LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
December 13/2011

Bible Quotation for today/The Lord's Coming
1 Thessalonians 04/13-18: "Our friends, we want you to know the truth about those who have died, so that you will not be sad, as are those who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will take back with Jesus those who have died believing in him.  What we are teaching you now is the Lord's teaching: we who are alive on the day the Lord comes will not go ahead of those who have died. There will be the shout of command, the archangel's voice, the sound of God's trumpet, and the Lord himself will come down from heaven. Those who have died believing in Christ will rise to life first; then we who are living at that time will be gathered up along with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. So then, encourage one another with these words.

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
 The response to the response to the response/By Tariq Alhomayed/November 12/11
 All you need is love - and money/Shane Farrell/November 12/11

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for November 12/11 
Barak: Assad Downfall would be a Blessing for Mideast
Fillon on UNIFIL Attack: Cowardice Won't Shake Our Determination
Asarta Says UNIFIL Won't Tolerate Acts Aimed at Destabilizing South
Rocket Fired towards Israel Lands in Lebanon, Wounds One
Jumblat: Dangerous Rockets Message May Be Addressed to France
Hizbullah Slams French Accusations Linking Party to UNIFIL Attack
Syria Denies Involvement in French U.N. Peacekeepers Bombing
7 Killed as Syrians Vote in Municipal Polls
Iran says it will not return US drone, warns of response
Bassil Meets Nasrallah, Hints Aoun’s Bloc May Boycott Cabinet Session
Lebanon's Arabic press digest - Dec. 12, 2011/The Daily Star 
Service marks sixth anniversary of Tueni’s death
Prayer service marks anniversary of Jibran Tueni’s death
Paris blames Syria for attack on UNIFIL troops
Hezbollah and judge engage in war of words
Negative credit outlook only bruises Lebanon bank stocks
Mikati fails to reach deal to avert strikes
Liban Lait CEO released after four days of captivity  
Rai calls on state to round up arms
No leads yet in probe into UNIFIL bombing
UNIFIL attack was message from Syria: Hariri
MP Estephan Douaihy denies threatening MTV
U.N. Chief Urges 'Reconciliation' in the Middle East
Ban Ki-moon to visit Lebanon next month
Nuclear knowhow, S300 are Iran's price for Russian, Chinese access to US drone
Israel calls for 'paralyzing' sanctions against Iran
Israeli officials: Obama too soft on Iran
Report: Assad's brother-in-law General Assef Shawkat shot to death
Syrians told: End strike or your shops will be smashed
Defectors fight loyalist forces in southern Syria
Defectors battle Syrian army
20 Dead as Syrian Forces Clash with Defectors in Daraa, Idlib

Service marks sixth anniversary of Tueni’s death
December 12, 2011/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: A prayer service was held at noon Sunday to mark the sixth anniversary of the assassination of prominent slain journalist Jibran Tueni. Friends, family and dignitaries gathered at St. George Church in Downtown Beirut to pay tribute to the politician and former publisher of An-Nahar newspaper who was killed in a car bomb on Dec. 12, 2005. Tueni was known to be a strong and vocal critic of Syrian political and military presence in Lebanon. He had also called for an investigation into mass graves near the former Syrian intelligence headquarters in the Bekaa Valley region of Anjar and had written a column accusing the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad of “committing crimes against humanity.”
Among those in attendance were Economy and Trade Minister Nicolas Nahhas, MPs Ammar Houry, Marwan Hamadeh, Akram Chehayeb and Butros Harb. Also present were U.S. Ambassador Maura Connelly, and media personality May Chidiac – herself the target assassination attempt in September 2005.
Presiding over the service was Orthodox Archbishop of Beirut Elias Audi, who said that Tueni “remains in the hearts of everyone.” He added that Tueni died for a cause he defended – the unity of his country. “Gebran defended the rights of his nation. He was a free man who aspired for a country free of slavery, dominion and insults,” Audi said. “Gebran dreamt of a unified and strong country where the talents and strengths of its people will shine through.” Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said in a statement that the “emptiness left by the absence of Gebran, in our national and media lives, was huge.”
“His voice still resonates in the conscience of the Lebanese people who gathered in the Freedom Square and ignited the first spark of the Arab popular movements against policies of oppression and tyranny,” said the head of the Future Movement. In March 2005, Tueni delivered a speech in which he called on Lebanese of all faiths to stand together to defend their country. “The oath Gibran made in front of the Lebanese people still reverberates in all occasions of freedom and justice,” Hariri added. “His oath constituted a resounding cry that was repeated by hundreds of thousands of people, in response to the calls for division and the attempts to circumvent the uprising of independence and its slogans.” “Our great consolation nowadays, is that the cause of freedom, for which martyr Gebran Tueni fought and paid his life, is achieving unprecedented victories throughout the Arab world.”

