LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
January 01/2012
Bible Quotation for today/Testing
and Temptation
James 01/12-18: " Happy are those who remain faithful under trials, because when
they succeed in passing such a test, they will receive as their reward the life
which God has promised to those who love him. If we are tempted by such
trials,... we must not say, This temptation comes from God. For God cannot be
tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. But we are tempted when we are
drawn away and trapped by our own evil desires. Then our evil desires conceive
and give birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Do
not be deceived, my dear friends! Every good gift and every perfect present
comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator of the heavenly lights,
who does not change or cause darkness by turning. By his own will he brought us
into being through the word of truth, so that we should have first place among
all his creatures".
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for
January 01/12
World rings in 2012 and
bids adieu to a tough year
Iranian missile spin closes Hormuz for five hours
Iran says ready for nuclear talks as tensions mount
EU open to nuclear talks with Iran, without preconditions
Syria's two largest opposition groups sign draft deal for
post-Assad democracy
Syria opposition charts
transition as blood flows
Egypt Muslims, Christians clash over prophet cartoon
Zasypkin: Syria observer mission deserves
political, moral support
March 14 says to carry on with 'Cedar Revolution’
Explosion at Kaslik venue due to gas leak:
police
New rules threaten 250 Lebanese money changers
Alloush: Ghosn’s Al-Qaeda claims serve Damascus
Iran says ready for nuclear
talks as tensions mount
Yossi Melman / 2012: The year that could bring a U.S.
strike of Iran
Canada Concerned by Reports of Intimidation in Egypt
Hundreds of thousands rally in Syria as 32 reported killed
Egypt assures U.S. no more raids on NGOs, as Panetta urges
transition to democracy
Syrians show discontent
to monitors
UN presses Syria as death toll mounts
Soviet envoy warned Nixon and Kissinger against Mideast
war in 1973, documents reveal
Israel says it killed a
senior Salafist militant in Gaza airstrike
IDF Chief: Nuclear Iran a threat to entire region, not just to Israel
Assad can force end to Syria crisis but wishes to avoid bloodshed, Lebanon
official says
Iran announces long-range missile test amid Strait of Hormuz row with U.S.
U.S. cautious in face of mounting criticism on Arab League monitors in Syria
Activists hold solidarity gathering, condemn
attack on Tyre restaurant
New rules threaten 250
Lebanese money changers
Calm sit-in held near U.S. Embassy
Iranian missile spin closes Hormuz for five hours
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report/December 31, 2011/By a media trick, Tehran proved its
claim that closing the Strait of Hormuz is as "easy as drinking water,"
debkafile reports. First thing Saturday morning, Saturday, Dec. 31, Iran's state
agencies "reported" long-range and other missiles had been test-fired as part of
its ongoing naval drill around the Strait of Hormuz. Ahead of the test, Tehran
closed its territorial waters. For five hours Saturday, not a single warship,
merchant vessel or oil tanker ventured into the 30-mile wide Hormuz strait,
waiting to hear from Tehran' that the test was over.
Instead, around 0900 local time, a senior Iranian navy commander Mahmoud
Moussavi informed Iran's English language Press TV that no missiles had been
fired after all. "The exercise of launching missiles will be carried out in the
coming days," he said.
For five hours therefore, world shipping obeyed Tehran's warning and gave the
narrow waterway through which one-fifth of the world's oil passes, a wide berth.
They stayed out of range of a test which, debkafile's military sources report,
aimed to demonstrate for the first time that Shahab-3 ballistic missiles which
have a range of 1,600 kilometers and other missiles, such as the Nasr1cruise
marine missile, are capable of reaching Hormuz from central Iran.
The Moussavi statement was not aired on Iran's Farsi-language media. It was not
necessary; Tehran had demonstrated by this ruse that it could close the vital
waterway for hours or days at any moment.
Friday night, shortly after Tehran reported the missile-firing test was to take
place the next morning, Washington announced the $3.48 billion sale to the
United Arab Emirates of 94 advanced THAAD missiles with supporting technology.
