LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 04/09
Bible Reading of the day.
Matthews 1/7-12: “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. For
with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure
you measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is
in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye?
Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye;’ and
behold, the beam is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of
your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your
brother’s eye. “Don’t give that which is holy to the dogs, neither throw
your pearls before the pigs, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet,
and turn and tear you to pieces. “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and
you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks
receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened. Or who
is there among you, who, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish, who will give him a serpent? If you then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your
Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! Therefore
whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is
the law and the prophets
Free Opinions, Releases, letters &
Special Reports
The reign of “March 8”/Future News
03/03/09
Berri’s bills-NowLebanon.com
03/03/09
National dialogue seen as useful forum despite perceived lack of progress-Daily
Star 03/03/08
After
the donors conference, Hamas needs to do some soul-searching.The
Daily Star 03/02/09
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for March
03/09
Soldier accidentally fires shots into Lebanon-Ynetnews
Tribunal
Sparks Angry Exchange at Arab League Meeting/Future
News
Gemayel describes the fifth
dialogue session as “positive”/Future News
Syria
Slams Launch of Hariri Tribunal as 'Folklore'-Naharnet
Report: Bellemare, Hizbullah
Officials Met Before Tribunal's Launch-Naharnet
Clinton to Saniora: Lebanon Will Not Be
on Any Negotiation Table-Naharnet
Lebanon groups pledge peaceful June election-AFP
US diplomat to visit Syria in bid to
improve ties-International Herald Tribune
Berri to Tehran to Attend Conference on
Israeli Crimes-Naharnet
Israelis Fire on Adeisseh Main Road-Naharnet
France
Asks Yemen to Inquire About Delay in Syrian Ambassador Appointment-Naharnet
U.N.: Hizbullah Not Behind
Rocket Strikes against Israel-Naharnet
'Defense Strategy'
Dialogue Discussed Everything but Defense-Naharnet
Clinton to Saniora:
Lebanon Will Not Be on Any Negotiation Table-Naharnet
Najjar: Damascus will Try
any Syrian Suspected of Involvement in Hariri's Murder-Naharnet
International donors pledge nearly $4.5 billion for Palestinians.AFP
Salameh
kicks off trading on New York Stock Exchange-Daily
Star
Lebanese
allow more time for defense strategy-Daily
Star
Bellemare: We have received phone calls from Siddiq-Daily
Star
UNDP
hosts visiting Spanish delegation-Daily
Star
Qabbani
urges Lebanese leaders to calm tensions-Daily
Star
Israel
arrests alleged spy for Hizbullah-Daily
Star
Reconstructing Gaza - and the Peace Process-Daily
Star
Organic,
eco-friendly farming 'can feed the world'-
Inter Press Service
Bassil:
Not the best time to privatize cellular networks amid global crisis-Daily
Star
AUB's
Ibrahim Khoury to retire after 16 years of service-Daily
Star
Activists say climate change threatens Lebanon's snow-Daily
Star
LAU
ceremony pays tribute to Lebanon's female soldiers-Daily
Star
The reign of “March 8”
Date: March 3rd, 2009 Source: Future News
Teacher asks his students: a reptile that walks slowly!??
Mohammed answers: Turtle.
Teacher says: Bravo Mohammed. What does your father do?
Mohammed: My father is a doctor.
Teacher to students: You see how intelligent sons of doctors are?
Teacher asks a second question: -What is the name of the bird that speaks?
Abdallah, another student answers: The parrot.
Teacher says: Bravo Abdallah. What does your father do?
Abdallah: My father is an engineer.
Teacher to students: You see how clever sons of engineers are?
Teacher asks students: What is the name of the bird that starts with letter “C”.
One student answers: Crocodile.
Teacher replies: shut up you fool. What does your father do?
Student to teacher: My father works for the intelligence!!!
Teacher replies: Bravo. A crocodile can turn into a bird through mutation. God
Bless you my son. Send my regards to your father!!!!
This unfortunately would be our case if people of “March 8” govern us
'Defense Strategy' Dialogue Discussed Everything but
Defense
Naharnet/A fifth round of dialogue on Lebanon's national defense strategy ended
on Monday, sidestepping the thorny issue that was supposed to be its focus.
Twelve of the 14 leaders representing Lebanon's sectarian rivalries discussed
issues like election-related appointments, particularly to the Constitutional
Council.
