LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 20/2012

Bible Quotation for today/Eyewitnesses of Christ's Glory
02 Peter01/16-21: " We have not depended on made-up stories in making known to you the mighty coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. With our own eyes we saw his greatness.We were there when he was given honor and glory by God the Father, when the voice came to him from the Supreme Glory, saying, This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased! We ourselves heard this voice coming from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain. So we are even more confident of the message proclaimed by the prophets. You will do well to pay attention to it, because it is like a lamp shining in a dark place until the Day dawns and the light of the morning star shines in your hearts. Above all else, however, remember that none of us can explain by ourselves a prophecy in the Scriptures. For no prophetic message ever came just from the human will, but people were under the control of the Holy Spirit as they spoke the message that came from God.

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Muslim Persecution of Christians: February, 2012/by Raymond Ibrahim/Stonegate Institute/March 19, 2012
The Russian bear does a backflip/By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat/March 19/12

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for March 19/12
Assad to Anan: Syrian missiles will pre-empt any military intervention
Israel to attack Lebanon's state targets in next war
Sarkozy on Toulouse attack: Anti-Semitic motivation appears obvious
French police: Gun used in Jewish school attack tied to murder of Muslim soldiers
Israel, French Jewish community express shock over Toulouse shooting
France shooting is attack on all Jews, say U.S., European Jewish groups
French Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, 30, killed in Toulouse shooting
Sefy Hendler / France attack on Jews is not just a national tragedy, but a political drama
Motorcycle gunman kills 4, including father and 2 sons, outside Toulouse Jewish school
Canadian Statement on the Deadly Shooting in France/19.04.12
Barak: Hezbollah is continuing to target Jews
New Hezbollah arms, training jeopardize Israel's aerial supremacy: report
Israeli citizens’ online initiative expresses love for Iran
UN cancels Hamas official visit to Human Rights Council after Israeli complaint
Ehud Barak to sign deal for delivery of sixth German-made submarine
Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird  to Visit Middle East, Bolster Relations
Canada Stands Against Hamas Attending UN Human Rights Council
Geagea Says Aoun Attacking LF to Shift Attention from His Ministers 'Catastrophic Failure'
Maronite church does not take sides during uprisings, says Rai
Aoun: Geagea loses his composure, Jumblatt burns his bridges
Jumblatt: Russia crucial to ending Syria conflict
Lebanese Cabinet session to tackle formation of petroleum body  
Lebanon: Temporary funding approved to keep HRC running
Lebanese ISF detains 6 suspected collaborators
In Beirut, Bahraini Activists Rally against 'Saudi Interference'
Phalange: We Condemn Attempts to Harm the Army as it Represents Lebanon’s Unity
U.S. official continues talks on maritime borders -
Lebanese Authorities Seek to Regulate Chaos of Special Passports
Mansour from Russia: Syrian Crisis Not Linked to Opposition, But Settling Scores with Regime
At least 80 killed in heavy clashes near Syrian capital
Paris Hopes for Tuesday Vote on U.N. Syria Statement
Western powers draft new U.N. council statement on Syria
An Iraq-style civil war seems to be taking off in Syria
 Russian anti-terror troops reportedly enter Syria
Clashes bring insurgency to Damascus
Clashes in Damascus as Red Cross aims for truce
Turkey Vows to Bring Back Journalists Missing in Syria

The Lebanese Canadian Coordinating Council (LCCC) Condemns the Deadly Shooting In France
Elias Bejjani/ March 19/12:  In my capacity as Chairman for the LCCC, I strongly condemn the cowardly, horrible and savage crime that place today in France "Toulouse" in front of the Ozar Hatorah Toulouse Jewish School. We extend our heartily felt condolences to the families and friends of the victims, wish the injured quick recovery and our prayers for the souls of the innocent victims. The LCCC fully stands with the people and government of France in this difficult time. Meanwhile Our organization adopts, hails and fully supports the statement that our Canadian government issued today in regards to this condemned crime.
Canada/Toronto
Elias Bejjani
http://www.10452lccc.com

Canadian Statement on the Deadly Shooting in France
http://www.international.gc.ca/media/aff/news-communiques/2012/03/19a.aspx
March 19, 2012 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement on the deadly shooting in Toulouse, France, that killed four people, three of them children: “Canada unequivocally condemns the cowardly and murderous attack that took place this morning in front of Ozar Hatorah Toulouse Jewish school. “On behalf of all Canadians, I offer my deepest condolences to the families and friends of those killed and wish a speedy recovery to those injured by this senseless act of violence. “Canada stands with the people and the government of France in this difficult time.”