Like the $30 billion sale of 84 F-15 fighter jets to the Saudi Arabia announced
this week, delivery dates were not specified. The first F-15s for Saudi Arabia
are due some time in 2015. It must therefore be said that the announced
sophisticated US arms sales to the Persian Gulf nations bear only tangentially
on the current state of tension in the region around Iranian threats.
The Hormuz missile stratagem has given Tehran three advantages in its face-off
with Washington and the Gulf Arab governments:
1. It gave credibility to the threats issued by Iranian military chiefs last
week regarding free passage in the Strait of Hormuz and Western sanctions:
On Dec. 29, Navy commander Adm. Habibollah Sayari said it was "really easy" for
Iran's armed forces to shut the strait, adding "But today, we don't need [to
shut] the strait because we have the Sea of Oman under control and can control
the transit."
The next day, Deputy Commander of the Revolutionary Guards Gen. Hossein Salami
said the United States was not in a position to tell Tehran "what to do in the
Strait of Hormuz. Any threat will be responded to by threat… We will not
relinquish our strategic moves if Iran's vital interests are undermined by any
means."
2. For Tehran, closing the vital waterway to international traffic without
firing a shot – even for a few hours – served to rebut the warning given by US
Fifth Fleet spokeswoman Lt. Rebecca Rebarich on Dec. 29. She said: "Anyone who
threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly
outside the community of nations: any disruption will not be tolerated."
It also addressed the dispatch of the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier
through the strait into the Sea of Oman in proximity to Iran's ten-day Velayati
90 naval drill. The Stennis, accompanied only by a single destroyer,
demonstrated US confidence in its military muscle against any Iranian threat.
As the Stennis passed through the big US air base at al-Udeid, Qatar, went on
high alert.
3. Tehran did not explain why its war game, designated in advance a display of
Iranian naval and air control of the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman,
suddenly morphed into a ballistic missile test; nor its postponement.debkafile's
military sources report that the Iranians were in fact sending a message to the
Gulf rulers and the US bases on their soil that they would not escape missile
retaliation for a possible US or Israel attack on the Islamic Republic's nuclear
facilities or harsh sanctions.
Iran says ready for nuclear talks as tensions mount
AFP/Top negotiator Saeed Jalili has said Iran is ready to rejoin EU-led talks
with major powers on assuaging Western concerns over its nuclear programme even
as tensions with the United States soar in the Gulf. "We will give a resounding
and many-pronged response to any threat against the Islamic Republic of Iran,"
Jalili told Iranian diplomats gathered in Tehran in comments reported on
Saturday. But both he and other officials left the door open to resuming
long-stalled talks led by European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton
on Western concerns over Iran's nuclear programme. "We officially told them to
come back to the negotiation based on cooperation," Jalili said.
Iran's ambassador to Germany, Alireza Sheikh-Attar, told the Mehr news agency on
Saturday: "We will soon send a letter, after which (new) talks will be
scheduled."
Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi was also quoted by a website of the state
broadcaster as telling a visiting Chinese foreign ministry official that "Iran
is prepared for the continuation of nuclear negotiations" on the basis of a
Russian proposal. Iran is subject to four rounds of UN sanctions over its
nuclear programme, which many Western governments fear is cover for a drive for
a weapons capability, an ambition Tehran denies. The United States and its
allies have also imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran's economy.
The last lot of unilateral sanctions triggered a demonstration in Tehran that
led to members of the Basij militia controlled by the Revolutionary Guards
ransacking the British embassy.
London reacted by closing the mission and ordering Iran's embassy in Britain
closed. More sanctions are on the way. US President Barack Obama is expected to
sign into law soon additional restrictions on Iran's central bank, which acts as
the main conduit for Iranian oil sales. The European Union is considering other
measures that could include an embargo on Iranian oil imports, with foreign
ministers to meet on the issue in a month's time. Iran's oil minister, Rostam
Qasemi, told the Aseman weekly that sanctions "will drive up the price of oil to
at least $200" per barrel. Tehran has warned that if the threatened sanctions
are implemented it will consider closing the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic
waterway through which more than a third of the world's tanker-borne oil
supplies pass.
