LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِAugust
30/2010
Bible Of
the Day
1 Peter 4:16/Yet if
anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God
in that name.
Today's Inspiring Thought: Suffer as a Christian
Peter, who wrote this verse, knew what it meant to be ashamed to be named a
follower of Christ. He would never forget that horrific night when he denied the
Lord three times. But after that, he would never again be ashamed to suffer as a
Christian. In fact, history tell us that Peter would die a martyrs death,
crucified on a Roman cross with his head toward the ground because he did not
feel worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord Jesus. Who better to encourage
us than the great Apostle Peter, whose words ring loudly from the past, girding
us with strength for any suffering or persecution we might endure today for the
sake of Jesus Christ.(about.com)
Free Opinions, Releases,
letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Is Israel's Left in denial?/Moshe
Dann/August
29/10
Beirut’s posh neighborhoods/By:
Sarah Lynch/August
29/10
Latest News
Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for August 29/10
Canada: 'Singing' terror suspect
volunteered in Israeli hospital/Ynetnews
Iran to make long-range artillery
ammo/By JPOST.COM STAFF
Sfeir Worried about Borj
Abi Haidar Street Battles/Naharnet
Loose talk about Bourj Abi Haidar
clashes is inciting sectarian division, Raad says/Now Lebanon
Paris Adamant to Fulfill its
Promise of Arming Military/Naharnet
Berri Received Reports of
Mobilization of Several Non-Ahbash Sides in Beirut
/Naharnet
Borj Abi Haidar Gunbattles:
Arrests to Include All Those who Helped Intimidate People
/Naharnet
Baroud: Weapons-Free Beirut is
Not Push-Button Away
/Naharnet
Israel in final stages to attack
alleged Hezbollah missile stores in Syria/GulfNews
Israel 'planning strike on
Hezbollah sites in Syria/Haaretz
Lebanon: Israel using hot air
balloons to collect intelligence/Ynetnews
Egypt intercepts arms shipments
destined for Gaza/American Thinker
Netanyahu spells out essentials for
peace deal/AFP
Analysis: Iraq no pushover in
regional power struggle/Reuters
MP Saqr
Warns of Efforts to Create 'Shiite Issue' to Divide Region/Naharnet
Hariri: Defense Strategy,
Borj Abi Haidar Gunbattles 'Two Separate Issues/Naharnet
Suleiman Says Mountains
Unity is Basis of Lebanese Unity, Jumblat for Setting up Neighborhood Security
Committees
/Naharnet
Geagea Questions Talk of 4
Suspects When Hundreds of Armed Individuals Took to the Streets
/Naharnet
Williams Says Relative
Normality in South, Lauds Hariri for Addressing Firearms in Beirut
/Naharnet
Police Arrest Drug
Smuggling Gang, Seize 50kgs of Cocaine
/Naharnet
1 Killed and 14 People,
Including 13 Children, Injured in Sahel Anjar Crash
/Naharnet
Hof Warned Qahwaji that
Israel is Prepared to Destroy Lebanon in 4 Hours
/Naharnet
France's Position on STL
is Firm: International Justice in Lebanon is Fraught with Dangers, But it is
Necessary
/Naharnet
U.S. Lawmaker Urges France
Not to Arm Lebanon Army
/Naharnet
Houri: The Weapons that
Burnt a Mosque in Beirut Should Not be that of the Resistance
/Naharnet
Fatftat: STL Will Not Be
Affected by International Pressure as Demonstrated in Release of Four Generals
/Naharnet
Sukarieh Questioned Call
to Remove Arms: Do They Want to Us to Raise White Flag of Surrender in Streets
of Beirut?
/Naharnet
Jumblat Warns of Mobile
Strife if Situation is Not Quickly Addressed
/Naharnet
Hariri: It's Unacceptable
that the State Play Role of Spectator
/Naharnet
Abadi: We are Ready to
Supply Lebanon with Arms and Solve the Electricity File in Six Months
/Naharnet
Army Prepares Security
Plan, Four Suspects Arrested on Charges of Burning Burj Abi Haidar Mosque
/Naharnet
Sfeir Worried about Borj Abi Haidar Street Battles
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir on Sunday said he is concerned about
the bloody street battles which broke out earlier this week between Hizbullah
and Ahbash members.
