LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
November 03/09
Bible Reading of the day
John 17/1-25 Jesus said these things,
and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify
your Son, that your Son may also glorify you; even as you gave him authority
over all flesh, he will give eternal life to all whom you have given him. This
is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you
sent, Jesus Christ. I glorified you on the earth. I have accomplished the work
which you have given me to do. Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with
the glory which I had with you before the world existed. I revealed your name to
the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you
have given them to me. They have kept your word. Now they have known that all
things whatever you have given me are from you, for the words which you
have given me I have given to them, and they received them, and knew for sure
that I came forth from you, and they have believed that you sent me. I
pray for them. I don’t pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me,
for they are yours. All things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine, and
I am glorified in them. I am no more in the world, but these are in the world,
and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them through your name which you have
given me, that they may be one, even as we are.
Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special
Reports
Lebanon's problem as Johnny Abdo
sees it/Now Lebanon/November
02/09
A lot of hot air/Now Lebanon/November
02/09
Report: Mossad hacked Syrian
computer to uncover nuke site/Haaretz/November
02/09
Latest
News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for November 02/09
Abu
El-Gheit: No way to evade the International Tribunal/Now
Lebanon
Geagea: Syria, Iran blocking
cabinet formation/Now
Lebanon
Antoine Saad: Hizbullah uses Aoun for impediment/Now
Lebanon
Assad: Neither Syria Nor Saudi
Arabia Would Form Lebanese Cabinet/Naharnet
Opposition in Iran Urges Continuing Challenge/New
York Times
Lebanon arrests man who fired Katyusha/Jerusalem
Post
Cabinet Crisis Comes to
Standstill Over Telecom Ministry/Naharnet
Former IDF chiefs trade barbs over army's
conduct in Second Lebanon War/Ha'aretz
Army
Arrests a Man who Smuggles Militants Out of Lebanon/Naharnet
Berri: Cabinet Formation Obstacle 'Superficial'/Naharnet
Aoun:
We Only Asked for Our Rights/Naharnet
Report: Gunfight between
Hizbullah, Berjawi Supporters Injures 3/Naharnet
Jouzo: Let the Lebanese Maronite and the Rest of Lebanon Go Back to Syria/Naharnet
Qabalan: The resistance Arms Will Stay and We Will not Allow You to Help Kill Us/Naharnet
Sfeir: Events We Are Passing through are Worrying/Naharnet
Hizbullah Using Jumblat's Political Shift to Pressure Hariri/Naharnet
Hariri Assassination Court
Appoints Lebanese Judge/Naharnet
Sakr says Hariri and March 14
reached limit of concessions, await opposition’s response/Now Lebanon
Will Khamenei place the Iranian
capital in a nuclear triangle/Now Lebanon
Zahra: Keeping the old formula devotes May 7 aftermath/Now
Lebanon
No
breakthrough on Cabinet/Daily
Star
'Politicians serving foreign interests/Daily
Star
Tripoli Bar Association calls for open strike/Daily
Star
Spying row intensifies as both sides fire salvos in war of words/Daily
Star
Japan
envoy hosts lunch for Palestinians on scholarship/Daily
Star
Joyce
Tabet assumes post as STL deputy prosecutor/Daily
Star
Burglars break into office of Tripoli MP/Daily
Star
Lack
of quorum delays Beirut's chamber of commerce elections/Daily
Star
Lebanon brand perception index witnesses decline in third quarter/Daily
Star
Lebanese economy expected to lead recovery in Gulf, Middle East/Daily
Star
Raging weekend storms mark onset of winter in Lebanon/Daily
Star
Baroud campaigns for better conditions for prisoners/Daily
Star
Musical memorial marks Hariri's birthday/Daily
Star
Greater Beirut sees two car jackings over weekend/Daily
Star
Security forces round up 16 people for various crimes/Daily
Star
UN
deputy chief scheduled to visit Beirut/Daily
Star
Cycling revolutionaries take to streets for 'critical' ride/Daily
Star
Lebanon's women marginalized in politics, business/Daily
Star
Report: Mossad hacked Syrian computer to uncover nuke site
Date: November 2nd, 2009/Source: Haaretz /Daily Star
Israel's Mossad espionage agency used Trojan Horse programs to gather
intelligence about a nuclear facility in Syria the Israel Defense Forces
destroyed in 2007, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported Monday. According to
the magazine, Mossad agents in London planted the malware on the computer of a
Syrian official who was staying in the British capital; he was at a hotel in the
upscale neighborhood of Kensington at the time. The program copied the details
of Syria's illicit nuclear program and sent them directly to the Mossad agents'
computers, the report said. Israel's September 6, 2007, raid on the al-Kabir
site in Syria's eastern desert is said to have knocked out the country's
reportedly nearly-completed reactor.Israel has refused from the beginning to
comment on, confirm or deny the strike, but after a delay of several months
Washington presented intelligence purporting to show the target was a reactor
being built with North Korean help. Der Spiegel further reported on Monday that
prior to the strike, the IDF Military Intelligence unit, 8200, listened in on
conversations between officials at the Syrian reactor and North Korean experts.
