LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 04/2010

Bible Of the Day
Matthew 6/19-21: “Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal; 6:20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal; 6:21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." .

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Corruption denies job opportunities/The Daily Star/February 03/10
We might soon see a Pasdaran takeover in Iran/By Ramin Jahanbegloo/February 03/10
Who wants municipal elections? Not too many/By: Matt Nash/February 03/10
Canada Urges Government of Iran to Halt Imminent Executions/February 03/10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for February 03/10
Netanyahu Accuses Lebanese Government of Allowing Hizbullah to Develop Military Capabilities /Naharnet
Ashkenazi: Calm Along Israel's Borders Fragile /Naharnet
Lebanon Files Another Complaint to U.N. over Alleged Israeli Torture of Lebanese Shepherd /Naharnet
Maronite Bishops Acknowledges Improvement in Security Situation /Naharnet
Storm Hampers Search for Plane Wreckage, Retrieved Body Belongs to Assal /Naharnet
Aridi: Plane Debris Found in Syrian Waters, Body Trapped between Rocks /Naharnet
Geagea: No Change in Majority Objectives even if March 8 Would Participate in Feb. 14 Rally /Naharnet
Berri: Those Committed to Sectarianism are Very Far from Religion /Naharnet
Army Arrests Suspects Involved in Planting Bombs in North /Naharnet
No Appointments, No Municipal Law Discussions during Cabinet Session /Naharnet
DNA Samples from Ethiopian Relatives of Plane Crash Arrive in Beirut /Naharnet
Dar al-Fatwa Shocked by Hoss' Attack on Mufti /Naharnet
Bar Association in North on 3-Day Strike over Attack on Lawyers /Naharnet
French Presidential Envoy: Lebanon Situation Back to Normal /Naharnet
Judge Asks for 3 Year Imprisonment for Ezzedine over Bounced Check to Agriculture Minister /Naharnet
Aoun: I Back Abolishing Sectarianism, I Didn't Associate Lowering Voting Age with Nationality Law /Naharnet
Arslan: Whether We Participated or Not, We'll Have a Positive Stance on February 14 Anniversary /Naharnet
Franjieh Willing to Participate in Hariri Commemoration Rally under Certain Conditions /Naharnet
Rival parties spar over terms of participation in Hariri memorial/Daily Star
Baroud praises officers for rescue efforts in Ethiopian plane crash incident/Daily Star
Top STL officials, Berri discuss tribunal challenges/Daily Star
Barak: Gloves off in next conflict with Hizbullah/Daily Star
Rymco launches 'lease-to-own' scheme in Lebanon/Daily Star
Nahas: Telecom tax must be split fr om commercial aspect/Daily Star
The newspaper industry: back to the f uture/Daily Star
Rescuers recover body of man off Naameh coast/Daily Star
Petition aims for deeper connection with Palestin ians/Daily Star
Research project aims to assess, curb Beir ut noise/Daily Star
Najjar calls for judicial-inspection com mittee/Daily Star
New UNIFIL commander meets with Ha riri/Daily Star
Life-weary French citizen commits su icide/Daily Star
Dar al-Fatwa surprised by Hoss re marks/Daily Star
North bar association calls for lawyers ' strike/Daily Star
Gorbachev lauds Lebanese advances toward internal peace, stability/Daily Star

