LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 08/2010

Bible Of the Day
Luke 16/19-31: “Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day. 16:20 A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was laid at his gate, full of sores, 16:21 and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 16:22 It happened that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried. 16:23 In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom. 16:24 He cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue! For I am in anguish in this flame.’ 16:25 “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in the same way, bad things. But now here he is comforted and you are in anguish. 16:26 Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’ 16:27 “He said, ‘I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house; 16:28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, so they won’t also come into this place of torment.’ 16:29 “But Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’ 16:30 “He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 16:31 “He said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.’”

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Change of heart on February 14/By: Sarah Lynch/February 07/10
Why the US is Back on the Road to Damascus/TIME/February 07/10
Zvi Bar'el / Peace with Syria no less vital than stopping Iran's bomb/Ha'aretz/February 07/10
'Israel aspires to peace'/Jerusalem Post/February 07/10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for February 07/10
Hezbollah 'raises its alert level in Lebanon'/Ha'aretz
Syria: Will stand by Lebanon in case of Israeli attack/Ynetnews
Berri meeting Assad in Damascus/Ya Libnan
Black Box Retrieved 14 Days after Ethiopian Plane Crash/Naharnet
Mustaqbal Doubts Authenticity of Remarks Attributed to Assad, Hariri Calls Assad/Naharnet
Qassem Rules Out War but Says Hizbullah Should be Ready/Naharnet
Jumblat Concerned over New Israeli War, Describes Situation as Madness/Naharnet
Hizbullah Cadres on Alert/Naharnet
U.S. Concern over Alleged Arms Smuggling, Repetition of 2006 Scenario/Naharnet
Suleiman Consulting with Officials on Reviving National Dialogue/Naharnet
International Review of UNIFIL Structure Amid Denial to Downsize it/Naharnet
Gilad: Israel's Anti-Missile System to Remain on Lebanon's Front/Naharnet
Sfeir: Possibilities of War Exist as Long as Hizbullah Wants to Play State Role/Naharnet
Suleiman: Lebanese Democratic System Among the Best in the World/Naharnet
Cassese: Hariri Case Highly Complex/Naharnet
Interior Ministry, USAID Sign MOU on Technical Support for Municipal Elections/Naharnet
Spain's King Begins 2-Day Official Visit to Lebanon Monday/Naharnet
Going to sleep in Israel, waking up in Lebanon/Ha'aretz
Ahmadinejad orders uranium enrichment to 20 percent/Now Lebanon
Harb: Cabinet will likely reject proportional representation in municipal elections/Now Lebanon
Netanyahu: Israel wants peace with Syria, Palestinians/Now Lebanon
Damascus seeks “peace rather than war”, according to French envoy Philippe Marini/AFP

Black Box Retrieved 14 Days after Ethiopian Plane Crash
Naharnet/Lebanese army divers on Sunday were able to pull one of two of the Ethiopian plane's black boxes 14 days after the aircraft crashed into the Mediterranean Sea killing all 90 people on board. A statement issued by the Lebanese army command said the black box, retrieved around 11:35 am, was taken to Beirut Naval Base. An earlier Lebanese army communiqué said the plane's tail section -- which was thought to contain the flight recorder -- has been recovered. "The two rear wings of the ill-fated Ethiopian plane have been retrieved with no trace of the black box inside," said the communiqué. It said the plane debris will be taken to Beirut Naval Base. Lebanese army divers will continue search for the black box and remains of the Ethiopian aircraft where the victims are likely to be found, the communiqué added. Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi said the black boxes were found Saturday morning under the "rear part of the fuselage." "We have to be cautious because we must preserve the data contained in the boxes," Aridi said. He stressed that special measures would be taken to bring the black boxes to the surface in a way to avoid any damage that could be detrimental to the information they contain. Aridi said he had been informed by Syrian authorities that debris from the Ethiopian jet had been found in the sea off the western city of Lattakia. Earlier, Aridi said that the search vessel, Ocean Alert, had located the rear sections of the plane's cabin.
He said the parts found were between 10 and 12 meters long and at a depth of 45 meters off the coastal town of Naameh south of Beirut.
The Boeing 737-800 crashed in stormy weather off Naameh minutes after takeoff from Beirut airport early in the morning of January 25. No survivors were found from Flight 409. Only 15 bodies and a small amount of human remains have so far been recovered. The Lebanese army said Saturday that pictures were being taken of the located section of fuselage with a view to raising it. Black boxes are usually placed in the rear of commercial planes. Lebanese officials have said the pilot was instructed by the control tower to change to a certain direction route, but that the plane took a different course. Beirut, 07 Feb 10, 08:25