"The silent majority believes the
politicians of the Cedars Revolution had too many failures"
Cedars Revolution/November 2, 2009
CRNews (Washington D.C.) A source from the World Council of the Cedars
Revolution (WCCR) told CR News that "many in the Lebanese Diaspora came to the
conclusion that the management of the confrontation with Hezbollah and Syria's
allies in Lebanon has failed because the politicians who claimed affiliation
with the Cedars Revolution are not revolutionaries.
They made concession after concession to the Iranian-backed militia encouraging
the latter to demand more. These politicians failed to organize the resistance
against the Terror Hezbollah militias in May 2008. From there on, we didn't
expect they would do better. They urged voters to grant them a victory in 2009's
elections, which they did. But then, nothing happens. Citizens have a problem
with their politicians above all problems."
The source added that "we hear a lot about what the brave resistance has
achieved in the past, during the war against the Syrian occupation but we don't
hear about how to resist Hezbollah today. Had the heroes of the past resistance
been around, they wouldn't have been calling Hezbollah a resistance but a Terror
group.
If Lebanon's politicians continue to play games and calling the Terrorists a
resistance, they will disconnect themselves from both voters and their own
people. The Cedars Revolution is in dear need of smart, efficient, and capable
leaders who knows how to shape strategies against Terrorists. Above all
Lebanon's civil society needs leaders who are modest."
The source said: "we interact with Lebanese citizens across the country and in
many countries around the world. The silent majority, the one that doesn't have
access to media and is not necessarily affiliated with politicians, has
significant resources still. But it feels that the way its destiny was managed
by politicians was a failure. Politicians are not representing the real deep
aspirations of the silent majority. They represent those who are loud but who
have no solution to our problems."
Lebanon's problem as Johnny Abdo sees it
November 2, 2009
Now Lebanon/On November 2, Al-Mustaqbal newspaper carried the following report:
Johnny Abdo described the Lebanese situation as being “extremely dangerous,”
saying, “We are facing a basic problem affecting the regime and each [one] in it
is singing his own tune. The extended hand of Prime Minister-designate Saad
Hariri is being met with impossible conditions, which do not secure solutions
for this country. There are major difficulties because the issue is not in the
hands of those claiming otherwise and the situation has become extremely
difficult. Therefore, we are no longer required to form a government, but rather
to form a regime.”
During an interview with the Voice of Lebanon radio station on Sunday, Abdo –
who was directing his message to slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri –
said, “Prime Minister Hariri left behind a national school, not a political one,
and paved the way for Lebanon’s salvation from the fire. Rafik Hariri is still
blocking the enemies of Lebanon and whether anyone likes it or not, his school
[of thought] will remain as the only honest and difficult number [as published]
which is hard to overcome whenever a crisis threatening Lebanon’s independent
and sovereignty erupts. What we are all seeing from the Hariri family shows that
the power of love seen on the birth and disappearance of Rafik Hariri will
remain as a weapon in the face of a love for power shown by some who are
unfortunately calling themselves politicians.
