LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 04/09

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 5,21-43. When Jesus had crossed again (in the boat) to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, "My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live." He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him. There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured." Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my clothes?" But his disciples said to him, "You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'" And he looked around to see who had done it. The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction."
While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?"Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, "Do not be afraid; just have faith." He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. So he went in and said to them, "Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep."And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child's father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. (At that) they were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.

Saint John Chrysostom (c.345-407), priest at Antioch then Bishop of Constantinople, Doctor of the Church
Homilies on Saint Matthew's Gospel, no.31, 1-3/"Why this weeping? The child is asleep"
«When Jesus arrived at the official's house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, he said: 'Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.' And they ridiculed him.» Jesus teaches us in this way not to fear death since death is death no more: from now on it is only a sleep. And he prepares his disciples, by raising others, to put their trust in him and not be alarmed by his death as he himself was about to die. For ever since Christ's coming, death is no more than a sleep. However, they ridiculed him. But he was not indignant at this refusal of trust in the miracle he was about to carry out; he did not condemn their smiles, so that the smiles themselves, along with the flutes and other preparations, should confirm the little girl's death. Seeing the musicians and the crowd, then, Jesus sent them all out. He accomplished this miracle in the presence of her parents... as though awakening her from sleep... It is clear that death is now no more than a sleep. Today it is a truth that shines more brightly than the sun. «But,» you say, «Christ did not raise my child!» Yes, but he will raise him up and with even greater glory. Because this little girl whose life he restored died again, whereas your child, when he has raised him up again, will abide forever. So let no one weep any more, let no one groan, no one criticize Christ's work. For he has conquered death. Why are you weeping useless tears? Death has become a sleep: why do you moan and weep?

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
If Obama puts US interests first-By: Musa Keilani/Al-Arabiya 03/02/09
Mosques in Europe – Where’s the Reciprocity?By: Dr. Laina Farhat-Holzman 03/02/09

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for February 03/09
Tehran Wants Joint Committee with Beirut on Its Missing Diplomats-Naharnet
Olmert: Hamas suffered serious blow at hands of my gov't-Jerusalem Post
Medium-range rocket from Gaza hits Israeli city-The Associated Press
Israel warns Lebanon over Hezbollah man's memorial-Reuters
Israeli anti-war Oscar bid draws Arabs despite ban-Reuters
Hariri: We would not Allow Attempts to Suffocate Beirut-Naharnet
Israel Fears Hizbullah Revenge Might Target Knesset Officials-Naharnet
Aoun Tops Hizbullah's Election Priorities-Naharnet
Aoun Vows to Cut Tongues and Hands-Naharnet
U.S. Efforts to Kick-Start Lebanon-Israel Peace Talks, Hizbullah Must Decide Own Future?-Naharnet
Wiretapping Battle Ends with Rival Sides Agreeing Law Needs to Be Applied-Naharnet
Old Building Collapses in Gemmayze-Naharnet
Aid Ship Sails from Tripoli to Gaza in Defiance of Israeli Blockade-Naharnet
Murr: Legal Wiretapping Starts Tuesday to Protect National Security-Naharnet
One Ton of Hashish Seized from Zoaiter Homev-Naharnet
Switzerland Returns Ancient Marble Bust to Lebanon-Naharnet
Jamaa Islamiya Launches Election Campaign-Naharnet
Mustaqbal Bloc Warns Against Programmed Arming by March 8-Naharnet
Jumblat: Iran, Not Hizbullah, Should Follow Up the Fate of Its Missing Diplomats-Naharnet
Syria Profits from Regional Diplomatic Upheaval after Gaza Conflict-Voice of America
Mine-clearance work takes hit as money dries up-Daily Star
Murr stands by Bassil in row over wiretapping-Daily Star
Hariri: March 14 will allow nothing to scupper elections-Daily Star
Jumblatt comes down against freeze on funding for Council of the South-Daily Star
Lebanon asks Morocco to hand over fugitive-Daily Star
Israel urged to clarify fate of resistance fighters killed in 1978-Daily Star
Police seize ton of hashish at Bekaa home-Daily Star
Lebanese adaptation of 'Twelve Angry Men' provides outlet for inmates at Rumieh prison-(AFP)
Mounting water scarcity stirs old feud in Bekaa town-By IRIN News.org
Palestinians pump up Lebanese economy - study-Daily Star
The Dangers Of Rejecting Turkey-Forbes
At Tufts, Blair says Hamas must be drawn into talks-Boston Globe
Aid ship heads to Gaza from Lebanon-AFP
Syria Mulls New Indirect Talks With Israel-CBS News