Prayer service marks anniversary of Jibran Tueni’s death
December 11, 2011/ The Daily Star /BEIRUT: A prayer service was held at noon Sunday to mark the sixth anniversary of the assassination of Jibran Tueni, reported Lebanon’s National News Agency.
Friends, family and dignitaries gathered at St. George’s Church in Downtown Beirut to pay tribute to the politician and former publisher of An-Nahar newspaper who was killed in a massive car bomb on Dec. 12, 2005. Prior to that, he had written an editorial calling for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and had called for an investigation into mass graves near Syrian intelligence headquarters.
Among those in attendance were Economy and Trade Minister Nicolas Nahhas, MPs Ammar Houry, Marwan Hamadeh, Akram Chehayeb and Butros Harb. Also present were U.S. ambassador Maura Connelly, media personality May Chidiac – herself the target of an assassination attempt in September 2005 – and professor Rafik Shalala.
Presiding over the service was Bishop Elias Aoude, who said that Tueni “remains in the hearts of everyone.” He added that Tueni died for a cause he defended – the unity of his country.

Liban Lait CEO released after four days of captivity
December 11, 2011/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Liban Lait CEO Ahmad Zeidan, who was kidnapped in the Bekaa Valley Wednesday has been released after four days in captivity. The 60-year-old CEO of the country’s largest dairy farm was taken by four masked gunmen as he was traveling with his driver, Wissam Wafiq Habbal, in a black Volkswagen in the Bekaa’s Talia Valley. The kidnapping took place some 200 meters from the Liban Lait factory. Prime Minister Najib Mikati tweeted in response to the news Sunday morning. “I was truly relieved to learn [from] Lebanese Army, at 02:15am last [night], the [good] news of the release of formerly kidnapped Lebanese citizen,” he tweeted. A source told The Daily Star that Habbal, Zeidan’s driver, had reported that the abductors were “highly professional and knew when and where Zeidan would drive by to his factory,” ant it was believed that they were seeking a ransom. However, LBC News reported Sunday that Zeidan was freed without a ransom, after the abductors backed down following negotiations in which Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri took a key role. The Bekaa has seen a spike in crime in recent years, including kidnappings carried out by crime rings. Seven Estonian cyclists were abducted in March and were freed on an empty Bekaa road after being held for four months in captivity. A number of Syrian dissidents who fled to Lebanon in the past nine months are suspected to have been kidnapped.

Hezbollah and judge engage in war of words
December 12, 2011/By Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Hezbollah has launched a campaign against the Military Appeals Court’s presiding Judge Alice Shabtini over the release of four members of the Al-Alam family convicted of collaboration with Israel, triggering a response from the judge, who insisted the court does not discriminate in its verdicts. However, the war of words prompted Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi to call on judges to avoid engaging in media rhetoric. The Hezbollah campaign is believed to be linked to a long-simmering competition to fill the vacant post of the president of the Higher Judicial Council, the country’s highest judicial body. Shabtini is reported to be backed for the post by President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati. Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun has nominated one of his supporters, Judge Tanious Mashlab, for the post. Hezbollah, allied with Aoun’s FPM, is expected to back Mashlab for the post. The president of the Higher Judicial Council is appointed by the Cabinet, where Hezbollah and its March 8 allies have a majority. In recent weeks, Aoun has lashed out at the government for failing to act on long-awaited administrative appointments, including the naming of a new president of the Higher Judicial Council. Aoun was reported to have asked Qortbawi to propose Mashlab for the post when the issue comes up for discussion at the Cabinet. Qortbawi is one of 10 ministers representing Aoun’s parliamentary Change and Reform bloc.
The Military Tribunal had sentenced the four Al-Alams to prison for 10 to 15 years after convicting them of collaboration with Israel. The four were released on bail last week after having been held for two years and 10 months, judicial sources said Sunday.
On request from their lawyer, who challenged the Military Tribunal’s verdict, the Military Appeals Court accepted the challenge six months ago and decided to stage a retrial of the four.
After a probe of the four, the Military Appeals Court decided unanimously to release them, the sources said. The court, headed by Shabtini, comprises four army brigadier generals.
In its news bulletin Saturday night, Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV slammed Shabtini for ordering the release of the four suspects, who hail from the southern town of Rmeish near the border with Israel.
“Some members of the Lebanese judiciary committed a dangerous precedent by releasing a group of hardcore Israeli agents who spent only a year and a few months [in jail] for verdicts that sentenced them from five to 15 years in prison. The reasons for the release of the agents remained unknown as much as they are suspicious,” Al-Manar said.
“Why did Judge Shabtini do what she did at this time? Yet the most dangerous question is: To whom does Judge Shabtini present her credentials while she is one of the candidates to the presidency of the Higher Judicial Council?” Al-Manar asked.
Hezbollah’s deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem indirectly criticized Shabtini, promising to follow up the case through normal channels. “This judge [Shabtini] has released a number of [Israeli] agents by appealing [their verdicts] without taking into account their file which is filled with collaboration [with Israel] and which requires a verdict,” Qassem said in a statement.
Responding to Hezbollah’s campaign, Shabtini said the decision to release the four had been taken by the court as a whole, adding that their retrial would continue. In an interview with An-Nahar newspaper Sunday, she said that among the four released are three who are very sick and were costing the state money to treat them.
“We cannot discriminate between one accused and another. It is not true that I was the one who released them. There are four officers with me in the court. There is an agreement within the court as a whole to release them. Also, Prosecutor General Saeed Mirza deemed that he matter be left to the court [to decide on it],” Shabtini said.
“I am against Israel and I have no enemy but Israel. But when we want to issue a verdict on people, all must be treated [similarly],” Shabtini added.
However, Shabtini’s statement drew a response from Qortbawi, who called on judges to avoid engaging in media rhetoric.
“Among the conditions of the judiciary’s smooth work is to stay away from rows and polarization. Based on this, the justice minister calls on all [judges] to avoid dealing with sticking judicial issues outside the courtroom. He also calls on judges to avoid engaging in media rhetoric under any circumstances,” Qortbawi said in a statement Sunday. – With additional reporting by Youssef Diab