Activists hold solidarity gathering, condemn attack on Tyre restaurant
December 31, 12/By Mohammed Zaatari The Daily Star
TYRE, Lebanon: Activists, unions, civil society groups and politicians gathered
Friday at the Tyre restaurant that was bombed earlier this week to condemn the
attack.
At the Tyros restaurant gathering, Nasser Farram, deputy head of Tyre’s Cultural
Forum, read a statement in the name of those present in which he condemned the
“criminal explosion that aimed [both] at terrorizing the owners of tourist
institutions and restaurants and at forcing them through repression – and not
guidance – to follow the conceptions of criminals and those behind them of what
is allowed and what is banned.”No casualties have been reported from the
Wednesday explosion at the Tyros, which is meters from the Queen Elissa Hotel,
which along with a wholesale liquor store, was the target of a similar attack
last month that appeared to be related to the sale of alcohol. Tyros’ owner
Zuheir Aranaout, who was the only representative of Tyre’s tourism sector at the
Wednesday meeting, has repaired the damage to his restaurant and told The Daily
Star that it will host a planned New Year’s Eve Party.No suspect has been
arrested in any of the three bombings, and Farram’s statement denounced this.
The statement also called on those not present “not to get confused between the
understandable and legitimate religious convictions of some and the process of
enforcing these convictions through terror.”
Speaking to The Daily Star, Farram attacked Hezbollah without explicitly naming
the party, saying that “two years ago a traditional Brazilian band was banned
from performing a dance show in Tyre, despite the municipality’s original
approval, because of heavy pressure put on the former municipal council.”“Today
it starts with alcohol, tomorrow [forcing women to wear] veils, and later
banning music and going to the beach,” Farram said. “We defend freedom and we do
not need anyone to give us morality lessons. The duty of the religious man is to
convince the drinker that alcohol harms him, but no one can ban another from
drinking.”Ghassan Farran, head of Tyre’s Literature and Thought Forum said that
“what is taking place here sends a wrong message to society ... We reject this
manner of expression. It is barbaric and targets social, economic and cultural
structures by violating human rights.”Among the political figures in attendance
were Mohammad Safieddine of the Syrian National Socialist Party and Ali Jamal of
the Lebanese Communist Party. Safeiddine called for an increased number of
security forces and patrols, and Jamal said “we reject a method that completely
contradicts the freedoms protected by Lebanese law.”
IDF Chief: Nuclear Iran a threat to entire region, not just
to Israel
Benny Gantz says Israel, international community can meet challenge of nuclear
Iran through 'proper preparations.'
By Gili Cohen /IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz said on Friday that a nuclear Iran
is a regional threat no less than it is a threat to Israel, and that "through
appropriate International and Israeli preparations, which I will not specify
here, this challenge can be met." Speaking before high school students in Beer
Tuvia near Ashkelon, Gantz was asked by a student about Iran's nuclear program.
"Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons and this topic should concern us," he
said. Gantz spoke about the security developments in the region, and said that
the current events in neighboring countries may lead to the rise of radical and
Islamist organizations. "I would be happy if this phenomenon leads to democratic
neighboring countries, but in case of negative developments there is room for
concern," he said. According to Gantz, poverty and economic hardship may
strengthen radical and Islamists elements, "and that possibility seems more
likely." Gantz also referred to segregation of women in the IDF, and said "there
is no place for it." Women "can take pride in their service and in their
singing," he said. Earlier on Friday, Iran proclaimed that it will start testing
long range missiles in the Persian Gulf amid a verbal row with the United States
over blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping route. "On Saturday
morning the Iranian navy will test several of its long-range missiles in the
Persian Gulf," navy deputy commander Admiral Mahmoud Moussavi told Fars news
agency.