"These events are worrying," he said during his sermon. He also referred to
citizens who are complaining of being accused of issues they have nothing to do
with. Sfeir expressed hope that the justice would prevail in Lebanon. Beirut, 29
Aug 10,
Loose talk about Bourj Abi
Haidar clashes is inciting sectarian division, Raad says
August 29, 2010 /There is a need for patience until Tuesday’s clashes in the
Bourj Abi Haidar neighborhood of Beirut are clarified, but already “many have
loosed their tongues” in order to incite sectarian division, Loyalty to the
Resistance bloc leader MP Mohammad Raad said at a commemoration on Sunday
according to the National News Agency (NNA).
Three people, including a Hezbollah official, died in Tuesday’s fighting between
supporters of Hezbollah and the Association of Islamic Charitable Projects- also
known as Al-Ahbash.
Al-Ahbash is a Sunni pro-Syrian group and describes itself as a charitable
organization promoting Islamic culture. Raad questioned why people are
practicing “sectarian incitement” if they really want calm in Beirut. “We didn’t
see any of these people touring to inspect damages in the Dahiyeh or the South
after the [2006] July War,” he added. Raad also said that criticism of the
Lebanese army is a “sin” which aims to have the army “confront its own people
and broaden the fighting and clashes.”In a statement issued after a Beirut
Development Conference meeting on Friday, Beirut MPs and municipality officials
said that security forces should have acted decisively to stop Tuesday’s
fighting rather than “waiting for the shooting to stop before intervening among
fighters… like an umpire.”-NOW Lebanon
Strida Geagea handles Bcharre gunfire incident
August 29, 2010 /Lebanese Forces bloc MP Strida Geagea called security officials
on Sunday after cars drove through the Baazekta area of Bcharre and “fired
approximately 250 shots in the air” to frighten residents, according to a
statement issued by Geagea’s office. Cars carrying Marada Movement flags had
driven through Bcharre 45 minutes prior to the gunfire incident, the statement
said, adding that Geagea had talked to various officials to calm local residents
and ensure the situation did not escalate.
-NOW Lebanon
Tawk: No gunfire happened in Bcharre
August 29, 2010 /No gunfire took place in Bcharre as reported, former Bcharre MP
Gebran Tawk said in a statement issued on Sunday. A statement issued earlier by
Lebanese Forces bloc MP Strida Geagea’s office said cars had driven through the
Baazekta area of Bcharre on Sunday and “fired approximately 250 shots in the
air” to frighten residents. “We sent people to confirm the issue, and everyone
said that no gunfire happened and the Marada youth’s convoy did not pass through
the Baazekta area at all,” Tawk’s statement said. -NOW Lebanon
Mashnouq calls on citizens to reject arms that “occupy Beirut”
August 29, 2010 /Lebanon First bloc MP Nohad al-Mashnouq told LBCI television on
Sunday that Beirut residents should take to the streets to express their
rejection of Tuesday’s Bourj Abi Haidar clashes and call for confiscating the
arms that “occupy Beirut.” The fighting between supporters of the Association of
Islamic Charitable Projects – also known as Al-Ahbash – and Hezbollah led to the
death of three people, including Hezbollah official Mohammad Fawwaz. Al-Ahbash
is a Sunni pro-Syrian group and describes itself as a charitable organization
promoting Islamic culture. “Talks about conspiracies are unacceptable,” Mashnouq
said, adding that arms used by parties in Beirut insulted people of all sects.
Resistance arms are something else and they should continue to be used against
Israel, the MP also said, criticizing the Defense Ministry’s Tuesday decision to
suspend permits to carry firearms in Lebanon since the weapons used in the
clashes were most likely not licensed. The cabinet assigned the Lebanese Armed
Forces (LAF) to protect citizens and the Lebanese command must take
responsibility, Mashnouq said, adding that the LAF and the security forces did
not fulfill their duties. The MP rejected Progressive Socialist Party leader MP
Walid Jumblatt’s proposal to form commissions in neighborhoods, adding that such
talks remind him of the 1975 civil war.-NOW Lebanon
Beirut’s posh neighborhoods
Sarah Lynch, August 29, 2010
NOW Lebanon takes you on a photo tour of apartments in some of Beirut’s most
desirable
neighborhoods.