Is it logical to criticize a certain celebration in specific circumstances? This
occasion is not a joyous one as much as it is an occasion of certain facts. The
problem related to the disappearance and assassination of Prime Minister Hariri
is growing instead of retreating, and therefore, no one can blame anyone or
criticize him for celebrating any commemoration. Those celebrating the birth of
Rafik are at the same time commemorating his absence. Rafik Hariri almost died
three months prior to his assassination, as though God wanted to say that great
people do not die naturally in their beds and delayed his disappearance for
three months so that it would carry a great significance in Lebanon’s march
toward independence and sovereignty.
The opposition is heading elsewhere while awaiting the transformations of the
regional camps which it represents in Lebanon. The PM-designate has paid all the
prices to form a government of national concord, but May 7 is still on the minds
of those who are obstructing and who believe that this day will impose itself
more than the Taif Accord and Doha Agreement. We are still at the beginning of
the consultations, and therefore at the beginning of the formation process, not
its end.” Although he said that Syria was serious in its attempts to facilitate
the formation following the summit with Saudi Arabia, he stressed, “The problem
resides in the Iranian hands alone,” pointing to the seriousness of the relation
between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the fact that any Saudi initiative to
facilitate the formation of the government will be thwarted by Iran one way or
another.
[Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel] Aoun is a small player at this level
and his ambitions have dropped from the presidency of the republic to the
Telecommunications Ministry.” He said Aoun had made concessions at the level of
the government formation, [although] he added, “Aoun made concessions to
Hezbollah and not to anyone else. Aoun cannot say he made concessions since he
merely succumbed to Hezbollah’s will over this issue. Why does Hezbollah not
exert these same pressures on Aoun to force him to accept the government
formation? During the last few years, [Progressive Socialist Party leader MP
Walid] Jumblatt taught us that courage could save a country. Walid Jumblatt is
not the only one who is afraid of May 7 and the outcome of May 7. Everyone is.
We confronted this fear with a lot of courage. The assassinations that were seen
in Lebanon aimed at terrifying us, but this terror did not vanquish the courage
of March 14 and its public. This fear has, somewhat, been a little successful at
the level of Walid Jumblatt’s position. Had the opposition won the elections, it
would have formed the government it wanted and this was said by the secretary
general of Hezbollah. The president of the republic would have approved of a
government that had nothing to do with national unity, had the opposition won.”
Geagea: Syria, Iran blocking cabinet formation
November 2, 2009 /Now Lebanon/In an interview with AFP on Monday, Lebanese
Forces leader Samir Geagea accused Iran and Syria of hindering the formation of
the new cabinet in Lebanon. "The regional forces that support the parliamentary
minority have no interest in seeing a government formed for the moment," he
said. Geagea added that Tehran and Damascus have been obstructing the efforts of
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri through Hezbollah. "Perhaps they expect a
more favorable situation in which they can reap more benefits" on the
international level, he said, in reference to Iran's nuclear program and Syria's
efforts to improve ties with the US. According to Geagea, “Hezbollah is not
serious when it says it wants to facilitate the formation of the government.” -AFP/NOW
Lebanon
New Opinion: A lot of hot air
November 2, 2009
Now Lebanon/Both ends of the opposition spectrum were doing what they do best
over the weekend, with the Free Patriotic Movement calling for a reinstatement
of the previous government as a solution to the political deadlock, while
Hezbollah and co. was yet again banging its war drum in the south.
In a proposal that typified the Change and Reform bloc’s blithe disregard for
the constitution, the FPM’s Ibrahim Kanaan told OTV on Saturday that if
re-designating ministries in the new government were unfeasible, then Prime
Minister-designate Saad Hariri should just grant each bloc the ministries they
held in the pre-election government of Fouad Siniora.
Kanaan, a distinguished lawyer before he joined the ranks of Michel Aoun’s FPM,
is clearly too smart to actually believe that the suggestion will advance either
his personal reputation or his party’s claim that it represents both change and
reform. In short, what he is proposing would take Lebanon back to the shameful
post-Doha formula, an arrangement that saw the country’s political process bob
in the doldrums with no opportunity, assuming there ever was one, for meaningful
progress. Kanaan’s proposal would once again grant the opposition the one-third
veto in the cabinet. Originally a mechanism with a 1-year shelf life, the veto
has insidiously wiggled its way onto the negotiation table, ignoring the
constitution and selling itself as a necessity for a national unity government.