Israel Fears Hizbullah Revenge Might Target Knesset Officials
Naharnet/With less than two weeks ahead of the anniversary of the assassination of top Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh, Israel has stepped up security across the globe for fear of an imminent revenge. The Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot said Israel has taken strict security measures to safeguard senior officials, including four Knesset members with security-related background. They are former Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz, former Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Chairman of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Tzachi Hanegbi and MK Isaac Ben-Israel. Yediot Ahronot said the protection of the Israeli officials was an "additional measure" in the framework of confronting a possible kidnapping. It said Israel has taken steps for protecting institutions worldwide, including embassies and delegations. Simultaneously, Israel's intelligence establishment is seeking to locate organizations planning to target Jewish officials and institutions across the globe, according to Yediot Ahronot. Al Manar television said Israeli security officials believe that Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's speech last Thursday, in which he accused Israel of still holding the bodies of 350 Lebanese detainees, was a message that Hizbullah is preparing kidnapping of Israelis in a bid to regain the corpses. Mughniyeh was killed in a car bombing in Damascus Feb. 12 last year. Hizbullah accused Israel of involvement in the assassination, but the Jewish state denied the charge. Beirut, 03 Feb 09, 09:02

Aoun Tops Hizbullah's Election Priorities
Naharnet/Hizbullah on Tuesday declared that Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun tops its priorities in the forthcoming parliamentary elections.
"Our battle is that of Aoun," announced Hizbullah MP Ali Ammar. Ammar, addressing a rally in the eastern town of Qmatiyeh, said Aoun is being targeted by a multi-front war just because he is committed to a national strategy." He was apparently referring to the document of understanding between Aoun's FPM and Hizbullah.
The elections, scheduled for June 7, are "decisive … and Hizbullah is competing to win the majority that can safeguard Lebanon and its civil peace," Ammar noted. Beirut, 03 Feb 09, 13:47

U.S. Efforts to Kick-Start Lebanon-Israel Peace Talks, Hizbullah Must Decide Own Future?
Naharnet/The United States was reportedly seeking to initiate Lebanon-Israel peace talks, an Egyptian diplomat in Washington said.
In an interview with the Kuwaiti daily al-Seyassah published on Tuesday, the diplomat said that special U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell will relay to the Lebanese government during his second shuttle of the region in six or seven weeks an "American request" stressing the need to engage in direct talks with Israel.
In 1983 — a year after Israel launched its first invasion of Lebanon — Lebanon and Israel signed an agreement terminating their state of war. But that U.S.-backed attempt quickly collapsed because the Lebanese government at the time disintegrated under pressure from neighboring Syria.
The Egyptian diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, quoted a senior national security adviser in the White House as saying that the U.S. views matched the Egyptians and Saudis as well as most Arab countries regarding the need to end the separation of Gaza from the West Bank and Hamas' rule of the Strip.
The adviser said Mitchell's Middle East mission was based on these "united views." He said the views will be the same when dealing with Hizbullah.
In the course of negotiations, Hizbullah must decide its own future, the adviser said: "Does Hizbullah want to become a politically active party on the Lebanese arena or remain an armed party with no future but destruction and nonstop wars?" The Egyptian diplomat told al-Seyassah that the U.S. administration has set a deadline of six months starting November for Mitchell's mission to "yield success." Beirut, 03 Feb 09, 10:35