Every city has its posh neighborhoods. New York’s include the Upper East Side,
Soho and Gramercy Park. London’s are Kensington, Chelsea and Knightsbridge. And
Paris’s most posh spots include districts 16, 7 and 8.
The Paris of the Middle East is no exception. Beirut’s fanciest neighborhoods
include Saifi Village, Sursock and Ain Mreisseh.
Experts say the desirability level of particular neighborhoods in Lebanon’s
capital depend on a variety of factors. “Globally, the closer you are to the
center, the more posh the neighborhood,” said real-estate developer Marc Geara.
“And for the Corniche, it’s obviously the views next to the sea.”
But waterfront views aren’t the only criteria for hot real estate. “Desirability
depends on the presence of new shops and malls, on availability, and also on how
open the social system is,” said Dr. Rachid Chamoun, head of the Department of
Urban Planning at the Lebanese American University.
Social status and the educational level of families living in particular areas
also affect desirability, whether it’s the children of aristocratic families or
parliament members walking neighborhood streets.
The Solidere area of downtown Beirut boasts newly-constructed residential and
commercial spaces amid a spread of high-end boutiques and restaurants. The
result is that apartments in neighborhoods like Saifi Village, in the heart of
downtown, are so upscale that they are unaffordable for almost everyone.
The area was recreated by construction company Solidere following its
destruction during the 1975-1990 civil war. The French-colonial complex, with
its winding cobblestone streets, makes for a picturesque pastel–colored enclave.
Other areas are posh because of their history. Tabaris, for example, is one of
the few neighborhoods still fairly full, relatively speaking, of standing relics
of Beirut’s past. According to Geara, Tabaris was a central neighborhood of old
Beirut. Three- and four-storey homes built during the Ottoman and French mandate
eras line quiet streets dotted with bakeries and boutiques. The neighborhood of
Gemmayzeh, one of the hotspots for Beirut nightlife, is considered posh for the
same reason.
The charm of these neighborhoods, unique among the towering skyscrapers in other
parts of Beirut, comes at a high price. A 490-square-meter home in Tabaris sold
for $4 million in June of this year at $8,250 per square meter, according to a
real-estate index published in The Monthly.
More than any other area in Beirut, however, Sursock may be most notable for its
charm and history. The Achrafieh neighborhood is named after the aristocratic
family that made their money in manufacturing and agriculture. Having lived in
Beirut since the early 1700s, the Sursocks built a handful of now-historic
palatial homes surrounded by beautiful gardens. They give the area a romantic
feel rare within the confines of concrete-crusted Beirut.
Many of the homes in this area have been owned by the Sursocks and other wealthy
families for decades. There is limited to no availability for buyers, making the
neighborhood essentially exclusive, Chamoun said.
But not all desirable neighborhoods have an aristocratic past. Some areas have
achieved posh status in recent years with the help of politicians. “Desirability
has to do with the people who have been living there, often prime ministers,
presidents or parliament members,” Chamoun said. These neighborhoods include
Qoreitem, home to Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and Clemenceau, stomping ground
for Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt.
One 250-square-meter estate in Qoreitem sold for $1.35 million in June 2010 at
$5,400 per square meter, according to The Monthly.
Views of the sea make neighborhoods like Raouche and Ain Mreisseh incredibly
desirable, with the latter boasting the highest real-estate prices per square
meter in the country, according to Chamoun. Following the vertical real-estate
boom of the last two decades, the waterfront promenade running along the
perimeter of Ras Beirut is now lined with towering skyscrapers that cut off
views for residents in shorter, older homes that have existed since the early-
to mid-1900s.
Whether a buyer wants to live in a historic area, or one populated with the
aristocratic and powerful, living in one of Beirut’s fanciest neighborhoods
comes at a high price.