Assad can force end to Syria crisis but wishes to avoid
bloodshed, Lebanon official says
Lebanese lawmaker and Assad aide Wiam Wahab says Syrian President will not be
forced to step down, will agree for orderly change of regime through democratic
elections.
By Jack Khoury/ Syrian President Bashar Assad can forcibly resolve a lengthy
standoff with opposition activists but chooses not to do so in order to avoid
bloodshed, a Lebanese lawmaker and Assad aide said on Friday. Wiam Wahab added
that Assad will never agree to be forced out of his position and will only allow
a regime change through democratic elections. Meanwhile Friday, the spokesperson
of Syria’s Foreign Ministry Jihad al-Makdisi said that Damascus was satisfied
with the work of visiting Arab League monitors, adding that the Assad regime was
not interfering in their work and was in fact providing security and defense to
the mission. Earlier Friday, the commander of the anti-government Free Syrian
Army has been ordered to stop offensive operations pending a meeting with the
Arab League monitors.
Colonel Riad al-Asaad said his forces had so far been unable to talk to the
monitors, in the first week of their month-long mission, and he was still trying
to contact them urgently.
"I issued an order to stop all operations from the day the committee entered
Syria last Friday. All operations against the regime are to be stopped except in
a situation of self defense," he told Reuters.
"We have tried to communicate with them and we requested a meeting with the
team. So far there hasn't been any success. We haven't been given any of the
(phone) numbers for the monitors, which we have requested. No one has contacted
us either." Assad has agreed to an Arab League plan to order a verifiable
withdrawal of his heavy weapons and army from turbulent Syrian cities where more
than 5,000 people have been killed since March, many shot during peaceful
anti-government protests but also many killed in rebel attacks and defense
actions.
The Arab League mission has met with strong scepticism from the outset, over its
makeup, its small numbers, its reliance on Syrian government logistics and an
initial assessment by its Sudanese chief that the situation was "reassuring".
That comment was met with disbelief in the West on Wednesday but on Friday,
Syria's ally Russia accepted the judgment. “Judging by the public statements
made by the chief of the mission M. Al-Dabi, who in the first of his visits went
to the city of Homs ... the situation seems to be reassuring," the Russian
Foreign Ministry said on its website.
Sudan's General Mustafa al-Dabi, who some link to war crimes in Darfur in the
1990s, visited the flashpoint city of Homs briefly on Tuesday and said he saw
"nothing frightening".
Activist video from Homs over the months has depicted a trail of death and
destruction sowed by the military, with hundreds of killings of civilians
reported. The foreign ministry said Moscow was counting on the team's
"professionalism and impartiality".
Egypt assures U.S. no more raids on NGOs, as Panetta urges transition to
democracy
Commitment follows police raid on offices of 17 NGOs, including several that
receive U.S. backing.
By Reuters/Egyptian officials have assured the United States they will halt
raids on pro-democracy and human rights groups and return property seized in a
crackdown that strained ties with Washington, U.S. officials said on Friday.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and the U.S. ambassador in Egypt, Anne
Patterson, spoke with top Egyptian officials including the head of the Supreme
Council of the Armed Forces on Friday to press U.S. demands that the
non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, be allowed to resume normal operations,
"The ambassador has sought and received Egyptian leadership assurances that the
raids will cease and property will be returned immediately," U.S. State
Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in emailed comments. Panetta spoke
on Friday with the leader of the military council, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein
Tantawi to convey his concern over the raid, Defense Department spokesman George
Little said. "After two successful rounds of parliamentary elections, the
secretary emphasized that it is critical for Egypt to continue on the path to
democratic transition," Little said. "The secretary reaffirmed the importance of
the U.S.-Egyptian security relationship, and made clear that the United States
remains committed to the strategic partnership and stands ready to cooperate
with Egypt as it continues its democratic transition." The United States reacted
sharply on Thursday after Egyptian police raided the offices of 17
non-governmental groups, including several that receive U.S. backing, and hinted
it could review the $1.3 billion in annual U.S. military aid to Cairo if the
raids continued. The European Union also expressed concern, saying on Friday the
police raids amounted to an "open demonstration of force" and urged authorities
to support civil society. Egypt's official MENA news agency said the raid was
part of a probe into foreign funding of civil society groups, which helped drive
the protests that toppled President Hosni Mubarak in February and have been
frequent critics of the army's response to continued street unrest. Among those
targeted in Thursday's raid were the International Republican Institute and
National Democratic Institute, which are loosely associated with the U.S.