And there’s the rub. National unity government sounds so warm and cuddly. With a
national unity government, we are told, Lebanon can move forward, holding hands
into a brave new dawn of change and reform, a Lebanon free of suspicion, a
Lebanon in which all the national groups are represented.
It’s a nice idea, but in reality the one-third veto is a tool crucial in
thwarting key processes, such as the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, issues
relating to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701(including
Hezbollah’s disarmament) and contentious economic policies such as
privatization. Quite how Mr. Kanaan, who no doubt styles himself as a breath of
fresh air in a Christian community his party claims is run by dinosaurs, can put
his weight behind such a plan is anyone’s guess.
Meanwhile his March 8 ally, Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Nawwaf Moussawi,
in an interview with Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anbaa on Sunday, announced that Israel
is waging war on Lebanon through espionage and targeted killings. Nothing new
there you might say, but the good news is that we have nothing to fear, for, as
Moussawi assures us, the stout men of the Resistance are redoubling their
efforts to turn South Lebanon into a Middle East Maginot Line to, “confront
Israeli aggression before it happens and defend Lebanon in a way that helps
maintain the country’s political and military objectives.”At least Hezbollah is
being consistent in once again demonstrating its complete disregard of the
state, but does Moussawi, like his learned parliamentary colleague, Mr. Kanaan,
really believe that that his party speaks for all Lebanon, not to mention her
best interests, when he makes such flabbergasting and arrogant statements. We
saw what happened last time his party tried to maintain Lebanon’s “political and
military objectives” and we’d rather pass this time.
Moussawi’s warped logic was echoed on the same day by Shiite Mufti Sheikh Ahmad
Qabalan, who, despite saying that Hezbollah would never give up its arms, called
on all Lebanese to work together to put the interests of Lebanon above all else.
“Let us give up our selfishness and stop bargaining with loyalty and
nationalism,” he declared. “Nobody, whatever his position, comes above the
other. This is Lebanon. We will have it no other way and anyone who doesn’t like
it can leave.”
Maybe Sheikh Qabalan should consult a travel agent.
Will Khamenei place the Iranian capital in a nuclear triangle?
Now Lebanon/Date: November 2nd, 2009
The Iranians revived Monday a 20-year old plan to change the place of the
Iranian capital from Teheran following the demands of Religious leader of the
Islamic Republic of Iran Sayyed Ali Khamenei. The main reason of this decision
is that Teheran is situated on the intersection of 100 seismic paths which
threaten the 12 million residents of the current Iranian capital especially
following the 3.6 Richter scale seism that struck the southern city of Boom
leaving 40 thousand dead. Teheran is a major city in the modern history of the
Persian country as it witnessed the beginning of the 1979 Islamic revolution
against the Shah and is considered the main city of the Iranian opposition that
protested the reelection of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad last June. After
Asfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad and Hamdan, Teheran became the capital of Iran in 1795
during the mandate o Sultan Muhammad Agha Khan. The Assembly of Experts which
Chairman is Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani approved the suggestion of
Murshid Khamenei to change the location of the Iranian capital to the city of
Dalijan that did not witness a seism since year 2000 according to the Dean of
the Sciences Faculty in the University of Teheran Azad. Dalijan, which residents
number does not exceed 60 thousand, is situated 80 km away from Qom and in the
nuclear triangle of Natanz, Arak and the new nuclear facility of Fordo. Mahjar
news agency quoted the Iranian President as saying during a visit to Dalijan
that “this city is a sacrificing one that has a good reputation.”
Assad: Neither Syria Nor Saudi Arabia Would Form Lebanese Cabinet
Naharnet/Syrian President Bashar Assad has reiterated that the formation of the
cabinet in Beirut is the "responsibility of the Lebanese" and stressed no
regional country would form the government.