Paris Adamant to Fulfill its Promise of Arming Military
Naharnet/Paris reportedly intends to keep its promise of arming the Lebanese
Armed Forces, pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat daily reported Sunday.
Citing official French sources, the newspapers said Paris considers arming the
military, not from an Israeli or U.S. perspective, but from the need for
maintaining civil peace and protecting Lebanese institutions as well as
Lebanon's sovereignty and independence. "Lebanon needs a strong army and France
promised to help provide weapons and intends to fulfill its promise … its
commitment to Lebanon's sovereignty, independence and stability," one French
source said. Ashara al-Awsat also quoted well-informed French sources as saying
that Paris has shown disapproval of the way Lebanese authorities deal with this
key issue amidst lack of effective communication between political and military
leaders where top political leaders seem to be unfamiliar with the details.
French political sources, meanwhile, said Congress and the U.S. Senate's demands
that France backs down on decision to supply Lebanon with 100 "hot" missiles
(mounted on Gazelle helicopter gunships) comes in the context of Washington's
reaction following the Adeisseh border clash between Lebanese and Israel
troops.The sources believed that "the quantity of these missiles cannot change
anything in the balance of power, which blatantly tips toward Israel." Beirut,
29 Aug 10, 09:11
Borj Abi Haidar Gunbattles: Arrests to Include All Those who Helped Intimidate
People
Naharnet/The number of suspects arrested in connection with street battles that
killed three people in Beirut has reported exceeded four, pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat
reported Sunday.
Citing a high-ranking security source, Al-Hayat said the suspects, who were
arrested by the Lebanese army intelligence, were immediately referred for
investigation.
On Friday, a judicial source said Lebanese authorities have arrested four
suspects in connection with Borj Abi Haidar clashes. The source said military
police had listened to eyewitnesses' accounts of the scene of the clashes where
Al-Ahbash mosque in Borj Abi Haidar and another in Basta were set ablaze. He
said most of the detainees know each other, adding that the military police is
currently conducting interviews with them to match their words with eye-witness
testimonies. Meanwhile, Asharq al-Awsat newspaper quoted a judicial source as
saying there has been "tangible progress" in the investigations conducted by
judicial and security authorities. The source said the number of suspects
detained in Tuesdays' clashes until now exceeded five. He stressed that the
arrests will also involve those who helped intimate people. Beirut, 29 Aug 10,
10:09
Baroud: Weapons-Free Beirut is Not Push-Button Away
Naharnet/Interior Minister Ziad Baroud on Sunday said a demand for a
weapons-free Beirut is not a push-button away, stressing that the Lebanese army
is a red line.
"The government must take measures. The citizen wants answers and asks 'where is
State suthority?' It cannot stand by and watch what happened," Baroud said in
reference to Tuesday's bloody street battles in Borj Abi Haidar. "The government
has formed a ministerial committee to deal with the issue of weapons spread
among the people," Baroud told the Voice of Lebanon radio station. He said,
however, that this Committee "cannot do miracles," stressing at the same time
that the government will not tolerate the continued spread of weapons under any
pretext "because it threatens stability in Lebanon." Baroud emphasized that
Resistance arms were not subject to debate "because there is agreement to deal
with these weapons at the dialogue table." Nevertheless, he warned that the
Lebanese is a "red line." "The army is the major force for mainlining civil
peace and has proven ability to handle matters wisely, calmly and decisively,"
Baroud stressed.
Berri Received Reports of Mobilization of Several Non-Ahbash Sides in Beirut
Naharnet/peaker Nabih Berri on Sunday was reportedly upset over the bloody
street battles earlier this week between the two supposedly allies -- Hizbullah
and Al-Ahbash.