Democratic and Republican political parties and receive U.S. government funding
for programs aimed at promoting democracy in Egypt and elsewhere. Nuland said
Patterson had agreed to participate in a dialogue with Egyptian officials "to
resolve the underlying issues related to the operation of U.S.-supported NGOs in
a transparent, open manner." "These NGOs should be allowed to operate freely as
they do in countries around the world in support of democracy and free
elections," Nuland said. Egypt's ruling generals have pledged to stand aside by
mid-2012, but many democracy activists say the military is eager to preserve its
privileges and broad business interests.
UN presses Syria as death toll mounts
Syria government must give Arab League observers unhindered access, UN says, as
dozens killed in bloody Friday across restive nation
Associated Press Published: 12.30.11
The United Nations says it's critical that the Syrian government give the Arab
League's observer mission unhindered access and its full cooperation as
thousands of protesters take to that country's streets to underscore their
defiance of the regime.
Martin Nesirky, spokesman for Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, said Friday that
the league efforts to peacefully resolve the crisis in Syria are important
Nesirky spoke as a deeply divided Security Council has yet to pass a resolution
condemning the violence which the UN says has killed more than 5,000 people.
The nearly 100 Arab League monitors are the first that Syria has allowed into
the country during the current uprising that began in March. Meanwhile, in the
largest protests Syria has seen in months, hundreds of thousands of people took
to the streets Friday in a display of defiance to show the Arab League observer
mission the strength of the opposition movement.
Despite the monitors' presence in the country, activists said Syrian forces
loyal to President Bashar Assad killed at least 22 people, most of them shot
during the anti-government demonstrations. According to reports by al-Arabiya,
as many as 43 people died in Friday's violence, including five members of
Syria's security forces. In a further attempt to appeal to the monitors,
dissident troops who have broken away from the Syrian army said they have halted
attacks on regime forces to reinforce the activists' contention that the
uprising against Assad is a peaceful movement.
Ynet contributed to the story
Canada Concerned by Reports of Intimidation in Egypt
(No. 396 - December 30, 2011 - 4:30 p.m. ET) Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird
today issued the following statement regarding recent reports from Egypt:
“I am deeply concerned by reports of raids on the offices of Egyptian and
international civil society groups. Non-governmental organizations that support
democracy, human rights and the rule of law should be aided and applauded, not
impeded and intimidated. “Canada will continue to support Egypt’s transition to
democracy, one that respects all citizens and groups striving to build a
brighter future.
“We urge the Egyptian authorities to take all necessary steps to ensure a
peaceful democratic transition. There is no place in the new Egypt for these
repressive and violent tactics.”
Question: "What sort of New Year’s Resolution should a
Christian make?"
Answer: The practice of making New Year’s resolutions goes back over 3,000 years
to the ancient Babylonians. There is just something about the start of a new
year that gives us the feeling of a fresh start and a new beginning. In reality,
there is no difference between December 31 and January 1. Nothing mystical
occurs at midnight on December 31. The Bible does not speak for or against the
concept of New Year’s resolutions. However, if a Christian determines to make a
New Year’s resolution, what kind of resolution should he or she make?
Common New Year’s resolutions are commitments to quit smoking, to stop drinking,
to manage money more wisely, and to spend more time with family. By far, the
most common New Year’s resolution is to lose weight, in conjunction with
exercising more and eating more healthily. These are all good goals to set.
However, 1 Timothy 4:8 instructs us to keep exercise in perspective: “For
physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things,
holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” The vast
majority of New Year’s resolutions, even among Christians, are in relation to
physical things. This should not be.