Paris blames Syria for attack on UNIFIL troops
December 12, 2011/By Daily Star Staff Agencies
BEIRUT: French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Sunday his government believed Syria was behind Friday’s attack on the French contingent of UNIFIL near the southern city of Tyre.
“We have strong reason to believe these attacks came from there [Syria],” Juppe told RFI radio. “We think it’s most probable, but I don’t have proof.”
At around 10 a.m. Friday, a roadside bomb ripped through a four-wheel drive vehicle belonging to the French contingent serving with UNIFIL in Burj al-Shemali, south Lebanon. Five peacekeepers and one civilian were wounded in the explosion.
When asked if he believed Hezbollah had carried out the attack on behalf of Damascus, Juppe said: “Absolutely. It is Syria’s armed wing [in Lebanon].”
It was the third roadside bomb targeting a UNIFIL convoy this year. Six Italian peacekeepers were wounded in May, while in July five French soldiers were wounded in another blast. Both occurred in Sidon, and no group has claimed responsibility for either attack.
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri took to Twitter to blame the attack on Syria. “Another #Syrian message,” Hariri tweeted Saturday in response to a question seeking comment on attack.
Meanwhile, the Security Council condemned the attack over the weekend and called for greater cooperation between UNIFIL and the Lebanese Army. The 15-nation Security Council “called for enhanced cooperation between the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL and for the rapid finalization of this investigation [into the attack].”
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described the attack as “deeply disturbing” and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. According to the National News Agency, the U.N. secretary-general plans to visit Lebanon on Jan. 13 and 14, where he will meet with various officials, including those in UNIFIL.
French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton told Al-Arabiya television Sunday that Friday’s attack and similar incidents required a strategic revision of UNFIL’s working conditions and called for the implementation of stricter security measures to prevent any future attack.
He said that the revision would be carried out under the supervision of U.N. peacekeepers and would take into consideration the results of the investigation of last week’s attack.
“The UNFIL mandate will remain under 1701, and we must now find ways to implement that mandate, which consists of peacekeeping forces assisting the Lebanese Army,” Pietton said.
“The goal of the strategic evaluation would be to grant Lebanese authorities greater responsibility and to determine what could be done to assist the Lebanese Army with respect to training so that it assumes a bigger role.”Pietton visited the five wounded peacekeepers at Hammoud Hospital in Sidon before they were transferred to one of the French contingent’s two bases in the south over the weekend. The U.S. also condemned the attack while underscoring “the need for Lebanon to exercise full sovereignty over its territory. “Lebanon must ensure its armed forces serve as Lebanon’s sole defense force with a monopoly on the use of force and the possession of arms. All other armed groups should be disarmed,” State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said in a statement late Friday, in an apparent reference to Hezbollah’s presence in south Lebanon. UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said that the peacekeeping force was working in cooperation with the Lebanese Army to reveal the circumstances and motivation behind the attack. “The UNIFIL investigation is under way and UNIFIL investigators are still working on the matter and they are coordinating with the Lebanese Army,” he told reporters over the weekend at UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura, south Lebanon.
Tenenti also said that the international organization had taken pre-emptive measures to boost the safety of its civilian and military staff.
“The safety of those working with UNIFIL is a priority for the United Nations,” Tenenti told reporters, adding that the peacekeeping force was still carrying out its activities.