Netanyahu: Israel wants peace with Syria, Palestinians
February 7, 2010 /Now Lebanon/Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel wants peace with Syria and the Palestinians, following a fierce exchange of words with Damascus that raised tensions in the region. "Israel wants peace with all its neighbors. We made peace with Egypt and Jordan and we seek peace with Syria and the Palestinians," Netanyahu said at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting. The premier said the renewal of negotiations on both tracks should have no preconditions and that any peace agreement must guarantee Israel's "security interests." "I hope that we will soon renew the talks with the Palestinians and we are open for the renewal of negotiations with Syria," Netanyahu said. Israel and Syria were locked in a tense battle of words last week that peaked on Thursday when Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would lose power in any war with the Jewish state. -AFP/ NOW Lebanon

Mustaqbal Doubts Authenticity of Remarks Attributed to Assad, Hariri Calls Assad
Naharnet/Prime Minister Saad Hariri has discussed latest developments in Lebanon and the region in a telephone call with Syrian President Bashar Assad, pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat reported Sunday. Meanwhile, Hariri's al-Mustaqbal Movement doubted the authenticity of remarks attributed to Assad in which he said "civil war in Lebanon could start in days … unless they change the whole system." "It does not take weeks or months; (civil war) could start just like this," Assad has said in interview with The New Yorker weekly.
"One cannot feel assured about anything in Lebanon unless they change the whole system," Assad added. A statement by Mustaqbal Movement said pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat has published a commentary citing high-ranking Syrian sources regarding Assad's interview with Seymour Hersh. "This commentary reflects a responsible approach towards bringing closer regional issues, particularly Syrian-Lebanese relations," said the statement. Repair of ties between Lebanon and Syria "is in itself enough to close all inter-Lebanese arguments regarding this issue, particularly since Syrian sources confirmed that the interviewer did not include a clear definition of the distinction between President Assad's words and Hersh's understanding of the Syrian position.," Mustaqbal statement added. Mustaqbal MP Samir Jisr interpreted Assad's words, saying the Syrian president meant that civil war in Lebanon will likely not take much time to flare due inter-Lebanese political differences. MP Ammar Houri, a Mustaqbal bloc member, also doubted "such words" came from Assad. "We had agreed to open a new page based on respect for one another," Houri said in remarks by published Sunday. Other reactions made to Assad's statements included Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra, Phalange Party lawmakers Nadim Gemayel and Elie Marouni. "No one seeks civil war in Lebanon," Zahra said. "Lebanon cannot adopt an alternative system in the near future." "Assad's words are very dangerous. The Syrian regime seriously thinks that it still controls the situation in Lebanon as it was before 2005 and wants to change the regime in Lebanon just like it is in Syria, a totalitarian system," Gemayel said. Beirut, 07 Feb 10, 09:34

Qassem Rules Out War but Says Hizbullah Should be Ready
Naharnet/Deputy Hizbullah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said the party hasn't received any indications of Israeli readiness to launch war on Hizbullah or in the region. "Israel is a real danger; we can't be reassured; we have to be in full preparedness (for war). We don't know when surprises would come or what could happen regionally and internationally," Qassem told Syria's Addounia TV. "There is no resistance without arms. Weapons are the result of the resistance's existence and the resistance is there because of the presence of the enemy," the Hizbullah official said. Turning to relations with Syria, Qassem said Hizbullah encouraged Prime Minister Saad Hariri's visit to Damascus which has shocked the March 14 team.
Asked about ties with Egypt, the Hizbullah secretary general said: "The Egyptian regime has its own functioning method. We don't approve such a method." Beirut, 06 Feb 10, 12:08

Jumblat Concerned over New Israeli War, Describes Situation as Madness
Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has expressed concern over a new Israeli war on Lebanon amid "failure of peace efforts and of U.S. policies" in the region.
Jumblat described as madness the current situation in the Middle East and told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that "Israel at times threatens Lebanon and at other times threatens Syria and then Iran. He said "the entire region was in a state of chaos." "In the presence of such chaos, the Israelis could launch a new war," the Druze leader added. Addressing those who haven't yet made up their mind on relations with Syria, Jumblat said: "We took our decision long time ago on who is the enemy and who is the friend … Syria is our strategic depth."
Jumblat on Friday snapped back at Israel's firebrand ultra-nationalist Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman over his recent threats to Syria and its leadership. "Amid the Israeli madness and radical threats, I tell the Syrian people and leadership: We are with you above all else," he said in a statement issued by the PSP. Beirut, 06 Feb 10, 10:58