Barak: Gloves off in next conflict with Hizbullah
Israeli minister says‘If Israel is attacked, we will not limit ourselves to only Hizbullah targets’
By Patrick Galey
Daily Star staff
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
BEIRUT: Israel will target Lebanese civilian infrastructure during its next offensive against Hizbullah, according to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Addressing Israeli Army officials late Monday, Barak made clear that Tel Aviv would hold nothing back in any future conflict in Lebanon. “If Israel is attacked, we will not limit ourselves to only Hizbullah targets,” the Israeli Haaretz newspaper quoted Barak as saying. He also reiterated previous Israeli threats that it would hold all of Lebanon responsible for any Hizbullah aggression.
“The government of Lebanon is responsible for everything Hizbullah does,” Barak added. “The organization has an internal Lebanese identity, in addition to its well-known affiliation to Syria and Iran.” Israel claims it avoided targeting civilian positions during the 2006 summer war following a tacit agreement with then-US President George W Bush. Nevertheless, the 34-day assault hit then-Beirut International Airport, highways, bridges, power stations and other vital infrastructure, causing billions of dollars of damage. Barak also refused to rule out pre-emptive strikes against Iran, should international sanctions fail to stifle what Tel Aviv sees as Tehran’s designs on a nuclear weapons program. An Israeli attack on Iran could prompt responses from Iranian-backed groups in Lebanon – Hizbullah included – according to some analysts. Israel’s hawkish defense minister has previously warned that any provocation from Lebanon will be met with severe repercussions. Hizbullah, for its part, maintains it is ready for another conflict whenever it comes and Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has promised “surprises” should hostilities restart. On Tuesday, Israeli warplanes conducted practice aerial raids over parts of the south of Lebanon, including Nabatiyeh and Ikleem al-Tefah, the National News Agency (NNA) reported. “The said planes performed mock raids at a low altitude, [reaching] to Marjayoun and Alkhiam,” the NNA added.
The latest incident to raise tensions along the UN-demarcated Blue Line – the boundary of Israeli military withdrawal from Lebanon – occurred on Sunday, when Israeli soldiers arrested a Lebanese shepherd, Rabih Mohammad Zahra, 17, as he tended to a flock of sheep close to the disputed Shebaa Farms region.
He was returned to custody with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and handed over to the Lebanese Army. Zahra claims he was beaten by Israeli soldiers and interrogated about Hizbullah positions in south Lebanon. Lebanon has filed a complaint to the UN about the Zahra’s arrest, which it claims took place on its side of the Blue Line and is a violation of Security Council Resolution 1701 – drafted to end the 2006 War – which stipulates that Lebanon’s sovereign borders be respected.
The US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeremy Feltman said this week that Beirut was not doing enough to implement Resolution 1701, as Hizbullah and other non-state actors harbor weapons south of the Litani River, in violation of international law. This prompted a riposte from the Lebanese Foreign Ministry, which claimed that Israel was the main culprit in breaching conditions set by UN Resolution 1701. “Israel has committed over 6,000 violations since 2006, the latest of which was the abduction of Mohammad Zahra from Lebanese territories on Sunday,” said a statement from the ministry’s media office. UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams, following a meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, said that the pair had discussed the implementation of Resolution 1701 on Tuesday. Williams told Berri that during a recent visit to Israel “officials assured me that they still remain committed to the prevailing cessation of hostilities and to Security Council Resolution 1701.”
Netanyahu accuses Lebanon of allowing resistance to develop its military
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday accused Lebanon of allowing Hizbullah to develop its military force by smuggling weapons in violation of a UN resolution.
“We are worried about developments in Lebanon and the great flow of weapons, rockets and missiles in blatant violation of [Security Council] Resolution 1701,” Netanyahu told a news conference alongside his Italian counterpart, Silvio Berlusconi. Shiite movement Hizbullah is part of a coalition government formed in November by US- and Saudi-backed Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Netanyahu said he held the Lebanese government accountable. “Hizbullah is in the Lebanese government and is developing a military force under the government,” said the Israeli premier. “These weapons are without doubt aimed at Israeli civilians,” said Netanyahu. “It is the responsibility of the Lebanese government to prevent attacks against Israel and its citizens.” Berlusconi said he would raise the Israeli concerns when he meets Hariri in Beirut this month. Israel and Hizbullah fought a devastating war in 2006, which killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, most of them civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers. Resolution 1701, which led to an end of the 34-day conflict, set mechanisms to stop arms smuggling into Lebanon. – AFP

Ashkenazi: Calm Along Israel's Borders Fragile
Naharnet/Israeli Army chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said Tuesday that the calm prevailing along the Jewish state's borders is fragile. "Currently there is quiet along our borders as a result of the necessary and effective activity in all of our regions," Ashkenazi told soldiers during a combat demonstration at an army base in Shizafon. "This blessed quiet is solid and lies on effective deterrence, but it is also fragile... My expectation from you is that you will be able to implement what you have seen here," he said. Ashkenazi told the soldiers that the Israeli army is strengthening itself and has some of the world's best fighting capabilities. "However, this will be nothing more than a pile of iron if we don't use it the right way." "The people of Israel expect us to eliminate any threat against them, just as we did in Operation Cast Lead," he added. Beirut, 03 Feb 10, 09:36