Syrians told: "End strike or your shops will be smashed"
BEIRUT, (Reuters) - Security forces in Syria told striking shopkeepers on Sunday to open up their stores or they would be smashed, activists said, in the first day of a mass strike called by the opposition to support a nine-month revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.
Activists are promoting the strike to encourage Syrians who may be frightened to join the uprising against the Assad family's 41-year rule.
His forces have cracked down on a revolt that began in March with peaceful protests but has become increasingly violent. Army deserters are now fighting state security forces.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said security forces in some neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Damascus forced shopkeepers to open their shops.
"They were taken down to their stores and ordered to open them. They refused and the police smashed open the shop doors," said Rami Abdulrahman, head of the British-based rights group.
Syria has barred most independent journalists from the country, making it difficult to gauge the extent of participation in the strike.
But a witness who toured Damascus said most shops were closed in the main shopping street of the old Medan quarter in the centre of the capital where there has been a heavy security presence. The main souk in Old Damascus remained open.
In the southern city of Deraa, security forces and militiamen loyal to Assad broke up the strike.
"They started pulling up the shutters of shops in the main Hanano and Martyrs streets in Deraa city to force shops to open," said one witness.
Official state media made no mention of Sunday's strikes. Central parts of the capital Damascus and the business hub Aleppo seemed calm though there are reports of strikes taking hold in some areas on the outskirts of both cities.
"There is nothing going on," said Rula, a schoolteacher in Damascus. "Nothing seems out of the ordinary."
The opposition used Facebook and online video to call for an open-ended "Strike for Dignity" to begin on Sunday. Video posted on the internet and shot from moving cars showed shop after shop closed and shuttered in some places. Earlier this year, general strikes failed to take hold outside the protest stronghold of Deraa in the south.
Activists hope to build up momentum this time, by starting first with shops and small businesses, then moving to schools, transportation and public services.
"It is little by little, so people get used to it," said activist Enana. She said around 30 percent of the shopkeepers she contacted in Damascus joined the strike.
"It can gradually take hold in Damascus and Aleppo. Today the goal is just to get some shops to close. We never expected there to be a huge response today."
FEAR AND THREATS
But in Homs, where the violence has been heaviest, some residents said they had no choice but to work, despite sporadic gunfights and reports of kidnappings and death squads.
"I'm scared for my father. He is a government employee. It is not an option for him not to work. They will see it as a sign you are against the regime and the consequences would be bad," said one man from Homs, who asked not to be named.
Activists say about 4,600 Syrians have been killed during nine months of protest and violent state suppression. Assad says casualties have been overwhelmingly from the security forces, targeted by "armed terrorist gangs."
In the town of Maarat al-Noaman near Aleppo, activists said a voice over the loudspeaker of the local mosque warned residents to break their strike.
"They were threatened that if they did not come out, their shops would be broken open," SOHR's Abdulrahman said.
Some Damascus residents said they received a message on their mobile phone purportedly from the Interior Ministry, telling Syrians not to strike.
"It said not to be affected by some groups' calls for a general strike. We should focus on building the country, not destroying it," one resident said.