Change of heart on February 14
Sarah Lynch, February 7, 2010
Lebanese wave national flags in downtown Beirut on February 14 last year to commemorate PM Rafik Hariri's 2005 assassination. (AFP Photo/Joseph Barrak)
Just one week before the fifth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination, some supporters of the March 14 alliance are still deciding whether or not to attend the planned rally to commemorate him. “Why would I go to a demonstration when that rally is not making any political demand that fits with my beliefs?” said Bashar Haydar, a Philosophy professor at the American University of Beirut. He has attended every March 14 rally since Hariri’s death on February 14, 2005. But this year, like many other secular supporters who backed the movement, he is questioning what exactly the rally and the March 14 alliance stand for.
In the first set of rallies (called the Cedar Revolution) that immediately followed Hariri’s death, the demands were clear: First, that Syrian troops withdraw from Lebanon as part of the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559, and second that a court be established to investigate Hariri’s murder. The largest demonstration that spring took place on March 14, giving the movement its name.
In the years following 2005, the demands were still on the table. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon to investigate the assassination wasn’t established until March 29, 2006. Thus, demonstrators in February of that year still had a platform. In 2007 and 2008, the annual rallies were opportunities to oppose the opposition sit-in in downtown Beirut that paralyzed the government until May 7, 2008. And in 2009, the February rally was important for the upcoming government elections in June of last year.
Now, in February 2010, March 14 supporters are unclear of what exactly the political platform is. “I see there is no political demand, no political message except to show popularity,” Haydar said, highlighting that the rally is about more than just commemorating Hariri.
This lack of clarity is perhaps most evident in recent statements made by Marada Movement leader Sleiman Franjieh, Speaker Nabih Berri and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt encouraging all Lebanese to participate in the rally in a symbol of unification. “It is very important that the rally doesn’t have the same national-unity style of government,” writer and journalist Youssef Bazzi said. “It should be an occasion to push March 14 leaders to be, in language and behavior, in line with the principles of the Cedar Revolution.”
“I don’t think March 14 can afford to have March 8 groups attend,” Haydar said.
Jumblatt’s recent reconciliation with Hezbollah, which has placed him in a politically grey area between March 8 and March 14, leaves many wondering whether or not he will attend. It also leaves the door open for attendance of Progressive Socialist Party members. “As PSP, we are outside the coalition,” said Rayyan Al-Achkar, general secretary of the Progressive Youth Organization. “That’s why we will not attend officially and we will not have a speech on February 14. But people, our PSP members, if they want to go, it’s up to them. We don’t want to oblige anyone to stay home.” Attendance of non-March 14 leaders is not the only issue. “The movement is already diluted by [PM Saad Hariri’s recent] visit to Syria, and through the reconciliation with Hezbollah, the unity government, “Haydar said. “All these things diluted the meaning of such gatherings.”
March 14 supporters like Haydar began witnessing what some people who spoke with NOW called a “weakening” of the movement following the parliamentary elections in 2009, when March 14 leaders accepted the formation of the national-unity government. While some supporters understand that March 14 didn’t have a choice in accepting this, others blame the movement’s leaders for the way they dealt with the issue. “I blame them for the lack of honesty and transparency in behavior and language,” Bazzi said. “This lack of transparency confused the audience of March 14.”Another matter confusing the movement’s audience is the issue of Hezbollah’s arms. “They do not have a strong position against the arms of Hezbollah,” said one Beirut resident and supporter, who chose to remain anonymous due to the political nature of this article.
But while some secular supporters who spoke with NOW are disillusioned by the recent actions taken by March 14, they aren’t yet certain that they won’t attend. “I’m very disappointed, but I think it’s important to attend the rally just to express a position against the opposition, and also to support the fact that the movement was created in 2005,” the Beirut resident said.
Haydar agrees, but also presents a different view. “It’s not a crucial moment,” he said, adding that there is no danger for the movement in him not attending the rally because with no current confrontation between March 8 and March 14, a smaller demonstration will not make a difference. “I can afford to show where I stand,” he said.