Notable absentees were Prime Minister Fouad Saniora, who was attending a donors'
conference in Sharm el-Sheikh on rebuilding Gaza, and MP Ghassan Tueni, who is
currently abroad. A statement at the end of the two-hour talks urged the
government to speed up steps toward the formation of the Constitutional Council,
"which is a credible reference to rule on any vote fraud." The top leaders also
agreed to continue a search for a common understanding to draw up a unified
blueprint for a national defense strategy and to cooperate with authorities to
achieve "the highest degrees possible" of security and political stability in
the build-up to the June 7 parliamentary elections. To that end, they agreed
"not to provide cover for any individual who might breach the law." They
pledged to "absolutely refrain from using any means (that can promote) violence,
including media outlets, speeches and statements."President Michel Suleiman, who
presided over Monday's session, was quoted Tuesday by the daily As Safir as
telling the conferees that general elections would not be constitutional without
a constitutional council. MP Walid Jumblat was said to have told dialogue
leaders that he has "observations" regarding the appointments to deputy governor
posts at the Central Bank of Lebanon, but announced he was retracting his
remarks. As Safir said Jumblat, instead, authorized Sulleiman to deal with the
matter. A dispute aslo reportedly has erupted between MPs Butros Harb and Michel
Aoun after the former army commander accused the majority March 14 Forces of
"lying and stealing." Beirut, 03 Mar 09, 09:19
Report: Bellemare, Hizbullah Officials Met Before
Tribunal's Launch
Naharnet/The international tribunal's chief prosecutor, Daniel Bellemare, met
with Hizbullah officials before traveling to The Hague for the start of the
court's operations, As Safir daily reported Tuesday. The newspaper quoted
sources from the U.N. commission investigating ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's
assassination as saying that last week's meeting was "fruitful and very
positive."The sources lauded Hizbullah's "cooperation," and denied that the
Shiite party "had refused to cooperate."
The report did not give further details. As Safir said the sources also
described as "untrue" reports that Dutch intelligence services had arrested
several Hizbullah members who took photographs of the headquarters of the
international tribunal that would try ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's suspected
assassins.
France's Le Monde daily reported last week that Hizbullah members photographed
the tribunal building. The Shiite party issued a denial.
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the launching of the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon "marks a decisive milestone" in efforts to bring Hariri's
assassins to justice.
"The commencement of the tribunal's work marks a decisive milestone in the
tireless efforts by all Lebanese and the international community to uncover the
truth, bring those responsible for this assassination and related crimes to
justice, and end impunity," Ban said, in a statement issued by his spokesperson.
He said he was pleased to announce that the tribunal has commenced in The Hague.
"Just over four years ago, on 14 February 2005, Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and
22 others were killed in a heinous terrorist attack in central Beirut," Ban
reminded the world. The secretary-general stressed that the court is an
"independent body," and reaffirmed "the unwavering commitment of the United
Nations to the tribunal's mission." He also urged all U.N. member states to
"fully support and cooperate" with the tribunal. U.N. Legal Counsel Patricia
O'Brien, who attended Sunday's ceremony to mark the start of the tribunal in The
Hague, is expected to hold a press conference in New York on Tuesday to brief
reporters about the court. Beirut, 03 Mar 09, 08:40
Israelis Fire on Adeisseh Main Road
Naharnet/Israeli soldiers fired machine gun rounds on Tuesday at the main road
linking the southern Lebanese border villages of Adeisseh and Kfar Killa.
A Lebanese army communiqué said no casualties were reported in the incident,
which took place around 10:30 am. It said an Israeli border patrol fired machine
gun rounds toward Adeisseh, and five bullets came to rest in a street wall about
20 meters from the separation fence. The incident is being investigated by the
Lebanese army, the communiqué concluded. News reports said a U.N. peacekeeping
patrol was immediately dispatched to the scene to look into the incident.
Beirut, 03 Mar 09, 14:05
Syria Slams Launch of Hariri Tribunal as 'Folklore'
Naharnet/Syria has criticized the March 1 launch of the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon, describing it as "folklore."