The response to the response to the response
By Tariq Alhomayed
Asharq Al-Awsat
If the above title is startling or confusing, or does not appear consistent in any way, this means that you are aware, and have a good understanding of, the Arab League’s position towards what is happening in Syria. For ever since the Arab League put forward its initiative [on Syria], Arab League Secretary-General [Nabil Elaraby] has been talking about the need for the al-Assad regime to sign this Arab initiative, and the response to the response to the response.
Syrians are being killed every day, including more than 50 in one day, whilst the Arab League Secretary General speaks about the response to the response, and the need for the al-Assad regime to sign the protocol allowing observers to be sent to Syria. Is there anything more absurd than this? If Bashar al-Assad, through his Foreign Ministry spokesman, Jihad al-Maqdisi, or let us say his own personal al-Sahhaf [in reference to former Iraqi Information Minister Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf], has denied – for a second time – the statement he made during a televised interview; then how can the Arabs trust the promises of the al-Assad regime? How could the Arabs trust al-Assad even if he signed the Arab protocol? How can the Arabs trust the al-Assad regime and its killing machine that has not stopped to this day? What is the point of sending observers to Syria when the killing machine has not stopped even for one day? Worse than this, al-Assad himself, in an interview with ABC, said that these forces are not his forces, and that he did not give orders to kill or use violence. This is utter nonsense and a waste of time when the blood of innocent Syrians is being spilled, especially in Homs.
If the Americans tell al-Assad that he will be responsible and held accountable for every Syrian death in Homs, which the regime is besieging in preparation for an armed attack, then we, as Arabs, can tell the Secretary General of the Arab League and its distinguished members, that each drop of Syrian blood is their responsibility. This not only applies to what is expected to happen in Homs, but it applies [to all the bloodshed] since the announcement of the Arab initiative, through all the deadlines that were granted to al-Assad [to sign this]. We can say to the Arab League that we cannot take any more, and that waiting for the al-Assad regime to sign the Arab protocol is nothing more than procrastination, and granting an opportunity for the tyrant in Damascus to continue the killing in the hope of suppressing the Syrian revolution. All the facts suggest that al-Assad and his regime are not credible. Both the Arab crime of silence, with regards to the daily murder of the Syrian people, and the Arab passiveness or delay, only further complicate matters in Syria and increase the Syrian people’s suffering.
Therefore, the course of events in Syria today has passed the stage of considering the al-Assad regime’s promises, and responding to its response of the response. Likewise, the events have exceeded all Arab League stances, and even the demand to take matters to the UN Security Council. It is imperative today that we form a front for those who want to defend the unarmed Syrian people, and mobilize to impose a buffer zone and no-fly zone [in Syria]. This means providing Arab, international and even financial cover to Turkey. This would protect the Syrians and force al-Assad into issuing his first audio statement [from hiding], sooner than some may imagine. Bashar al-Assad is Muammar Gaddafi, and the international community must mobilize to stop his killing machine, as it did with the insane Colonel. It must take action today, and not in the middle of the month, as the Secretary General of the Arab League – the organization of responding to responses – himself said.

Israeli officials: Obama too soft on Iran
Top government officials laud France, UK, but tell Ynet White House policy with regards to Iranian nuclear program 'hesitant'
Attila Somfalvi Published: 12.11.11/Ynetnews
Senior Israeli officials expressed their disappointment with US President Barack Obama's policy on Iran.
"The administration is still not acting in full force to impose significant sanctions against Tehran," one of the officials told Ynet Sunday night.
On the other hand, officials in Jerusalem lauded French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron. "France and the UK have begun to act determinedly, while Obama's administration has yet to formulate a policy that is sufficiently severe," another official said. "While the House of Representatives and the Senate are promoting (anti-Iran) legislation, the White House is operating according to an ideology which could be defined as 'hesitant.' The Iranian issue calls for a clear stance, but the administration has yet to take the necessary measures to significantly hurt the ayatollahs' regime." US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro told reporters Thursday Israel and the US enjoy close bilateral cooperation on the threat of a nuclear Iran. "There is no issue that we coordinate more closely on than Iran," Shapiro told reporters in Tel Aviv. "A nuclear Iran, he added, is "a real threat to Israeli security, ours and our allies', and that is why we are determined to prevent this from happening." But officials in Jerusalem are not satisfied with Obama's policy on Iran. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said during a recent interview that the international community must impose harsher sanctions against the Islamic Republic in order to incapacitate the Iranian regime and force it to suspend its nuclear program.

Nuclear knowhow, S300 are Iran's price for Russian, Chinese access to US drone
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis/ December 11, 2011/Iran is driving a hard bargain for granting access to the US stealth drone RQ-170 it captured undamaged last week, as Russian and Chinese military intelligence teams arriving in Tehran for a look at the secret aircraft soon found. debkafile's Moscow sources disclose that the price set by Revolutionary Guards commander Gen. Ali Jaafari includes advanced nuclear and missile technology, especially systems using solid fuel, the last word on centrifuges for enriching uranium and the S-300PMU-1 air defense system, which Moscow has consistently refused to sell Tehran.
This super-weapon is effective against stealth warplanes and cruise missiles and therefore capable of seriously impairing any large-scale US or Israeli air or missile attacks on Iran's nuclear sites.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sent Russian-speaking Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to Moscow on Dec. 7 to try and dissuade Prime Minister Vladimir Putin from letting Iran have the S-300 batteries as payment for access to the captured US drone.
Sources in Washington report that before sending Lieberman to Moscow, Netanyahu first checked with the White House at the highest levels.
Although he had his hands full with stormy demonstrations in Moscow protesting alleged election fraud, Putin received Lieberman at the Kremlin. But the interview was short. The Russian prime minister refused to discuss the episode with his Israeli guest or even confirm that Moscow was engaged in any deal with Tehran.
In answer to reporters' questions, Lieberman commented: "Russia's positions on the Middle East were not helpful."
American efforts to reach President Dmitry Medvedev and Putin on the drone deal through other channels were likewise rebuffed.
debkafile's sources report that the Israeli prime minister's decision to sent Lieberman post-haste to Moscow to intercede with Putin followed intelligence tips which indicated to Washington and Jerusalem that the Russians may have played a major role in Iran's capture of the RQ-170 on Dec. 4. They are suspected of even supplying Iran with the electronic bag of tricks for downing the US stealth drone undamaged.
If that is so, it would mean Moscow is deeply involved in helping Iran repel the next and most critical stage of the cyber war that was to have been launched on the day the US UAV was brought down.
Our exclusive intelligence sources add that that the RQ-170 was the first US drone of this type to enter Iranian skies. Its mission was specific.
Iran's success in determining the moment of the unmanned vehicle's entry and its success in transferring command of the drone's movements from US to Iranian control systems is an exceptional intelligence and technological feat in terms of modern electronic warfare.
Western intelligence watchers keeping track of the Russian and Chinese teams in Tehran have not discovered where the negotiations stand at this time or whether the Iranians have taken on both teams at once or are bargaining with each separately to raise the bidding.
Saturday, Dec. 10, the Revolutionary Guards Deputy Commander Gen. Hossein Salami, said Iran would not hand the captured drone back to the United States. He boasted: "The gap between us and the US or the Zionist regime and other developed countries is not so wide."
He sounded as though the bargaining with the two visiting teams was going well.
 