Wiretapping Battle Ends with Rival Sides Agreeing Law Needs to Be Applied
Naharnet/Ministerial-level security talks held on Monday under Prime Minister Fouad Saniora to address the issue of wiretapping ended with the rival sides agreeing to apply law 140 of 1999 through the establishment of a department to intercept phone calls. The daily An Nahar on Tuesday said the lengthy debate showed from a technical point of view that Lebanon's two cell phone companies, Alfa and MTC Touch, can record phone calls on CD-Roms on a specific day and that security authorities, having access to programs, could analyze these compact discs and track telephone traffic in a specific area.
As Safir newspaper, for its part, said the meeting was "relatively calm" and that Saniora responded positively to efforts aimed at ending the wiretapping crisis through legal solutions. Telecommunications Minister Jebran Bassil told As Safir that he had reservations about one point -- objection to granting both security and military authorities the right to withdraw "all" data. Beirut, 03 Feb 09, 11:05

Murr: Legal Wiretapping Starts Tuesday to Protect National Security
Naharnet/Defense Minister Elias Murr on Monday said a law setting the rules for legal interception of communications to safeguard national security would be applied as of Tuesday "for the first time since independence" in 1943. Murr made the statement to reporters after a lengthy meeting by ministers of defense, interior, telecommunications and justice along with commanders of security agencies under Premier Fouad Saniora to tackle the issue of alleged wiretapping of communications.
Murr refused to answer questions as to whether wiretapping of communications had been applied illegally. "What I am saying is that the interception of communications would be carried out legally and in line with national security as of tomorrow (Tuesday)," Murr said. He said Telecommunications Minister Jebran Bassil "took time to review certain files in the first week of his assumption of duties. Unfortunately, regrettable events happened at that time." "The minister of telecommunications did not withhold data from anyone. He just took time to review files," Murr added. The ministry of telecommunications would "prepare the center for intercepting communication that would be run by officers," he added. He explained that any security agency that wants to monitor calls by a certain side would apply for the procedure to "their minister, who would refer it to the related ministries for implementation after informing the premier of it." The pledged procedure, Murr said, would protect privacy of citizens using communication channels. Beirut, 02 Feb 09, 19:45

Old Building Collapses in Gemmayze
Naharnet/An old building collapsed in Beirut's Gemmayze neighborhood on Tuesday without causing casualties, the state-run National News Agency reported.
The dilapidated building in Gemmayze's Gouraud street caused traffic jam in the area as people gathered to inspect the damage. Beirut, 03 Feb 09, 13:31

Aid Ship Sails from Tripoli to Gaza in Defiance of Israeli Blockade
Naharnet/A cargo ship carrying activists and supplies sailed late Monday from Lebanon en route to the Gaza Strip in defiance of an Israeli blockade.
The ship, carrying 60 tons of medicine, food, toys, books and stationery, left the northern port city of Tripoli for Larnaca in Cyprus at around midnight.
On board the "Brotherhood Ship" were eight people including the former Greek-Catholic archbishop of Jerusalem, Monsignor Hilarion Capucci, who left Jerusalem in the 1970s after serving time in an Israeli jail for membership of the Palestine Liberation Organization. "We have decided to go ahead with this mission in solidarity with the people of Gaza so that they don't feel cut off from the world," organizer Hani Suleiman told Agence France Presse before the boat left Tripoli.
"There is no reason whatsoever for Israel to prevent us from reaching Gaza," he added. "We have no rockets, no weapons, just aid for the people of Gaza."
The Togolese-registered Tali was headed first to Cyprus where authorities were to search the vessel to ensure transparency, before continuing on to the Gaza Strip. Beirut, 03 Feb 09, 09:40

