committed against females across the globe.
In the United States, four women die every day as a result of domestic violence.
The “Say No to Violence against women” campaign is a global advocacy and awareness-raising effort on ending violence against women, designed to support UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s multi-year united to end violence against women initiative.  UNIFEM aims to develop a global movement of people to demand that ending violence against women be a top priority for governments everywhere.