The daily Al Mustaqbal said on Tuesday that an argument erupted between Syrian
and Lebanese representatives at a meeting of the Arab League at the level of
delegates in Cairo. It quoted Arab diplomatic sources as saying that the quarrel
developed after Syrian ambassador to Cairo Youssef al-Ahmad objected to a
"Solidarity with Lebanon" clause which included the phrase "welcomed the
establishment of the tribunal" and "Arab confidence in the fairness of the
court."
"No such thing as launch of the court has taken place," al-Ahmad has reportedly
told the meeting that was held in Cairo on Sunday, claiming that the supposed
launch of the tribunal was just a facade for the media. "What has happened was
folklore," Ahmad was quoted by an Arab diplomatic source as saying, in reference
to the launch of the tribunal in The Hague on Sunday. "The international
tribunal is still a gymnasium; and the proof is that U.N. Security General Ban
Ki-moon has personally said that the court will be launched in 2010 when the
courtroom is ready," he added. The weekend talks were in preparation for a
meeting of Arab League foreign ministers scheduled for Tuesday to discuss the
imminent decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on war crime charges
against Sudanese President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir. "How can we, as Arabs, trust
[the international court]?" al-Ahmad asked. "Anyways, the tribunal was
established in line with an agreement between the Lebanese state and the U.N.,
so why should we, as Arabs, be drawn into this issue?" he wondered. Lebanon's
representative Ali Halabi hit back, saying "you should not underestimate the
launch of the international tribunal." "It is a major event in Lebanon's
history. It's not true that it is mere folklore," Halabi argued. Al-Ahmad
replied: "I am not underestimating [the court], but why do you want to draw us
into this issue?"Beirut, 03 Mar 09, 13:04
France Asks Yemen to Inquire About Delay in Syrian
Ambassador Appointment
Naharnet/France asked Yemen to inquire about Syria's delay in appointing an
ambassador to Beirut, after Paris did not receive a "convincing answer" on the
issue, pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat reported Tuesday. The newspaper said Paris
tasked Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh with "investigating" the Syrian
delay.
Asharq al-Awsat quoted an official source as saying that Paris "has not yet
received a convincing answer" from Syrian authorities about the delay.
Last month, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner expressed regret that Syria
didn't yet send an ambassador to Beirut, saying the head of the mission should
have been appointed weeks ago. Official sources told the daily that French
President Nicolas Sarkozy will reiterate France's support for Lebanon during
President Michel Suleiman's visit on March 16-17.(File photo shows the Syrian
embassy in Beirut) Beirut, 03 Mar 09, 11:13
U.N.: Hizbullah Not Behind Rocket Strikes against Israel
Naharnet/U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy
said Hizbullah was not behind the firing of rockets into Israel.
"We believe that the rockets launched (from Lebanon into Israel) were not fired
by Hizbullah," Le Roy told a news conference in New York.
"Our judgment was not only based on this concept," Le Roy said, adding that a
probe run by the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) also shows that
Hizbullah "has nothing to do with the firing of these rockets." He said that one
of the tasks of UNIFIL was to "look into who stands behind the rocket attacks"
carried out in the border region, which falls under the peacekeepers' area of
control. Le Roy said that an investigation by U.N. peacekeepers, with the
cooperation of the Lebanese army, is underway in the territory under UNIFIL's
area of control, to pin down the perpetrators. Responding to a reporter's
question, Le Roy said: "I don't think we cooperate with Hizbullah. However, we
are happy that Hizbullah has condemned and denied any involvement in the rocket
attacks." Lebanese Information Minister Tareq Mitri recently said that Hizbullah
has made it clear to the government that it was not behind the rocket strikes. "Hizbullah
has assured us that they remain committed to stability and Resolution 1701, and
that is a euphemism for saying they are not involved," Mitri has said, referring
to the U.N. Security Council resolution that brought an end to the devastating
2006 war between Israel and the Shiite group. "We have absolutely no reason to
think that Hizbullah might be involved," Mitri added. He said the government had
made high-level contacts with Hizbullah officials, who gave assurances that the
party was keen on sticking to its commitment to stability in the country and
avoiding a new conflict with Israel. On the Lebanese border town of Ghajar, Le
Roy said he expects an end to the Israeli-occupation of the northern part of the
village "within a few weeks." Beirut, 03 Mar 09, 08:34
Berri to Tehran to Attend Conference on Israeli Crimes
Naharnet/Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri will travel to Tehran on Tuesday to take
part in a conference on Israeli war crimes against the Palestinian people.