Netanyahu Accuses Lebanese Government of Allowing Hizbullah to Develop Military Capabilities
Naharnet/Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday accused Lebanon of allowing Hizbullah to develop its military force by smuggling weapons "in violation" of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. "We are worried about developments in Lebanon and the great flow of weapons, rockets and missiles in blatant violation of Resolution 1701," Netanyahu told a press conference alongside his Italian counterpart, Silvio Berlusconi. "Hizbullah is in the Lebanese government and is developing a military force under the government," said Netanyahu.
"These weapons are without doubt aimed at Israeli civilians," said Netanyahu. "It is the responsibility of the Lebanese government to prevent attacks against Israel and its citizens."
Berlusconi said he would raise the Israeli concerns when he meets Lebanese PM Saad Hariri in Beirut this month. Israel and Hizbullah fought a devastating war in 2006, which killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, most of them civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers. Resolution 1701, which led to an end to the 34-day conflict, set mechanisms to stop arms smuggling into Lebanon.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 02 Feb 10, 20:05

Lebanon Files Another Complaint to U.N. over Alleged Israeli Torture of Lebanese Shepherd
Naharnet/The Lebanese foreign ministry filed another complaint to the U.N. Security Council claiming Israeli forces tortured Lebanese shepherd Rabih Mohammed Zahra after kidnapping him near Kfarshouba hills on Sunday. Lebanon already filed a complaint after the kidnapping, accusing Israel of violating U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.
The Lebanese army on Sunday said the incident is "an act of aggression against Lebanese sovereignty and an attack on a citizen's liberty."Zahra, 17, was handed over to UNIFIL on Monday in the border town of Naqoura. Beirut, 03 Feb 10, 10:34

Maronite Bishops Acknowledges Improvement in Security Situation
Naharnet/The Council of Maronite Bishops on Wednesday acknowledged improvement in the security situation in Lebanon and expressed hope that peace will prevail over violence.
"The security situation in Lebanon has improved," the Bishops said in a statement. "We hope peace will prevail so that the Lebanese could be assured about their conditions," the statement added. The Bishops offered condolences to the victims of the Ethiopian plane crash. Beirut, 03 Feb 10, 12:11

Geagea Welcomes Anyone who Wants to Participate in Feb. 14 Rally, Says No Change in Majority Objectives
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Wednesday he complained to PM Rafik Hariri about actions of security agencies that violate the citizen's rights and stressed there were no changes in the objectives of the March 14 forces. "Such actions (in certain areas) violate political freedoms and the right of the citizen," Geagea said following talks with Hariri at the Grand Serail. Hariri promised to deal with the issue, he told reporters. On the possible participation of some March 8 forces in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's 5th assassination anniversary, the LF leader said: "Any rapprochement in the country would be in everyone's interest." However, he warned about attempts to disregard differences of opinion between the March 8 and 14 forces. He welcomed anyone who wants to participate in the Feb. 14 mass rally at Martyrs' square, saying however that the occasion is based on March 14 principles.
Geagea reiterated that the March 14 objectives and principles remain unchanged. Asked about his stance from the issue of proportionality in municipal elections, the LF leader said: "I am convinced more than before that some parties, for some reason or the other, prefer the postponement of the polls." "We are with the continuous reform of the electoral system whether on the municipal or parliamentary level … However, reforms do not mean postponement of the municipal elections," Geagea told reporters. Beirut, 03 Feb 10, 14:36