Mosques in Europe – Where’s the Reciprocity?
By: Dr. Laina Farhat-Holzman
Family Security Matters 03/02/09
President Obama mentioned reciprocity: mutual respect between Muslim world and America. Not much reciprocity in Europe, where some governments are already putting up white flags as clever Islamists attack their basic institutions. Diana West (townhall.com) worries that French schools no longer teach authors deemed offensive to Muslims (Voltaire, Diderot, Darwin), and, of course, history of the Holocaust.
She notes that the British government “cravenly elevated five Sharia courts to the level of tribunal hearings, making their rulings legally binding.” The first verdicts upheld male supremacy – inheritance that gives girls half of the inheritance of boys – and they dismissed several domestic violence charges. Sharia permits wife beating.
The French city of Tours was the historic capital of the French king, Charles Martel, who in the 7th century turned back the Muslim invasion that had overrun Spain. Because of this, Europe did not become Muslim. The only European who apparently regretted that Muslim loss was Hitler, who said so to his allies in the Arab world.
Now Tours is the recipient of money from the French government (as well as Algeria and Saudi Arabia) to construct one of the largest mosques in France. While this is very generous (and politically correct) of France, Algeria is shutting down Christian churches because they might try to convert Algerians – and in Saudi Arabia, Christianity is illegal. In almost all Muslim countries, Judaism may not be practiced either.
The French Ministry of the Interior lists 1,500 places of worship, including 400 mosques. Here "mosques" means any places of worship. Prisons are another locus for active Islamist conversion. According to Walid Phares, who has been talking with French counterterrorism people, a terrorist cell from Central Asia was picked up in France where they were getting military training. French Interior Minister, Michele Alliot-Marie, said that 90 Islamic activists were arrested in France in 2007. She notes that French (and American) prisons are incubators for Islamist recruitment and conversions, as are French suburban ghettos.
The ministry has compiled a “handbook on Islamism” to be used inside prisons so that authorities can detect the growth of Jihadist ideology. They watch airline passenger lists and destinations such as Pakistan or Yemen – and watch those going through Switzerland to avoid detection. Security trumps political correctness in France now – except for building mosques.
England is less clever. Despite the good work of British intelligence and police, the courts and elitist clamor keep them from effectively protecting themselves. And in London an enormous mosque is being built which upsets many Londoners, but apparently not the government. They did better in the 19th century when they refused to give religious toleration to Catholicism until the Pope of the time finally recognized Protestantism as a legal religion in Catholic countries. Islam must be treated the same way. Apparently Moscow believes the same; despite a rising number of Muslims there, there will be no more mosques until the Saudis reciprocate.
England’s concerns in earlier centuries were that Catholic churches and their priests were spreading insurgency – and there was truth in it. Queen Elizabeth I knew that she was on a Papal assassination list and should they succeed, England would suffer an Inquisition like that in Spain. Today, many Europeans know that Mosques are hotbeds of militant Islamism and active conversion campaigns and are dangerous.
But grim as this all seems, the Jihadi dream of taking over the world and forcing us all under some mythical Caliphate looks more and more the realm of fantasy. There will continue to be suicide bombers and mosques that recruit clueless young men and send them off to “Muslim education” in Yemen or Pakistan and military training in Sudan or Somalia. However, this really is the last hurrah of an ideology that is quickly heading for the trash heap of history. They have nothing to offer but death, destruction, and fantasies of a hyper-sexualized afterlife, and more Muslims know and reject it. This is not enough to create a civilization. Charles Martel needn’t turn over in his grave.
**FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Dr. Laina Farhat-Holzman is an historian, lecturer, and author who also writes for the Santa Cruz Sentinel. You may contact her at Lfarhat102@aol.com or http://www.globalthink.net/.