An-Nahar newspaper quoted Berri visitors as saying that the Speaker has received
information that several non-Ahbash organizations have mobilized and deployed
forces in more than one district of Beirut during Tuesday's gunbattles in Borj
Abi Haidar. They said these sides do "not" meet the same Ahbash doctrine. Berri
was quoted as saying that after less than an hour of the battles Sunnis sided
with Sunnis and Shiites sides with Shiites "a scene I will always reject and
fight." "This is what we have learned from Moussa Sadr's school," Berri
insisted. A Hizbullah official and his bodyguard were killed in Tuesday
evening's clashes which broke out in Borj Abi Haidar and quickly spread to
nearby Basta and Nweiri – only few blocks from downtown Beirut. An Ahbash
partisan was also killed in the battles with machine gun fire and
rocket-propelled grenades. Beirut, 29 Aug 10, 09:32
MP Saqr Warns of Efforts to Create "Shiite Issue" to Divide Region
Naharnet/Lebanon First parliamentary bloc member Oqab Saqr warned against
efforts to create a "Shiite issue in Lebanon that might be an attempt to divide
the Arab region." Saqr, in remarks published Sunday by Asharq al-Awsat
newspaper, also cautioned Iran of the dangers of plans to divide Lebanon. He
urged Iran to take a "strategic" stance similar to that of Saudi King Abdullah,
Syrian President Bashar Assad and Lebanese President Michel Suleiman "and
guarantee that there will be no new Eastern issue to undermine stability in the
region." Beirut, 29 Aug 10, 11:07
Geagea Questions Talk of 4 Suspects When Hundreds of Armed Individuals Took to
the Streets
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea wondered on Saturday why such a
debate is being made over four suspects arrested in the Borj Abi Haidar clashes
when "hundreds of known armed individuals took to the streets, three people were
killed, several were injured, and great material losses were incurred."
He questioned the purpose of the armed group of that size's presence in the
heart of Beirut, adding: "We didn't hear of the confiscation of any weapon even
though hundreds of individuals were on the scene.""It could have been an
individual incident, but how do we explain how, in less than an hour, organized
armed groups deployed on the streets in full combat mode," Geagea added. Beirut,
28 Aug 10, 13:36
Suleiman Says Mountains Unity is Basis of Lebanese Unity, Jumblat for Setting up
Neighborhood Security Committees
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman said Saturday the unity of the Mountains is
the foundation of Lebanon's unity stressing that coexistence should be followed
by implementation of the Taef accord and administrative decentralization.
Suleiman's remark came as he sponsored reconciliation among residents of the
town of Breeh in the presence of Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid
Jumblat at Beiteddine palace. Minister of the Displaced Akram Chehayeb oversaw
the signature of the reconciliation protocol. Suleiman said the circumstances
that led to fighting and displacement in the Mountains are the same that led to
the Borj Abi Haidar incidents earlier in the week. "We want to live together,"
Jumblat said. "If we separate, the future will neither be yours nor ours …
forget about the past." Earlier, Jumblat refused discussion of any army
shortcoming regarding the Borj Abi Haidar clashes and called for the
establishment of neighborhood security committees.He made his statement after
meeting Suleiman at the head of a delegation of Mount Lebanon lawmakers that
included MPs Talal Arslan and Dori Chamoun. Arslan stressed the "coexistence and
the unity of the Mountains residents," saying the unity enjoyed among them
should be an example to Lebanon and the Lebanese.
Beirut, 28 Aug 10, 16:40
Netanyahu: Recognition of Jewish Homeland Essential for Peace Deal
Naharnet/Just ahead of renewed talks with the Palestinians, Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday restated what he said were essential
components of a peace agreement, chief among them recognition of Israel as the
Jewish homeland. Netanyahu is to meet Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in
Washington on Thursday for the first direct negotiations since the Palestinians
broke off talks in December 2008, when Israel staged a bloody offensive into the
Gaza Strip. Speaking to reporters at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting,
Netanyahu said an agreement would have to be based "first of all on recognition
of Israel as the national state of the Jewish people, an end to the conflict and
an end to further demands on Israel."
The Palestinians object to endorsing Israel as essentially Jewish, as that would
imply they were dropping their claim that refugees who fled or were expelled
when Israel was created in 1948, and their descendants, should be able to
reclaim former homes now within Israel. Netanyahu said he would also be seeking
"real security arrangements on the ground" that would prevent a recurrence in
the West Bank of events that took place in the Gaza Strip after Israel pulled
out in 2005 and in south Lebanon after the Israeli withdrawal in 2000.