Storm Hampers Search for Plane Wreckage, Retrieved Body Belongs to Assal
Naharnet/A heavy storm lashed Lebanon Wednesday hampering operations to find more parts of the Ethiopian plane and bodies of victims a day after media reports led to confusion over the discovery of the jet's wreckage. The body of Albert Assal, whose grieving father died from a heart attack last week, was retrieved from the sea off Khalde Tuesday and was taken to Rafik Hariri hospital for DNA tests. On Wednesday the tests confirmed the body belonged to Assal. He will be buried on Friday, according to the National News Agency.
General Manager of Rafik Hariri hospital Wassim Wazzan denied to Voice of Lebanon Radio that another body was retrieved from the sea late Tuesday.
Wednesday's storm, which is expected to last for three days, brought to a standstill diving operations. VDL said Ocean Alert, which has been scanning Lebanese waters since after the crash, will return to Beirut port due to the storm. The Lebanese army command issued a communiqué on Tuesday night saying divers were able to retrieve part of the plane's wing 4 kilometers west of Ras al-Naameh. The army communiqué came in response to reports about the discovery of the plane's main body and the retrieval of human remains, giving hope to the family members of the plane crash victims. Also late Tuesday, the French embassy announced that a French navy team equipped with sonar devices arrived in Beirut upon the request of Lebanese authorities to find the jet's flight recorders. Last week, a U.S. Navy ship, the USS Ramage, detected signals from the black box at a depth of 1,500 meters. But officials described the operation as "difficult and complicated." The Lebanese government has formally asked the U.S.-based Odyssey Marine Explorations to send a submarine to help in retrieving the victims, more parts of the plane and the black box. The Boeing 737 crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on Jan. 25 just minutes after takeoff from Beirut in a fierce thunderstorm. All 90 people on board were presumed dead. Beirut, 03 Feb 10, 08:20

Aridi: Plane Debris Found in Syrian Waters, Body Trapped between Rocks
Naharnet/Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi said Wednesday that he was informed by his Syrian counterpart about the discovery of a piece of the Ethiopian plane in Syrian waters.Aridi told reporters during a press conference at his office in the ministry that the piece will be handed over to Lebanese authorities. The minister unveiled that one of the victims' body was trapped between rocks in the sea. It hasn't been retrieved yet due to bad weather and high waves, he said. On Tuesday, authorities retrieved another body. DNA tests confirmed Wednesday that the body belonged to passenger Albert Assal, whose grieving father died of heart attack last week. The minister reiterated that the area where the plane's black box is located has been determined. However, the exact location of the flight recorders is not known yet. Aridi has denied that Ocean Alert ship, which has been scanning Lebanese waters since the Ethiopian plane crash, was costing the Lebanese government huge sums of money. "We are being criticized for (allegedly) paying huge sums of money to bring in foreign ships. Had we not asked for their help, they (critics) would have said that we are being stingy and we are not thinking about the victims," Aridi said in remarks published Wednesday.
"I will tell you clearly that we haven't paid any penny yet," the minister said, adding the Ethiopians haven't proposed to provide "any technical assistance so that we oppose it" in the first place. Asked about the reasons behind the authorities' refusal to allow members of the Divers Syndicate to take part in diving operations, Aridi said: "The divers working (to find victims) belong to the army and the civil defense department. Is there any doubt in their professionalism? Should we allow anyone who wants to volunteer to go down there and search on his own?"
Beirut, 03 Feb 10, 10:12

DNA Samples from Ethiopian Relatives of Plane Crash Arrive in Beirut
Naharnet/DNA samples from relatives of the ill-fated Ethiopian Airlines jet have arrived in Beirut to help identify victims of the plane that crashed last week off the Lebanese coast with 90 people on board presumed dead. The Lebanese forensics team returned to Beirut on Tuesday. Search teams have recovered 15 bodies and pieces of the plane, but hope for finding any survivors dwindled. Among them was the body of a male that was pulled out of the sea on Tuesday, nine days after the crash. The Lebanese forensics team returned from Ethiopia late Monday with DNA samples from relatives of the crash victims. 23 Ethiopian passengers were on the plane as well as seven crew members. It was not clear if all the crew were Ethiopians.
Official sources said Lebanon now has DNA samples of relatives of all the passengers and crew who were on board the plane, except for two -- a British citizen and a Syrian.
They said they would get in touch with relevant authorities to try to obtain those samples. Eight Lebanese victims and an Iraqi have been identified so far. Five bodies, however, lay unidentified at the morgue of Rafik Hariri state hospital. Beirut, 03 Feb 10, 08:09