If Obama puts US interests first
By: Musa Keilani
http://www.alarabiya.net/views/2009/02/01/65443.html
*Published by THE JORDAN TIMES on Feb. 1.
U.S. President Barack Obama seems to be grappling with the reality that there is a strong camp in Washington determined to thwart any moves towards dialogue with Iran. Signs of a breakthrough in the frozen state of contacts between Washington and Tehran came nearly three months ago when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a congratulatory letter to then-
president-elect Obama. The gesture was widely welcomed by most as one of the most significant overture towards better relations between the two countries in years. However, hopes for a positive US-Iranian dialogue were dashed a few days later when Obama publicly slammed the Iranian government.
Obama has yet to send a formal answer to Ahmadinejad’s congratulatory message. It is normally held as a move against diplomatic norms if a government does not reply to any communication from another government. True, Iran and the U.S. do not have full diplomatic relations. Washington is maintaining an interests section at the Swiss embassy in Tehran, having cut relations with Iran during the hostage crisis of 1979-80 at the US embassy in the Iranian capital.
Reports now indicate that the Obama administration has not been able to finalise a version of a reply to the Iranian message. Three versions have already been written, but they have not been sent, according to the reports. If and when it is sent, the reply could be a breakthrough and help significantly improve ties between the two countries for the first time since the 1979 Iranian revolution.
A report says that one of the drafts urges Iran to compare its standard of living to its neighbours’. But that is not seen as the best course of action, given that Iran’s two immediate neighbours, Afghanistan to the east and Iraq to the west, are under virtual American occupation and a majority of people there live in abject poverty. Perhaps that was the reason the draft letter was not finalised and sent.
However, the same report says, all three drafts signal a dramatic shift in American policy because they contain an assurance that the Obama administration is not interested in toppling the theological Iranian regime but only that Iran should change its behaviour.
In fact, Tehran had been demanding that Washington issue a public statement that it is not seeking regime change in Iran and was not planning military action against it in the dispute over Iran’s controversial nuclear programme.
It is not known yet whether the U.S. will formally reply to the Iranian letter of congratulations to Obama, but it will not be easy at all for Obama to shift tracks in the U.S. approach to Iran. The reason is also clear: the pro-Israeli lobby in Washington would not allow that to happen.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs-of-Staff, said last week that the military option against Iran remained open.
“I don’t think the new administration has taken any options off the table, including military force,” Mullen said in reply to a question raised by an Israeli newspaper about the potential for military action and whether the US had changed its stance with the new leadership coming into office.
Mullen also revealed recent U.S. interception of a ship sailing under a Cypriot flag with weapons that America believed had come from Iran and were heading towards Syria. While American forces could board the ship, they could not seize the weapons under current international law, Mullen said. Hence, the ship was allowed to proceed.
Israel immediately seized on the idea and contented that the ship was heading for the Gaza Strip and the arms aboard it were to be delivered to Hamas. The idea is absurd as it would be impossible for any ship to go anywhere near the Gaza coast, let alone deliver weapons to the Palestinians there.
Obviously Israel is worried about what plan of action Obama will adopt to deal with Iran and thus it is trying to create facts that would dissuade the new U.S. president from engaging Iran in diplomacy.
One of the strongest opponents of US-Iran dialogue with Iran seems to be Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who is levelling fresh charges against Tehran - “subversive activity” in Latin America. The charge immediately raised suspicion that Gates was trying to discourage Obama from adopting a diplomatic approach towards Iran.
Gates does have a record of opposing normalisation of US-Iranian relations. In 1992, he undermined a plan by the then-president George H.W. Bush to announce goodwill gestures to Iran after Tehran helped secure the release of American hostages in Lebanon. Gates, in his capacity as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, said in a congressional testimony that new intelligence showed Iran was seeking weapons of mass destruction and planning terrorist attacks. The resulting pressure forced Bush to abandon his plan to open a door for dialogue with Iran. Since then, Gates has consistently opposed any US overture towards Iran.
Late last year, Gates was asked what would his advise be to the new president on relations with Iran. His reply was: “We have to look at the history of outreach (to Iran) that was very real, under successive presidents, and did not yield any results.”
History is repeating itself, with Gates’ new accusation that Iran is involved in “subversive activity” in Latin America.
According to Gates, Iran is “opening a lot of offices and a lot of fronts behind which they interfere in what is going on” in Latin America. However, Gates, who was addressing a congressional committee, offered no specifics. He is not the only one in the Obama administration or in Washington power centres determined to thwart U.S.-Iran reconciliation. The driving force behind them is, of course, Israel and its powerful lobbyists in Washington.
Obama faces an uphill task in confronting these forces and stands little chance of overriding them and opening a door for dialogue with Iran or any other country or group that Israel considers a threat to its interests. Unless, of course, Obama has the willpower to stand up to them, call a spade a spade and put U.S. interests, rather than Israeli, first.
*Published by THE JORDAN TIMES on Feb. 1.