MPs Nabil Nicola, Marwan Fares, Salim Aoun and Hasan Hoballah left Beirut on
Monday to attend the conference. Former cabinet minister Wiam Wahhab, and
ex-deputies Nasser Qandil and Abdallah Qassir, had already arrived in Tehran to
attend the meeting, along with several other Lebanese political figures. The
conference aims to assess the crimes committed by the Israeli army in its 22-day
offensive in the Gaza Strip. Beirut, 03 Mar 09, 10:07
Najjar: Damascus will Try any Syrian Suspected of
Involvement in Hariri's Murder
Naharnet/Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar said on Monday that Lebanon should
cooperate with the international tribunal, since it requested its establishment.
"Other countries, however, are not obliged to cooperate," Najjar told Future
News television late Monday. "To my understanding, Syria is committed to its
sovereignty in criminal issues," he explained. "And if it was proven that some
Syrians were involved in Hariri's assassination, it (Damascus) will prosecute
them," Najjar added. In response to a question, Najjar said that "according to
my information, the charges attributed to those who were released in the Hariri
murder were not the same as those attributed to the four generals." Beirut, 02
Mar 09, 22:31
Israel arrests alleged spy for Hizbullah
By Andrew Wander
Daily Star staff
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
BEIRUT: Israeli police arrested an Arab-Israeli from Galilee accused of spying
for Hizbullah at the beginning of February, it emerged this week. The swoop on
Ismail Muhammad Suleiman came at around the same time that Lebanese security
forces captured an Israeli spy in Nabatiyeh. The arrests have laid bare the
shadowy world of espionage and counter-espionage operations that have been
conducted by both Israel and Hizbullah since the end of the summer 2006 war.
Suleiman was seized by Shin Bet agents after allegedly being recruited to gather
information about the Israeli military by a Hizbullah spymaster called Abu
Qassam while on the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia during September, Israeli
media reports have said.
Suleiman's court indictment says that he was instructed to monitor Israeli
military units operating in the north of the country, near Israel's border with
Lebanon, and had arranged a second meeting with Qassam in April 2009 to pass on
the information he had gathered and receive new assignments. According to his
lawyer, Suleiman has admitted being in contact with Qassam but denied that he
planned to compromise Israel's security. "The person from Hizbullah initiated
contact with him when he was in Mecca and pestered him," Smadar Ben-Natan said.
"The main story here is how Hizbullah is tripping up Israeli Arabs who travel to
sites that are sacred to Islam."
The charge sheet against Suleiman states that he gave his mobile phone number
and email address to Qassam and agreed to exchange "innocent" emails. Qassam
sent him three emails over the next few weeks, but he did not reply to any of
them. As Israel conducted its devastating attack on Gaza in January and tension
on the country's northern border spiked, Suleiman sent an email to Qassam. It
was a fatal error. Shin Bet agents moved in before he had even received a reply.
The arrest is the latest in a string of compromised espionage operations on both
sides. As Shin Bet agents arrested Suleiman, Lebanese authorities received
information from Hizbullah that Marwan Faqih, a car dealer and petrol station
owner in Nabatiyeh was working for Mossad. He was discovered after he supplied
Hizbullah with cars fitted with satellite tracking devices that allowed Israeli
agents to follow their movements. He was arrested and is now being held by
Lebanon's military intelligence unit. The previous month, Israel jailed an Arab
Israeli man for four years after he was convicted of contacting a Hizbullah
agent. His conviction followed that of two Druze men living in the Golan
Heights, who were jailed in December for passing information to Syrian army
officers during the 2006 war.
In October last year, Lebanese authorities discovered an Israeli spy ring that
had been operating in the Bekaa Valley for decades.
Two brothers, Ali and Yusuf Jarrah were found to have specialist equipment that
allowed them to gather information about Hizbullah and the Lebanese army and
transfer their findings to Israel
National dialogue seen as useful forum despite perceived
lack of progress
Analysts say act of meeting carries symbolic importance
By Nicholas Kimbrell /Daily Star staff
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Analysis
BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman's national dialogue sessions have been
criticized for a perceived lack of progress in forging a national defense
strategy, but political and defense analysts continue to stress the importance
of the roundtable as an objective forum for cross-party dialogue.