No Appointments, No Municipal Law Discussions during Cabinet Session
Naharnet/The cabinet is not expected to discuss the municipal elections draft law during a session at the Grand Serail on Wednesday afternoon, a ministerial source told An Nahar daily.
Discussion of the draft law requires the presence of President Michel Suleiman. Another source told al-Liwaa newspaper that the cabinet is also not expected to make any appointments for positions in the state departments. The council of ministers has 89 items on its agenda in Wednesday's session. Parliamentary sources told al-Liwaa that some political forces are against holding the municipal elections. The only two persons backing the adoption of proportionality in the polls are the president and MP Michel Aoun for personal reasons, they said. Beirut, 03 Feb 10, 11:00

Army Arrests Suspects Involved in Planting Bombs in North
Naharnet/The Lebanese army arrested a ring suspected of planting bombs in north Lebanon's Baal Mohsen. Security sources told the daily An-Nahar that a surveillance camera had by chance taken a picture of Khodr Ali Fares, 14, as he planted a bomb in Baal Mohsen. They said Fares confessed during an investigation that Suleiman Hamat and his son Ahmed, who is an official with Ali Eid's Arab Democratic Party, would assign him to plant bombs in return for LL 250,000 for each bomb. Fares said Ahmed Hamat was in charge of Hay el-Amircan. Beirut, 03 Feb 10, 08:12

Dar al-Fatwa Shocked by Hoss' Attack on Mufti
Naharnet/Lebanon's highest Sunni authority Dar al-Fatwa appeared shocked by former Prime Minister Salim Hoss' attack on Grand Mufti Mohammed Rashid Qabbani.
In a statement issued by its press office, Dar al-Fatwa said Hoss' accusations did not conform to his "respectable position and status."
Hoss on Monday slammed Qabbani over allegations of corruption in Dar al-Fatwa. Hoss asked Qabbani in a letter either to defend the corruption charges and clear his name or step down in order to prevent the tarnishing of his reputation. Media reports had said that Qabbani used the name of Dar al-Fatwa to embezzle thousands of dollars.
"Keeping quiet about this issue for so long proves that the accusations are true," Hoss said in the letter. He said Qabbani should file a slander lawsuit against his offenders in order to regain the people's trust. "Clear your name or leave in peace." "I am afraid that a decision to remain in your post, which you are no longer worthy of, would be a cause for sectarian strife within the ranks of your confession," Hoss told Qabbani. The former premier responded to Dar al-Fatwa, saying his remarks were directed at Qabbani in person and not at the highest Sunni authority. Beirut, 03 Feb 10, 09:41

Berri: Those Committed to Sectarianism are Very Far from Religion
Naharnet/Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday defended his proposal for the establishment of a committee to abolish political sectarianism. He said Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir "is right by saying that abolishing political sectarianism could fuel sectarian strife." "But most of the people who are committed to sectarianism are very distant from religion," Berri added after his weekly one-on-one meeting with President Michel Suleiman at Baabda Palace. Beirut, 03 Feb 10, 12:47

Bar Association in North on 3-Day Strike over Attack on Lawyers
Naharnet/The bar association in northern Lebanon began a three-day strike Wednesday to protest against an attack by policemen on four lawyers. Antoine Aairout, President of the North Lebanon Bar Association, called for the three-day strike at the Justice Palace after lawyers Samir Hasan, Nabhan Haddad, Wahib Jawad and Bassam Nashaba were attacked by security guards Tuesday. News reports from the north said a quarrel broke out at the justice palace in Tripoli between a registrar and police guards when the registrar asked everybody to leave the room after it became jam-packed with people. They said police guards forced people to leave the room in a harsh manner that prompted quick objection by the lawyers.
The argument developed into a noisy brawl in which police guards beat up the lawyers. Beirut, 03 Feb 10, 09:05

Judge Asks for 3 Year Imprisonment for Ezzedine over Bounced Check to Agriculture Minister
Naharnet/The Lebanese judiciary issued on Tuesday the first ruling against Shiite financier Salah Ezzedine, who has been charged with fraudulent embezzlement, a crime punishable by 15 years in prison. Mount Lebanon judge Jean Ferneini called for a three year jail sentence in a lawsuit filed against Ezzedine by Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan for giving him a bouncing check worth $200,000. Ferneini referred the financier to a Baabda court for prosecution. Ezzedine and his partner, Youssef Faour, have been arrested on suspicion of cheating investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars—perhaps up to $1 billion, prosecutors say. Alleged victims included well-off Shiites but also smaller investors who sold land or pulled out savings to bundle the cash and give it to Ezzedine. Beirut, 03 Feb 10, 08:54