The Islamist Hamas seized control in Gaza and used the coastal strip as a
launching pad for attacks into Israel. Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah fought a
bloody war with the Jewish state in 2006.
Netanyahu plans to personally lead the talks and hopes to meet the Palestinian
leader Abbas every two weeks, a senior Israeli official said on Friday.
Key to the discussions will be the future of a partial Israeli moratorium on
settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, which is due to end on
September 26.
Netanyahu faces strong pressure at home not to renew the freeze on new
construction permits, while Abbas has warned that "if Israel resumes settlement
activities, including in east Jerusalem, we cannot continue with
negotiations."The international community considers settlements in the West
Bank, including Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, to be illegal. They are home to
about 500,000 Israelis. Jordan's King Abdullah II and Israeli Defense Minister
Ehud Barak met in Amman on Sunday for talks ahead of the Washington summit, the
royal palace and Barak's office said. Jordan and Egypt, both of which have peace
treaties with Israel and share borders with it, have been invited to attend the
formal launch of the Washington talks.
A statement from Barak's office quoted him as telling Abdullah that Jordan had a
central role to play in regional peace efforts.(AFP)
Beirut, 29 Aug 10, 16:04
Obama Says Iraq War 'Ending,' Calls Country 'Sovereign'
Naharnet/Three days before the official end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq,
President Barack Obama said Saturday that the war in the country was "ending"
and called Iraq a "sovereign" nation free to determine its own destiny. "On
Tuesday, after more than seven years, the United States of America will end its
combat mission in Iraq and take an important step forward in responsibly ending
the Iraq war," Obama said in his weekly radio address. The president, who spends
Saturday his last full vacation day on the island of Martha's Vineyard,
Massachusetts, will cover the issue of Iraq in a nationally-televised address
from the Oval Office on Tuesday. "As a candidate for this office, I pledged I
would end this war," Obama recalled in the address. "As president, that is what
I am doing. We have brought home more than 90,000 troops since I took office."
U.S. troop numbers in Iraq fell below 50,000 last Tuesday in line with Obama's
instructions as part of a "responsible drawdown" of troops, seven years on from
the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein. American troop levels are now less than
a third of the peak figure of around 170,000 during the U.S. military "surge" of
2007, when Iraq was in the midst of a brutal Shiite-Sunni sectarian war that
cost thousands of lives. But more than 4,400 U.S. servicemen and women have lost
their lives in this war since it began in 2003, according to an AFP count based
on data from www.icasualties.org, an independent website.
According to promises given by the U.S. president, the U.S. combat mission in
Iraq will officially end on August 31. The remaining U.S. troops, who will have
a support and training mission, are scheduled to leave the country by the end of
2011. "But the bottom line is this: the war is ending," Obama pointed out. "Like
any sovereign, independent nation, Iraq is free to chart its own course. And by
the end of next year, all of our troops will be home." The president also used
his address to call on Americans to honor those who have served in Iraq by
sending them messages via such social networking Internet sites as YouTube,
Facebook, Flickr or Twitter. A strong critic of the war, Obama has always drawn
a distinction between former Republican president George Bush's decision to
invade Iraq and the daily fights U.S. soldiers were waging in the country.
Addressing disabled veterans in Atlanta, Georgia, earlier this month, Obama
noted that the Iraq war had sparked a vigorous debate in the country and that
there were American patriots both in favor of and against the war.
But "what this new generation of veterans must know is this: our nation's
commitment to all who wear its uniform is a sacred trust that is as old as our
republic itself," the president said Saturday. "It is one that, as president, I
consider a moral obligation to uphold." He said his administration was
modernizing and expanding veterans' hospitals and health care system, and
adapting care to better meet the needs of veterans.(AFP)
Canada: 'Singing' terror suspect volunteered in Israeli hospital
Two years after auditioning for 'Canadian Idol,' Dr. Khurram Sher arrested for
plotting terror attacks. Friends, colleagues refuse to believe humanist father
of three planned to murder innocents
Ynet Published: 08.29.10, 17:18 / Israel News
The arrest of Dr. Khurram Sher on suspicion of plotting terror attacks has
stirred up a storm not only because of his past appearance on popular TV show
"Canadian Idol," but also because of new details according to which he
volunteered at an Israeli hospital. Last week, the Canadian intelligence agency
reported the arrest of Dr. Sher, 28, and two of his colleagues on suspicion of
terror-related offences. Later on, the agency said it had uncovered explosives
at the four suspects' residences, and that they planned to carry out terror
attacks on Canadian soil and oversees. According to reports, one of the suspects
received special training in building demolition charges and bombs, but it was
not clear which suspect received the training, or where it had been given.