While participants in the fifth session of the dialogue agreed Monday to an
Interior Ministry declaration, including the promise to abstain from all forms
of political violence before June's parliamentary elections, they also decided
to table defense-strategy talks until after the polls.
The dialogue sessions, designed to include Lebanon's major political players,
began after the politically motivated street violence that erupted in Beirut in
May 2008 and the subsequent election of a national unity government headed by
Sleiman. The dialogue's stated purpose, alongside general sectarian
rapprochement, was the creation of a national defense strategy.
One of the trickiest topics has been what to do with Hizbullah's sizable arsenal
- whether or not it should or could be absorbed into the Lebanese Armed Forces.
Hizbullah's arms remain one of Lebanon's most contentious political issues, and
a series of disparate national defense proposals have been offered by parties in
the March 14 majority and the March 8 opposition.
The dialogue sessions have also been hampered by bickering over whether or not
to expand the list of participants, various mid-session walkouts and public
statements questioning the committee's efficiency and efficacy.
However, as difficult as creating a broad cross-party consensus on national
defense may prove to be, analysts contacted by The Daily Star voiced their
support for the meeting political rivals.
"It's not about failing, it's about [talking] - keep talking, keep talking, keep
talking - until maybe something in the region changes," political analyst and
retired Lebanese army general Elias Hanna told The Daily Star Monday.
He pointed out that the dialogue sessions were to a large extent dependant on
regional developments and diplomatic movement between the US, Iran, Syria and
Israel. "We are not the driving force in all of this. If something good happens
in the region maybe it will have an impact on the dialogue," he said.
"From this perspective," he said, "it is very important for the Lebanese to keep
talking."
After the announcement Monday that the dialogue would resume on April 28, Fadia
Kiwan, political science department chair at St. Joseph's University, told The
Daily Star that there was no realistic hope for broad cross-party agreement
before the elections.
"It's nonsense to try to bring people to consensus before the elections," she
said. "They [party leaders] need topics to mobilize their clients."
Rather, the rounds of dialogue could serve as a platform for Sleiman to
officiate over the parties and set the parameters of pre-election activity.
"The aim of President Sleiman is to try to bring the parties to a minimum
consensus on the rules of the game before the elections," Kiwan said.
Monday's session was presided over by Sleiman and attended by a collection of
leading majority and opposition politicians preparing for an election cycle that
would decide who runs the government.
The dialogue's participants did not announce any substantive developments on the
question of national defense, nor did they publicize any agreement on another
point of friction - a Memorandum of Understanding between the Lebanese
government and the special international tribunal tasked with trying the
suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minster Rafik Hariri.
Kiwan, however, noted that the act of meeting carries a certain importance, if
only symbolically. Dialogue between rivals, she suggested, can influence the
participants
After the donors conference, Hamas needs to do some
soul-searching
By The Daily Star
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Editorial
Monday's international donors conference for the Gaza Strip represents only a
partial victory in the effort to rebuild the battered territory - and a
resounding defeat for the broader Palestinian national cause. The nearly $4.5
billion in pledged aid to the Palestinians will mean nothing in the absence of a
peace deal that will ensure that the Israeli military does not return and level
the newly reconstructed buildings and infrastructure in the territory. Moreover,
it was clear from the stipulations and other remarks made at the conference that
the international community, especially the United States, still views Hamas as
the party that is most to blame for Israel's most recent bout of wanton
destruction in Gaza.
The Islamist faction needs to do some serious soul searching to determine why
they are the ones being so roundly condemned and demonized by the global
community. Part of the problem has to have been a lack of effort to explain
their position to a Western audience in a reasonable manner - and to demonstrate
a modicum of flexibility in adapting to other points of view.
To learn how this sort of thing can be achieved, the Palestinian faction would
do well to draw a lesson from the playbook of their enemies. Take Israel's
Beiteinu leader Avigor Lieberman, for instance, a man who the global media has
correctly painted as a far-right-wing, ultra-Zionist bigot. The politician's
response to this characterization has been to launch a counter-offensive aimed
at shaking off the unflattering labels that have been attached to him. Last
week, for example, he penned an article in a US newspaper in which he defended
his positions and claimed to "advocate the creation of a viable Palestinian
state." Who can argue with a man who paints himself as a misunderstood
peace-loving Jew who supports this major tenet of the peace process?