Aoun: I Back Abolishing Sectarianism, I Didn't Associate Lowering Voting Age with Nationality Law
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday stressed his support for the rise of a civil state in Lebanon and for abolishing all kinds of sectarianism "without getting into classifications."After the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc, Aoun stressed that he did not associate the issue of lowering voting age in Lebanon to 18 years with passing the law on reclaiming Lebanese nationality for immigrants of Lebanese origin, blaming some MPs for the confusion. "Lowering the voting age to 18 years needs some kind of political edification in schools," added Aoun. Aoun considered that the sectarian regime in Lebanon was created with intrinsic reasons and called for eliminating those reasons in order to eliminate the sectarian regime. "I have backed Hizbullah's arms because the arms of the resistance have reasons (to exist), if we want to remove those arms, then let's remove the reasons," reminisced Aoun. The FPM leader revealed that special programs are being mulled "to prepare the society for transition from one stage to another," criticizing "battles on history as we lose the present and the future."As to the amendments of the municipal electoral law, Aoun stressed that dividing Beirut into many constituencies is essential. "We might need more than three constituencies." On the other hand, Aoun stressed he does not have a problem with the implementation of proportional representation in all constituencies. Beirut, 02 Feb 10, 19:39

Who wants municipal elections? Not too many
Matt Nash,
February 3, 2010/Now Lebanon
Few Lebanese political leaders actually seem to want to hold municipal elections in June. (AFP photo/ Joseph Barrak)
The cabinet is still wrestling with which reforms to include in the municipal electoral law after postponing the nation-wide balloting by one month in mid-January.
While few anticipate that the elections, now scheduled for June, will be delayed much further, Lebanese politicians do not seem thrilled at the prospect of holding them.
“Political parties and the political elite generally regard municipal elections as a big headache,” said Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center. “They would rather not have them.”
Unlike the parliamentary elections in June 2009, when political parties battled over 128 seats in 26 electoral districts, the number of municipal contests is legion. According to The Monthly, a magazine published by local research company Information International, voters will elect 945 municipal councils and 2,387 town or village leaders.
City councils range in size from 9 to 24 members. Voters do not actually elect a municipality’s mayor, they only vote for the council members, who, in turn, cast secret ballots to choose the mayor. Leaders in towns and villages, along with their three-member councils, are, however, directly elected by the people.
The horse trading parties deal with to compile candidate lists alone, Salem said, is an ordeal few are eager to begin.
“Especially in towns and villages, there’s a lot of family politics,” he said. For example, if two or three large families dominate or comprise a village, the political party they support orchestrates the deal making among them.
“In the cities, it’s money, politics, [get-out-the-vote efforts], it’s and win-or-lose for the parties,” Salem said, noting that smaller parties that do not stand a chance of winning a large electoral district are more serious challengers to be confronted in local contests.
Indeed the nitty-gritty of these local contests highlights political strength, weakness and division much more than parliamentary elections. Last June, all eyes were on several predominantly Christian districts as the Free Patriotic Movement sought to re-create the success the party and its allies achieved in 2005 and bring the parliamentary opposition into the majority.
FPM leader Michel Aoun, argues Notre Dame University faculty member General Elias Hanna (ret.), is perhaps the only leader who actually wants to hold the municipal elections.
“Aoun wants them badly so he can say he didn’t lose in the [parliamentary] elections,” if he wins in the municipal vote, Hanna told NOW. “He wants to say, ‘I am the most popular Christian [leader] in Lebanon.’”
This reasoning, also on display on the FPM message board, holds that while the FPM lost districts like Batroun, Jbeil and Koura last June, if the party can win in major cities in those districts during this year’s municipal elections, it will score political points against rival Christian parties like the Kataeb and the Lebanese Forces.
Salem countered that the reverse is also true. Districts like Metn and Kesrouan, which Aoun won in the parliamentary contests, have large cities he could lose this spring. Salem said Aoun would also rather wait on seeing voters head to the polls.
The battle among the Christians also puts newly-independent Druze leader Walid Jumblatt in an interesting position. He allied with the LF and the Kataeb, respectively, in the Chouf and Aley districts during the parliamentary elections though the FPM is also popular in both districts.
He, Hanna said, would also rather not forge alliances at this particular time.
Now is also not the best time for an electoral showdown between Hezbollah and Amal. While the two ran together and with allies on lists last June, municipal elections have, in the post-civil-war period, been a battle between them.
The Party of God proved its popularity during the last municipal polls in 2004, routing Amal in many more cities, towns and villages than it did during previous municipal elections.
With “national unity” the catchphrase of the moment and threat of another war looming, now may not be the time to highlight the divisions within Lebanon’s Shia community.
These elections, as The Monthly notes, offer a chance to either re-enforce or nominally negate the results of the parliamentary elections. While the Future Movement successfully took the district of Saida last June, Oussama Saad, whose family rivals the Hariris for influence in the city, swept municipal elections in 2004, and Hariri may not want another fight so soon.
In Zahle, however, the long-dominant Skaff family lost a parliamentary seat it has controlled for decades as the March 14-allied list beat out rivals last summer. Elias Skaff, a former minister and MP, is likely keen for a chance to show he still dominates the city, if not the district.
Another political personality dead set on holding the elections on time, however, is President Michel Sleiman, Hanna told NOW.
“This isn’t my opinion; this is something I know,” Hanna said. “The president considers the [elections] democratic and liberal. We should not postpone such elections. They are necessary for [the system in Lebanon] to change. Whoever wins, he doesn’t care.”
In Salem’s estimation, no one can really afford putting these elections off too long.
“They might be able to put them off a little longer, but [elections will be held] by fall at the latest, I’d say.”