 Israel aspires to peace
BY JPOST.COM
07/02/2010
At weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu once again reaches out to Syria.
Israel aspires to make peace with all its neighbors, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said at the opening of Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting in the wake of a week of flaring tensions with Israel and Syria. He stated that Israel had signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan and “can do so with Syria and the Palestinians as well.”
The prime minister stressed that negotiations with Damascus could not be dependent on preconditions which would require Israel to make far-reaching concessions in advance.
He added that any peace agreement with Syria would have to include iron-clad, comprehensive security arrangements. “At the conclusion of negotiations, we must protect Israel's vital national interests - first and foremost, its security. I doubt that a peace agreement without iron-clad security arrangements would last for many years and generations," he said.
Preconditions, said Netanyahu, would only serve as an attempt to predetermine the outcome of the talks, defeating the point of negotiations between the two countries.“We do not accept the idea that Israel is supposed to make far-reaching concessions in advance, no matter what, while the other side is practically exempted from making such concessions,” he stressed.
The Turkish-mediated talks between Israel and Syria were halted last winter, at the outset of IDF Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. Syria's insistence on mediation by "honest, capable" Turkey, Ankara's growing hostility toward Israel and the Goldstone Commission's harsh report on the three-week offensive have risen as obstacles to the resumption of negotiations of peace.
The optimistic tone of the prime minister's latest message to Syria stood in contrast to aggressive statements made by officials from both countries in recent days. After Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem threatened that any future war between Israel and Syria would harm Israeli population centers, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned that the Assad regime would not survive another military clash.
“It needs to be understood that we are not looking for either confrontation or friction with Syria, but when the Syrian foreign minister says that they will attack population centers in Israel, that is crossing a red line,” Lieberman later said in a Channel 1 interview.
Syria’s official newspaper Tishreen said in an editorial on Saturday that while Damascus was ready to make peace with Israel, it was also prepared for war.
Also at the cabinet meeting, Netanyahu announced that a national plan of action would be drawn up to minimize Israel's dependence on crude oil.

Gemayel: Assad’s New Yorker remarks are dangerous
iloubnan.info - February 07, 2010/BEIRUT- Kataeb Party MP Nadim Gemayel told LBCI television on Saturday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s remarks about Lebanon, published earlier in the week in the New Yorker Magazine, are dangerous. In an interview with US journalist Seymour Hersh, Assad said that Lebanon’s whole political system needs to be changed because the current one threatens the outburst of a civil war. “Assad aims to permanently destroy the Lebanese state and change the Lebanese system in favor of Syria and Syria’s allies, including Hezbollah. But we will not allow this to happen,” Gemayel said. He added that Syria still does not acknowledge Lebanon’s independence. According to Gemayel, Syria is placing obstacles to prevent border demarcation with Lebanon. He also addressed Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt’s possible participation in the commemoration, saying that “Jumblatt can do whatever he wants.” Gemayel added that March 14 would stay on the same course.

Damascus seeks “peace rather than war”, according to French envoy Philippe Marini
BEIRUT | AFP - February 05, 2010
Syria would favor to resume indirect negotiations with Israel and is seeking “peace rather than war”, a French President Nicolas Sarkozy-dispatched envoy stated on Thursday by the end of a Damscus-Beirut tour. “Syrian officials renewed their will to have the Turkish mediation (between Syria and Israel) resumed”, Senator Philippe Marini stated, who was assigned by French Head of State, a contact mission over Syria. “They rather talked about bilateral peace with Israel rather than war”, he pointed out while answering the questions of reporters in Beirut over the verbal escalation between Syria and Israel. During his Damascus stay, Mr. Marini met, earlier this week, with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad before heading on to Lebanon where he had meetings with the Lebanese officials.  « Both President Assad and (Lebanese) Prime Minister (Saad) Hariri warned against the risks of a war, of the fragile situation and the cumulative dangers”, Mr. Marini signaled. However, the envoy stressed that, “President Assad raised (these) concerns in order to emphasize necessary initiatives for preserving peace, so as to argue the need of moving fast, that the status quo was unbearable anymore (…) and that it could lead to a spiral of violence”.
On Tuesday, Syrian Foreign Affairs Minister Walid Moallem warned Israel against any war attempt against Syria, saying such conflict would turn into “a comprehensive war”. He was, in fact, relying against the Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barack who stated that “as there is no peace agreement with Syria, we see ourselves in a military confrontation which would blow up a whole war”. On Thursday, Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Assad could lose power if he orchestrated a war against Israel, before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office voiced, in a more conciliatory speech, its readiness to accept mediation so to allow resumption of Israeli-Syrian negotiations.