Shortly after the initial news report, Canadian media outlets reported that Sher
participated in the televised singing competition two years prior to his arrest.
During the auditions for the show, Sher identified himself as an immigrant from
Pakistan, however CBC network claimed the future-terrorist fooled the judges by
faking his accent, wearing special clothing and performing certain dance moves
that befits the prejudice against Pakistanis.
Dr. Sher was in fact born and raised in Montreal, Canada and is fluent in both
English and French. He studied Medicine at the prestigious McGill University and
finished his residency two months prior to his arrest. Sher's classmate told CBC
that the terror suspect was as Canadian as they come. She said he was a
fantastic Hockey player and used to organize matches.
Another classmate noted that Sher was funny, charming and smart – the kind of
young Muslim that acclimated well in Canada.
'Active in positive way'
The imam of the mosque where Sher used to pray refused to believe the
allegations ascribed to the young doctor and his friend Misbahuddin Ahmed, which
was also detained on terror charges. "I was really shocked to hear that two of
our brothers were arrested. They're still young," Foudil Selmoune told CBC.
"Honestly, it makes me even depressed because you know that these kinds of
brothers were active in the positive way," he said. And indeed, Dr. Sher used to
volunteer along with Selmoune, distributing food for needy families in Montreal.
In 2006, Sher traveled to Pakistan to help with reconstruction efforts in the
Kashmir region, following a massive earthquake that devastated the area. Sher's
childhood friend, Faisal Shahbudin, told Canadian-based newspaper The Globe and
Mail that Sher volunteered in an Israeli hospital for a month, but refused to
name the medical institution, or the year he volunteered. Dr. Sher recently
moved from Montreal to the city of London, Ontario, along with his mother, wife
and three small daughters, and started working at St. Thomas Elgin General
Hospital. Relatives said Sher's wife used to wear a niqab, the traditional
Muslim head cover, but was asked by her husband to take it off last year,
because he was concerned people would think he was forcing her to wear it.
Iran to make long-range
artillery ammo
By JPOST.COM STAFF
08/29/2010 13:46
Iran unveiled a new artillery shell on Sunday, vastly improving its arsenal's
range. Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said the new 130
millimeter advanced artillery shells will be far outstrip the previous
capabilities of the Islamic Republic's army, Press TV reported on Sunday. “This
ammunition uses solid propellants and act like ballistic missiles,” the Iranian
defense minister noted.
Vahidi also lauded Iranian experts in the arms production division of the
country's defense industries for their efforts to further enhance the range of
the artillery ammunition from 27 to 42 kilometers.Iran unveils upgraded
‘Conqueror’ missile
US: Iran's new weapons don't worry us
'Israel will react to Iran accordingly'
The defense minister also said such achievements demonstrate that sanctions
against Iran have been ineffective.
Last Wednesday Vahidi announced that Iran had tested a new surface-to-surface
missile equipped with an upgraded guidance control system. The defense minister
said the third generation of the Fateh- 110, which means “conqueror” in Farsi,
was equipped with a high accuracy guidance control system. He said the
solid-fuel missile was developed domestically by Iran’s Aerospace Industries
Organization and tested on Wednesday.
In related news, Iran also on Sunday demanded that the US drop its aggressive
attitude towards Teheran if it would like an improvement in relations between
the two countries.
"If the US seriously seeks to revive relations with Iran, it should make changes
in its attitude. Washington should prove that it will never repeat previous
mistakes and will not pursue misguided and hostile policies towards the Iranian
nations," said Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Ramin Mehmanparast in
comments to the Fars News Agency cited by Press TV.