Barak: End of Syria's Assad would be 'a blessing for the Middle East'
Defense Minister Barak tells World Policy Conference Assad will be out in weeks; at least 18 killed in latest Syria violence Sunday, Arab League says will meet to discuss situation within ten days.
By The Associated Press, DPA and Reuters
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday that the downfall of Syrian President Bashar Assad would be a “blessing for the Middle East." Speaking at the World Policy Conference in Vienna, Barak predicted that Assad and his clique would be forced out of power within weeks. Defense Minister Ehud Barak at the World Policy Conference in Vienna, December 11, 2011. Barak additionally discussed sanctions against Iran and its nuclear program, saying there is still time for crippling world sanctions on Iran's energy sector and its leadership to force Tehran to give up nuclear programs that could be used to make such arms. Syrian security forces on Sunday killed at least 18 people in several areas of the country that observed a general strike to protest the government's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, said the Local Coordination Committees in Syria, an opposition online group. Sunday also saw hundreds of army defectors in southern Syria fought armored loyalist forces Sunday in the biggest armed confrontations in the nine-month uprising against President Bashar Assad, residents and activists said. The Arab League said Sunday it would meet in "seven or 10 days" to discuss the situation in Syria.
"There is an agreement until now that the Syrian crisis should be solved within an Arab framework," said the head of the pan-Arab organization Nabil al-Arabi, in the Qatari capital Doha.
He added that the exact date of the meeting of the Cairo-based bloc's foreign ministers had yet to be set. Al-Arabi told reporters that economic sanctions endorsed by the Arab League were to take effect starting on December 27. The organization ordered the unprecedented sanctions on Damascus last month and said they would be lifted once Syria allowed Arab monitors into the country.
Syria set lifting the sanctions as a condition for agreeing to receive observers.

Report: Assad's brother-in-law General Assef Shawkatshot to death
Opposition sources say General Assef Shawkat killed during heated argument with his aide; report not confirmed
Roee Nahmias Published: 12.11.11/Ynetnews
Sources within Syria's opposition reported Sunday that General Assef Shawkat, Syrian military intelligence chief and President Bashar Assad's brother-in-law, was shot to death during an argument with his aide, General Ali Mamlouk.
The report has not been confirmed. According to the report, an argument broke out between Shawkat and Mamlouk at the military intelligence chief's office. At some point, Shawkat pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Mamlouk, who proceeded to take his own gun out and shoot his boss. Shawkat was secretly evacuated to a military hospital in Damascus, where, the report said, he died of his wounds. Other sources claimed Shawkat was in a coma. A few months ago similar rumors of Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa's death spread in Damascus. It was reported that Sharaa was shot to death during a heated argument at the presidential palace, but he appeared in public, unharmed, a short while later. Earlier Sunday it was reported that forces loyal to Assad, mainly from the 12th Armored Brigade, clashed with army defectors in Busra al-Harir. It was further reported that nine people were killed during battles in the Idlib district.