Corruption denies job opportunities
By The Daily Star
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Editorial
Corruption in our part of the world is by no means a new story. But by the same token, it’s not a traditional story either. As Transparency International points out in its 2009 Corruption Index, a handful of states in the Arab world are the world’s “leaders” in this domain, considered among the most corrupt systems on the planet. And according to the experts, while politicians might see corruption as the only thing holding their rickety countries together, it’s also a phenomenon that could eventually tear these same countries apart.
The traditional image might be the petty bureaucrat on the take, stuffing his or her pockets with ill-gotten gains in return for petty favors. Or, the same scene, but at a higher governmental level. Inefficient and wasteful state institutions that pay employees for little to no work are another typical example of this waste.
But these traditional images of corruption and inefficiency usually aren’t linked, in the public’s mind, to their consequences: people with poorly-paying jobs, or no jobs at all. Or the thousands of people who leave countries like Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Iraq, for example, in search of better opportunities abroad. Not surprisingly, these five labor-exporting countries are the top corruption offenders, according to TI.
While corruption might be a national disease in the Arab world, the traditional picture – petty bureaucrats on the take – isn’t where we should focus.
We’ve reached the point where we need to create, with United Nations endorsement and backed by sufficient studies, an initiative to generate millions of jobs for our region. This is where corruption has its impact. It shrinks the economy and doesn’t create jobs, unless they’re in the parallel economy, of no benefit to the state and the rest of society.
It’s easy to moralize about the daily corruption that we see or hear about, but it’s much more difficult to tackle the practical need for fighting corruption and enlarging the economic pie for everyone. This is particularly true in a region where so many people are under the age of 25, and steadily and rapidly entering the job market. Providing jobs is simply critical for domestic stability, and stemming corruption is way to boost this stability. People need jobs and they should be provided before they’re demanded; desperate people are more prone to do desperate things to secure a decent living. Corruption as the act of taking something is certainly important, but for the long term, we can also think of it as the failure to provide (opportunities) by those whose business it is to oversee public affairs. If our leaders are incapable of growing our economies and societies so they can meet the challenges of the 21st century, then they shouldn’t be in their posts.