He continued, "However, there is no reason to prepare the grounds for
establishing relations at the time the US attacks other countries, violates
rights of nations and sees its interest in war and massacre."
Is Israel's Left in denial?
Leftists focus on technical issues, dodge religious aspect of
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Moshe Dann Published: 08.27.10, 00:09 / Israel Opinion
During a debate on Tuesday between former Meretz MK Yossi Beilin, left-wing
architect of the Oslo Accords and right-wing National Union MK Aryeh Eldad, the
latter challenged the former's elaborate scheme of moving towards the
establishment of a second Arab Palestinian state, and his fundamental premise.
"This is not a territorial dispute," Eldad asserted, "but a theological one, a
religious war. The Arabs consider Israel Wakf land (under Muslim authority) and
therefore they cannot and will not recognize a state run by infidels – Jews –
under any circumstances."
Beilin dismissed this as a "philosophical argument," and refused to respond. "I
am here as a technical expert" he insisted. Eldad offered a medical model to
expose the problem: A doctor prescribes antibiotics, but his diagnosis is
incorrect, and the patient remains sick. This explains why efforts to achieve a
compromise with Arabs have not worked, and will not.
According to Eldad, as long as refusing to recognize the right of a Jewish state
to exist and to accept the right of Jewish national self-determination are
fundamental beliefs, peace negotiations will not only fail, inherently, they
must.
Beilin's refusal to accept this operative assumption, his focus on technical
adjustments, land swaps, transfers of power, etc. are based on the belief that
one day the Arabs will change and accept Israel. In order for that to happen,
however, it would require an unprecedented theological upheaval.
Even if a secular, "moderate" Arab Palestinian leader took such a position,
Eldad suggested, he would be quickly dispatched by radical and vastly more
powerful elements. Beilin's refusal to relate to the importance of the
theological issues is understandable; it means that technical adjustments are
insufficient.
Avoiding such critical issues, and others, such as demands for the "Palestinian
right of return" to Israel, the expulsion of all Jews from territory under PA
control, supporting incitement and terrorism, not only prevent any meaningful
peace process, it encourages Palestinian resistance.
Dodging the issues
Beilin's dilemma – and that of the Left - is that allowing "theological" and
"philosophical" issues to enter the discussion threaten any solution based on
technical proposals; but the reality of Arab/Muslim anathema towards a Jewish
state is the elephant in the room. If there is no way of reconciling these basic
axioms, that leaves Israel in a state of permanent conflict.
Beilin wants to avoid this situation by offering concessions, hoping that at
some point in the distant future, Arabs and Muslims will accept Israel's
existence. Eldad prefers to maintain Israel's strategic advantages, hoping that
our enemies will tire of conflict, or be defeated, and eventually learn to live
with Israel.
But, if the Left is in denial about Arab and Muslim intentions and beliefs,
Beilin would argue that the Right is in denial about Israel's ability to
withstand pressure from the international community to "end the occupation," a
growing isolation and demonization, the "demographic (Arab) time bomb," and its
future as a democratic state.
Eldad charges Beilin's left-wing policies re suicidal; Beilin charges Eldad's
right-wing policies are threatening the future of the State. The question seems
to be not which has the greatest potential for success, but which has the least
potential for disaster. And, which options allow for survival.
These are the parameters for Israeli and Arab leaders as they maneuver with each
other and the international community. Neither side can afford to be in denial
of realities – regardless of how they are perceived. Their ability to come to
terms with reality will be a measure of their success.
Arab antipathy for Jews and Israel, like it or not, is a reality; it will not go
away with land swaps or payoffs, and it is not "irrelevant," as Beilin would
have us believe. The danger of denial is that it leads to delusion, false hopes,
and ultimately, despair, and sometimes violence. We've been there; we can do
better with our eyes wide open.
Beilin dodged all the important issues that have plagued negotiations for
decades: Israel's legitimacy, an end to terrorism, Arab refugees, and Jerusalem.
After so many failures, one would think he would have learned something.
**The author is a writer and journalist living in Jerusalem