Many Christians make New Year’s resolutions to pray more, to read the Bible
every day, and to attend church more regularly. These are fantastic goals.
However, these New Year’s resolutions fail just as often as the non-spiritual
resolutions, because there is no power in a New Year’s resolution. Resolving to
start or stop doing a certain activity has no value unless you have the proper
motivation for stopping or starting that activity. For example, why do you want
to read the Bible every day? Is it to honor God and grow spiritually, or is it
because you have just heard that it is a good thing to do? Why do you want to
lose weight? Is it to honor God with your body, or is it for vanity, to honor
yourself?
Philippians 4:13 tells us, “I can do everything through Him who gives me
strength.” John 15:5 declares, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man
remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do
nothing.” If God is the center of your New Year’s resolution, it has chance for
success, depending on your commitment to it. If it is God’s will for something
to be fulfilled, He will enable you to fulfill it. If a resolution is not God
honoring and/or is not in agreement in God’s Word, we will not receive God’s
help in fulfilling the resolution.
So, what sort of New Year’s resolution should a Christian make? Here are some
suggestions: (1) pray to the Lord for wisdom (James 1:5) in regards to what
resolutions, if any, He would have you make; (2) pray for wisdom as to how to
fulfill the goals God gives you; (3) rely on God’s strength to help you; (4)
find an accountability partner who will help you and encourage you; (5) don’t
become discouraged with occasional failures; instead, allow them to motivate you
further; (6) don’t become proud or vain, but give God the glory. Psalm 37:5-6
says, “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will
make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the
noonday sun.”
We Will Not Fail Our People
Farid Ghadry Blog
Not too often one comes across an inadvertent internal leak, unattributed to
WikiLeaks, but as damaging as they come. This leak was delivered by none other
than the Secretary of State herself Hillary Clinton.
During a meeting with several Syrian dissidents very few people know who they
are, Secretary Clinton asked the dissidents, point blank, not to not take-up any
arms. Ynet published an interview with two of the dissidents and if you did not
read the interview, it's a must because it confirms what I have been saying
since 2003 in regard to how Syrians feel about Israel and the Jewish people in
general.
One has to assume that Secretary Clinton's words were meant to assuage the
situation rather than complicate matters, which may lead to a civili war or some
other tragedy the world is unwilling to assist in resolving. Sitting in the
comfort of several NEA offices at Foggy Bottom, one has to also assume that the
information gatherers and analysts may be seeing matters from a different
perspective than the Syrians on the street being butchered like animals.
But the words of the Secretary ring hollow when all that follows are timid and
visionless policies. "Ok, we will not defend ourselves" may be asked by the
Syrian people "But what is it exactly you are going to do to stop Assad from
killing us?". It's a legitimate question to ask of someone who seems to provide
you with advice against your self-interest.
Had any of RPS members been present in the meeting with Clinton and she was not
able to provide a concrete actionable solution to our tragedy, they would have
been compelled to ask her if she thinks Syrians should just make it easier for
Assad by digging their own mass graves.
There is a good reason why the US State Department avoids RPS or its many
supporters around the world. When it comes to the security and safety of our
people, matters are either black or white because their suffering has been
going-on for too long for any of us to take any other stand. We are just
color-blind to the whims of politics-as-usual. One of the reasons I stand by the
Jewish people is because they have suffered from the results of appeasers with
visionless politics. Syrians are experiencing the same history today.
Just consider how abandoned our people feel. To their left stands the
unapologetic Obama with his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to their right
stands the cruel and egotistical Arab League, and smack in the center stands
Assad the terrorist with his heavy artillery raining on them. Hidden from view
are the countless advisors like Senator John Kerry and many others scurrying
with ideas on how to protect his best friend Baschar al-Assad.
Our people have but our voices, connections, Blogs, and determination to protect
them. Unlike the Gulf countries who can rely on their most important assets in
oil, Syria's only asset is its people. Playing with their lives is not an option
and we will not fail them at any cost.