We might soon see a Pasdaran takeover in Iran
By Ramin Jahanbegloo
/Daily Star/Wednesday, February 03, 2010
A year from now, Iran will continue to be highly newsworthy and will remain for many “an enigmatic riddle.” The “billion dollar question,” however, is clear: it concerns the stability and sustainability of the Islamic regime. Four more specific questions in particular can be identified in relation to the future of Iran in a year. Will Ayatollah Ali Khamenei remain in power as the leader of the revolution? Will there be a takeover by the Revolutionary Guards? Will the frustration of Iranian civil society turn into disenchantment with the reformists and become more radicalized and violent? Finally, will the country suffocate from total economic turmoil and total bankruptcy of the Iranian banks?
The staying power of the supreme leader – both that of the individual currently holding the position, Ali Khamenei, and that of the office – will be a key driver of the immediate future of Iran. It goes without saying that a total loss of legitimacy and a disputed succession of the leader in the event of his death could bring on a power struggle among different factions of the Iranian regime, leading to a military coup d’état organized by the joint forces of the Pasdaran and the Basij.
The aspirations of Iranian civil society a year from now could range from low to high. At the low end of the spectrum, one could expect to find a high wave of emigration among educated youth, whereas at the higher end one could find a more radical stance and greater support for violence.
As for the Iranian economy, it will certainly be on its death bed after a prolonged spell of low oil revenues, low foreign investment, high inflation and unemployment, and corruption. This could be aggravated by political, cultural and economic sanctions from the West. And there could be a visible increase in unrest among ethnic minorities in Iran.
On the basis of these critical indicators, one can expect in a year a harsher crackdown and tougher response to opposition groups by paramilitary and security forces. For one, high-ranking clerics in Iran will become even more critical toward a regime that has lost its grip over Iranian reality once and for all and embarks on shooting its opponents to survive. The fate of Iranian politics will be partly decided by grand ayatollahs in the holy Shiite city of Qom who never supported the religious and political ideas of Khamenei and the hardliners within his inner circle.
Ultimately, in other words, this is a fundamental dispute over the ownership of the revolution and the means to safeguard Iranian Shiite Islam. Clearly speaking, the clerical establishment in Qom will continue to be aligned with those who plan to redefine the Islamic Republic of Iran, and will therefore find itself in open confrontation with the Revolutionary Guards. When this confrontation unfolds violently, there will no doubt be both casualties and beneficiaries.
The likely beneficiaries of this struggle will be the Pasdaran. With leading reformers and opponents in jail and the street tamed by a military coup, the voices for radical change will fall totally silent. This in turn would lead to a renewal of plans to launch military action against Iran that would certainly inflame the entire region and have catastrophic humanitarian consequences, while enriching and empowering the dangerous and violent components of the security and military apparatus in Iran.
Because all signals point toward a gradual transformation of Iran within a year into a heavily militarized status quo power, this more ideological style will surely affect both civic reforms in Iran and its integration within the international community. The immediate and significant foreign policy implication of a Pasdaran takeover would witness the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps playing the nuclear card in order to again assert Iran’s anti-imperialistic mission abroad and boost nationalistic pride at home.
This in turn would draw an equally aggressive answer from the regional powers, who would seek to increase their involvement and foment tensions within Iran by supporting Sunni minority groups. But these issues will also put tremendous pressure on the Iranian military and paramilitary forces, who will continue to crush internal dissent while projecting a more aggressive tone of defiance and intimidation toward world powers regarding the country’s political ambitions.
**Ramin Jahanbegloo is an Iranian political philosopher. He is presently a professor of political science at the University of Toronto. This commentary fist appeared at bitterlemons-international.org, an online newsletter that publishes views on Middle Eastern and Islamic issues.

Canada Urges Government of Iran to Halt Imminent Executions

http://www.international.gc.ca/media/aff/news-communiques/2010/052.aspx
(No. 52 – February 2, 2010 – 7 p.m. ET) The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement urging the Government of Iran to halt the planned execution of nine individuals:
“Canada is deeply concerned by reports that the Government of Iran is planning to carry out nine more executions of political prisoners, in addition to the two it carried out on January 28. We urge Iran not to proceed with these executions.
“The decision to impose the death penalty on these nine people is clearly part of a disturbing and negative trend of politically motivated repression and intimidation of opposition supporters, and religious and ethnic minorities.
“Canada continues to have grave concerns about Iran’s rapidly deteriorating human rights situation. Canada once again calls upon the Government of Iran to reverse this trend and to meet its domestic and international legal obligations, and further urges Iran to ensure that due process is respected for those detained.”
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