Newt Gingrich and the ‘Invented’ Palestinian People
By Daniel Pipes
Posted on December 10, 2011 10:36 PM The former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and current Republican presidential candidate said yesterday that “there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire. We have invented the Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs and are historically part of the Arab people, and they had the chance to go many places.”
Everyone from the PLO to a Mitt Romney spokesman jumped on Gingrich for this assertion, but he happens to be absolutely correct: No Arabic-speaking Muslims identified themselves as “Palestinian” until 1920, when, in rapid order this appellation and identity was adopted by the Muslim Arabs living in the British mandate of Palestine.
For details, see a long article of mine from 1989 on the topic or a short one from 2000.
Gingrich spokesman defends controversial Palestinian remarkBy the CNN Wire Staff
updated 2:01 PM EST, Sat December 10, 2011
Gingrich: Palestinians are 'invented'STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Gingrich's spokesman said the candidate backs a negotiated peace
Gingrich called the Palestinians are an "invented" people
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat says the comments are "racist"
A fellow Republican presidential contender has also criticized the comments
(CNN) -- Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich stands by his support for a Palestinian state, his spokesman said Saturday, despite his comment about an "invented Palestinian people" that has drawn fire from leaders in the West Bank and from a GOP rival.
Gingrich backs a negotiated peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, said his spokesman, R.C. Hammond. But the Gingrich camp made no apology for the remark -- which some Palestinian leaders declared "racist" -- saying the former House speaker was simply referencing "decades of complex history."
Top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat, who has negotiated in talks with Israel and the United States, said the remark shows "how really despicable things can get" in American politics.
"Such thinking should be an alarm and concern for the world," said Erakat, calling it "the most racist statement I've ever seen."
Gingrich made the comments in an interview that aired Friday with The Jewish Channel, a U.S. cable channel.
"I believe that the Jewish people have the right to have a state," Gingrich said in the interview. "Remember, there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire. And I think that we've had an invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs, who are historically part of the Arab community."
He added, "And they had a chance to go many places and for a variety of political reasons, we have sustained this war against Israel now since the 1940s. I think it's tragic."
Gingrich defines health care stance
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His comments come days after Gingrich attended a forum sponsored by the Republican Jewish Coalition in Washington, D.C., and as the current crop of GOP candidates compete for the Jewish vote.
They initially seemed off the path from United States foreign policy, which supports a two-state solution in the Middle East.
But Gingrich press secretary R.C. Hammond said Saturday that the candidate backs "a negotiated peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, which will necessarily include agreement between Israel and the Palestinians over the borders of a Palestinian state."
Hammond emphasized that understanding "what is being proposed and negotiated" requires a grasp of "decades of complex history -- which is exactly what Gingrich was referencing during the recent interview. "
Still, Palestinians including Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Gingrich needs to reexamine the history books.
"The Palestinian people inhabited the land since the dawn of history, and intend to remain in it until the end times," Fayyad said Saturday at an event in the West Bank city of Ramallah. "People like Gingrich must consult history, as it seems that all what he knows about the region is the history of the Ottoman era."
Fayyad said "despite oppression, occupation, and assaults, the Palestinian people remain steadfast in their historic land, and will achieve their legitimate rights."
An executive committee member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hanan Ashrawi, said Gingrich has "lost touch with reality."
The statements show "ignorance and bigotry" and are "a cheap way to win (the) pro-Israel vote," Ashrawi told Voice of Palestine radio, in comments reported by the Palestinian Authority-controlled WAFA news agency.
Fatah Revolutionary Council member Dimitri Diliani said Gingrich's remarks reflect "the ignorant, provocative, and racist nature of Mr. Gingrich," according to WAFA.
Then and now: A lot the same for Gingrich
"The Palestinian people descended from the Canaanite tribe of the Jebusites that inhabited the ancient site of Jerusalem as early as 3200 B.C.E.," Diliani said. The "Gingrich remarks are ignorant of the basic historical facts of the Middle East."
Diliani also said Gingrich was simply seeking the pro-Israel vote, which he said is "a pathetic political scheme that jeopardizes peace and stability in the region."
While some Israelis share the view espoused by Gingrich, successive Israeli governments have negotiated over the creation of a two-state solution that includes the establishment of a Palestinian state.
But Gingrich, in the interview, described the Middle East peace process as "delusional." He placed heavy blame on the Palestinian Authority and the role of Hamas, the ruling political party in Gaza, for the ongoing unrest, saying they both "represent an enormous desire to destroy Israel."
The Gingrich comments quickly drew criticism from a fellow Republican, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. A spokesman for Romney, who is Gingrich's closest competitor, questioned the former House speaker's approach.
"I'm not sure that kind of statement gets us any closer to accomplishing an agenda," said Mary Kramer, former U.S. Ambassador to Barbados and Romney supporter. "And so that's one of the things that I think makes me a little bit nervous about Speaker Gingrich is that he sometimes makes comments that open to very broad interpretations."
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said Gingrich's "divisive and destructive" remarks were simply an effort to attract attention to himself.
"Gingrich is wrong to think his attempt to turn the Palestinians into a non-people with no claim to a state will appeal to his audience on the Jewish Channel," he said.