Neither Syria nor Saudi Arabia nor the summit that brought the two countries'
leaders together last month "would form the national unity cabinet in Lebanon,"
Assad told As Safir newspaper on the sidelines of a meeting with journalists who
accompanied the Syrian president to Croatia. Assad also told reporters that
Syria "wants to improve Arab-Arab ties."
"Relations with Saudi Arabia are good and there is Syrian-Saudi cooperation,"
the Syrian president added. Turning to the U.S., Assad said President Barack
Obama's administration has replaced the orders of his predecessor's era with
"dialogue" but there is still room for an improvement in relations. "What has
happened so far is a new approach. Dialogue has replaced commands, which is
good, but things stopped there," he said. "It is hard to say that big steps have
been taken in bilateral relations."On the peace process, Assad said that the
Obama administration could not be blamed for the deadlock in Middle East peace
efforts. "The current Israeli government does not want peace. There is no
partner for peace in Israel. The (U.S.) broker can therefore not do anything or
be blamed if the Israeli side does not want peace," he said. Beirut, 02 Nov 09,
07:55
Sfeir: Peace in Lebanon is Elusive
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir said Monday that Lebanon longs for
peace which he described as "elusive" because "the more we approach it, the more
it fades."
"Lebanon is a small but firmly established country," said Sfeir during a visit
by Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, Matthew Festing, to Bkirki. The
patriarch told Festing that Lebanon "is suffering from a lot of problems" and
"as long as the region is suffering" the country can't steer clear of the
situation. He also said Lebanon is fighting for survival. "In the past 40 years,
more than one million Lebanese left Lebanon. They went to different countries in
the world," Sfeir lamented. Beirut, 02 Nov 09, 14:32
Cabinet Crisis Comes to Standstill Over Telecom Ministry
/Naharnet/As Lebanon ushered in the month of November, hopes of cabinet
formation before Independence Day faded with media reports saying Free Patriotic
Movement leader Michel Aoun continued to insist on giving the Telecommunications
portfolio to Minister Jebran Bassil. Aoun has reportedly rejected giving the
telecom portfolio to anyone other than his son-in-law Bassil. He has also
demanded getting at least one key ministry like the energy or education
portfolios. However, PM-designate Saad Hariri's offer to Aoun includes the
telecom ministry on condition that it is not headed by Bassil and the tourism,
culture and displaced ministries with the possibility of replacing the culture
with the social affairs portfolio. A second offer by Hariri includes giving Aoun
the education or energy ministries in addition to the displaced, social affairs
and labor portfolios. Opposition forces held a meeting in Rabiyeh on Sunday
night. The conferees included Aoun, MP Suleiman Franjieh, Hizbullah leader's
political assistant Hussein Khalil and Bassil. The opposition figures discussed
ways to end the cabinet crisis and agreed to keep contacts open between Franjieh
and Hariri. Meanwhile, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat said Monday that a Hizbullah
delegation visited Damascus during the weekend and discussed with top Syrian
officials the Lebanese cabinet issue. Beirut, 02 Nov 09, 10:21
Army Arrests a Man who Smuggles Militants Out of Lebanon
Naharnet/The Lebanese army intelligence has arrested in the Bekaa a man who was
reportedly seeking to smuggle out of Lebanon Fadi Ghassan Ibrahim, who has ties
with Fatah al-Islam.
Ibrahim, known as Sikamo, was arrested at dawn Friday after the army
intelligence lured him outside the southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh.