All you need is love - and money
Shane Farrell, December 11, 2011/Now Lebanon
The current economic climate is proving to be an added test for young couples in Lebanon, especially among the less well-off. (AFP PHOTO/JOSEPH EID)
Fall in love, get married, buy a house. Before “living happily ever after,” that’s the basic plan for many aspiring newlyweds. But with financial constraints ever-present – and increasing – couples are finding it more and more difficult to find affordable housing. This, of course, not only delays the fairy tale, it can also strain a relationship up to the breaking point.
Using Egypt as the focal point of a 2007 study, the political scientist Diane Singerman identified a stage in the lives of many young people, which fits uncomfortably between adolescence and adulthood. Singerman coined the term “waithood” (a portmanteau of "wait" and "adulthood") to describe the lengthy period of time during which young people remain single while trying to save money for marriage. Although focused on one country, she identified a similar pattern across the Middle East.
In Lebanon the trend is noticeably present, as it is quite common for young adults – especially men – to emigrate for financial reasons before returning years later to find a Lebanese partner. It is not difficult to see how this has contributed to the country’s relatively high average age of marriage, with women at 28 and men at 31, according to estimates.
Those who stay face the challenges of a country that is becoming more expensive, where GDP is slowing – an indicator that employment opportunities are lessening – and proposed wage increases are not commensurate with the rising cost of living, at least in some people’s eyes.
So what are enamored couples supposed to do?
Unsurprisingly, many newlyweds who can’t afford to buy a house tend to rent, move to a cheaper area, live with one of the partner’s parents or build a house of their own above that of their parents. But this far from ideal solution doesn’t solve the problem. In fact, it often creates new ones.
Psychologist Danielle Pichon identified living with, or in the vicinity of ones in-laws as a common source of problems among married couples. “It causes a lot of tension [in the relationship]. It’s very rare when it doesn’t,” she said.
Dr. Pichon stressed that it is far more common for a wife to live with or near her husband’s parents rather than the other way around. She also explained that much of the tension arises because the wife is expected to conform to rules set by her in-laws; apart from that, it is not rare the case that she is expected to look after them and her husband.
Tension between a spouse and their in-laws is not uncommon. According to a UK study, it is more prevalent between a wife and her in-laws than between a husband and his. The 2009 study revealed that 60% of women felt that friction with their husband's mother had caused them long-term stress.
When living in close quarters, as is commonly the case in Lebanon, it can be argued that the situation is far worse.
In other cases, the inability of the couple to afford a house has led to the unraveling of a relationship. Aya Mhanna, a family and couples councilor, identified several cases of this occurring among her clients. In one particular example, the couple twice postponed the wedding because they couldn’t afford it or a house. In the end they broke up because the woman’s family were unhappy with the situation and were worried about how it might appear to people in the community.
Both Mhanna and Pichon state that these problems are faced by both middle-income and lower class Lebanese.
However, these issues are also prevalent within Palestinian camps. Due to overcrowding, lower wages and the inability of Palestinians to own property outside the camp, the problems tend to be more acute.
Tradition dictates that a prospective husband needs to be able to afford a house before a woman’s family will agree to the marriage. Nowadays, with housing becoming harder and harder to afford, some locals are adapting to the current reality.
“When I got married there were 9,000 people [living in the camp]; now there are 19,000,”explained Borj al Barajneh resident Kholoud, adding that more and more parents are permitting their daughters to marry a man who can afford to rent a house.
Another resident told NOW Lebanon that unaffordable housing is also contributing to somewhat of a social change, whereby the number of women working to supplement – or finance – housing is rising.
On the other hand, many still demand that their child’s potential spouse can afford housing, including Kholoud. However she did concede that she would give her blessing “[If] this is their last option; only if my daughter insists and they can’t find any other alternatives.”

MP Estephan Douaihy denies threatening MTV
December 11, 2011
Free and United Lebanon bloc MP Estephan Douaihy denied on Sunday that he threatened MTV after it reported that his bodyguards assaulted Lebanese citizen Hussein al-Falyti on the Jounieh highway.
In a statement issued by his press office, Douaihy said that around 3:00 p.m. he received word of the “personal and unfortunate” incident in which one of his bodyguards assaulted Falyti.
The MP also said that he contacted the relevant authorities and voiced the importance of resolving the dispute legally, adding that the bodyguard was turned over to the police.
He also condemned the incident and apologized to Falyti and his family, the statement added.
-NOW Lebanon