A security source told al-Akhbar newspaper in remarks published Monday that
Ibrahim was seized after the army intelligence monitored his phone calls with
the Bekaa man. As Safir said the army arrested the man in the Bekaa, M. Sh.,
after it asked Sikamo to contact him and set up a meeting with him. Ibrahim was
described as a "hefty catch" by the Beirut media but the smuggler is reportedly
not linked to any terrorist organization and his job lies on smuggling militants
out of Lebanon for a certain amount of money. Beirut, 02 Nov 09, 08:34
Berri: Cabinet Formation Obstacle 'Superficial'
Naharnet/Speaker Nabih Berri is planning to intensify contacts to find a
solution to the cabinet crisis, As Safir daily said quoting, his visitors as
saying that Berri has "new ideas aimed at satisfying all parties." The visitors
told As Safir that Berri won't propose his ideas before ascertaining that there
is willingness to end the crisis. Berri reportedly stressed, however, that the
obstacle hindering cabinet formation is "superficial" and has no longer any
foreign aspect. As Safir daily said Berri told U.S. Ambassador Michele Sison
during their last meeting that Washington is not solely responsible for the
delay in cabinet formation unlike its previous "hindering role." Beirut, 02 Nov
09, 11:31
Report: Gunfight between Hizbullah, Berjawi Supporters Injures 3
Naharnet/At least three people were injured during a gunfight between Hizbullah
members and supporters of Shaker al-Berjawi's Arab Socialist Movement in Dawhet
Aramoun on Sunday night, al-Liwaa daily reported. The battle with machineguns
injured Fouad Oreiti, a Berjawi supporter, and Hizbullah members Mohammed Daya
and Mohammed Kaanan, according to the newspaper. Al-Liwaa said the Lebanese army
and internal security forces interfered and arrested several people. Beirut, 02
Nov 09, 09:55
Qabalan: The resistance Arms Will Stay and We Will not Allow You to Help Kill Us
Naharnet/Shiite Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan in a ceremony in Meys el-Jabal
stressed that "Lebanon's glory has arisen thanks to its honorable resistance
fighters who have sacrificed their lives and blood for the integrity of this
land". Qabalan rhetorically asked the public "what did the others offer when our
children and women in southern Lebanon were being killed? Some were conspiring
against us while the others were visiting with the murderers' ministers in
Washington," he added. "Does democracy mean giving up our integrity and
strength? Or is it allowing the enemy to kill and annihilate us? To those we say
that the arms of the resistance are staying despite of Israel's threats. We will
neither allow you nor the national committees to help our enemies kill us that
easily under unfunded pretexts," he continued. The Mufti said that it is the
resistance who protects Lebanon's sects, unity, and co-existence formula. "Let
them reason and be aware that the country belongs to everyone and we all belong
to the country; it's not monopolized for a specific category or a certain sect
above the other," he clarified. Sheikh Qabalan called all to work together "to
put Lebanon's best interests above our own. Let us give up our selfishness and
stop bargaining with loyalty and nationalism. Nobody, despite his position,
comes above the other. This is Lebanon and we will have no other, may he leave
whoever wishes to do so," he concluded.
Beirut, 01 Nov 09, 14:53
Jouzo: Let the Lebanese Maronite and the Rest of Lebanon Go Back to Syria
Naharnet/In a statement on Sunday, Lebanese Sunni Mufti of Mt. Lebanon Sheikh
Muhammed al-Jouzo said that "Lebanon has turned into an Arab Babylonian tower
with its folkloric leaderships and new parliamentary faces only fit for
exhibitions and decorations while the losers turn into sectarian symbols
standing on the government's doors" with their conditions hindering the
formation of the government. "There are politicians who move from right to left
and vice versa while their slogans change with the stock exchange. One day you
see him a Gulf Arab and another day a Persian Iranian when a third time he
becomes an American and then again a Russian. One day you see him an enemy of
Syria and then again Syria's best friend and so on. There are no principles, no
morale, no charters and the 'unity' presidency stands bewildered before the
political "Sufi-sectarianism"; next to the allies or to the opposition!" he
added.
"There's no civilized nation in the world like that of our Great Lebanon. The
Lebanese people abhor this category. To those I ask you, what's your true
identity? Who robs the electricity money, the foreign, internal, sea and land
telecommunications' money? A nation that lives the culture of hate with leaders
leading them to sectarian wars, hating each other; hatred in the name of
religion, in the name of sectarianism and in the name of the parties," he added.
"Our educated youth is faced with only one exit, that of emigration. They have
grown to hate their country and their nationality and have traveled in quest of
finding another one keen to protect their integrity and protect them from the
politicians and their resentment," he continued. This is the Lebanon of today,
so why don't all the people emigrate and offer our country as a gift to Syria
and their infidels? Did not the Maronite come from Syria, so why not go back to
it and along with them all of Lebanon and not just those who have missed
Syria?," he concluded. Beirut, 01 Nov 09, 15:41