Motorcycle gunman kills 4, including father and 2 sons, outside Toulouse Jewish school
By Johanne Decorse, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press
TOULOUSE, France - A motorcycle gunman opened fire Monday in front of a Jewish school in the southwest French city of Toulouse, killing a father, his two sons and one other child, the prosecutor's office said.Prosecutor Michel Valet said a 30-year-old man and his 3-year-old and 6-year-old sons were killed in the attack just before classes started at the Ozar Hatorah school. He said another child, between 8 and 10 years old, was also killed, and a 17-year-old seriously injured. French authorities were stepping up security at all Jewish schools in France, Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said, adding the suspect made his getaway on a dark-colored scooter. The school behind a high white wall with few external markings was cordoned off Monday by police, who then escorted other children out. One officer held a distraught girl, her face in her hands. A mother and son wearing a yarmulke walked away from the site, their faces visibly pained. A video camera was visible at the school's entrance. "The drama occurred a bit before 8 a.m. A man arrived in front of the school on a motorcycle or scooter," Valet said, adding that the man got off his scooter outside the school and opened fire.
"He shot at everything he had in front of him, children and adults," he said. "The children were chased inside the school"
The prosecutor said the suspect probably used two weapons, including one of a large calibre.
It was the latest in a week of motorcycle shooting attacks in France. A gunman on a motorbike opened fire on three uniformed paratroopers at a bank machine Thursday in Montauban in southern France, killing two and critically wounding the other. Four days earlier, a gunman on a motorbike shot and killed another paratrooper in Toulouse, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) away.
The Paris prosecutor's office said Monday it will investigate eventual terrorist links to Monday's killing and the two killings of paratroopers last week. The prosecutor's office, in a statement, did not indicate any evidence so far of any form of terrorism. Both the prosecutor and Brandet said there were similarities with the attack four days ago in Montauban. Brandet noted that in both cases scooters were used and both suspects were apparently very determined. A week ago in Toulouse, there was a deadly attack on another paratrooper.
In each case the assailant was on a scooter. Authorities said at the time that forensic analysis showed the same weapon was used in the shootings in Montauban and Toulouse.
President Nicolas Sarkozy accompanied by Richard Prasquier, the president of CRIF, the umbrella group representing Jewish organizations, were heading to the school.
Elaine Ganley and Thomas Adamson in Paris contributed to this report.

Canada Stands Against Hamas Attending UN Human Rights Council
March 19, 2012 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement:
“I was extremely troubled to learn earlier today that a senior official of Hamas, a listed terrorist organization, was accredited to attend an event on the margins of the 19th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva.
“Canada found this completely outrageous. As soon as I learned of this matter, I instructed our delegation in Geneva to make our opposition known at the highest levels and in the strongest of terms. I also instructed the Canadian delegation not to attend any meeting or function where this individual was or might be present.
“I am pleased to note that the accreditation has since been revoked.
“Legitimizing Hamas in any way, shape or form at a UN event is, quite simply, counter to the spirit, purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird  to Visit Middle East, Bolster Relations
March 19, 2012 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird will travel to Saudi Arabia and Qatar from March 20 to 21, 2012.
In Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian capital, Baird will meet his counterpart, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.
In Jeddah, Baird will meet with Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Topics of discussion will include the deteriorating situation in Syria, Iran, regional security throughout the Middle East, trade and commerce, and other matters of mutual interest. Baird will also meet with members of the Saudi Human Rights Commission.
While in Qatar, Baird will meet with Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hamad Bin Jassin Bin Jabr Al-Thani. Baird will gauge Qatar’s perspective on the situation in Syria and the broader Middle East, as well as discuss Canada-Qatar bilateral relations.
In Doha, Baird will officially open Canada’s new embassy.
For more information, please visit Canada-Saudi Arabia Relations, Canada-Qatar Relations and Situation In Syria.

Sarkozy on Toulouse attack: Anti-Semitic motivation appears obvious
Ynet /Investigators examining possibility that three soldiers dismissed from army over neo-Nazi activity linked to Monday's attack on Jewish school; terror alert in region at highest level
French police investigating the fatal shootings of a teacher and three children at a Jewish school in Toulouse on Monday are hunting three soldiers who were expelled over claims they were neo-Nazis, the local Le Point newspaper reported. The men were all axed from their elite paratrooper regiment in 2008 after a photo surfaced of them giving Nazi salutes in front of a Swastika flag.
Monday's deadly shooting came just days after three soldiers — from the same 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment with which the dismissed trio served — were shot dead in broad daylight in Montauban 30 miles away last Thursday. Another solider was also shot in a Toulouse street by a motorcycle gunman on March 11. Reports said all the victims were of Jewish, black or North African Arab background. Two of them were Muslim.
According to Le Point, "the profile of these men (dismissed soldiers) corresponds to the scant information investigators have on the Toulouse killer — that is to say muscular and tattooed."
In 2008, the French military identified a neo-Nazi trend in the regiment and proceeded to dismiss soldiers suspected of engaging in neo-Nazi activity.
Investigators confirmed they were looking into the possibility that the three former soldiers were linked to the attacks. At the Ozar Hatorah school in an leafy residential neighborhood in Toulouse, the gunman killed a 30-year old Hebrew teacher, his children aged three and six, and another child, the eight-year-old daughter of the school's principal, who died in her father's arms as medics tried to resuscitate her. A 17-year-old boy was also wounded.
"He came on his motorbike, got off and shot a bullet in the air... Then he got out another gun and started shooting at everyone, at the children. He chased us into the school," Baroukh, a Jewish man living nearby who had come for morning prayers, told Reuters, declining to give his family name.
According to a source who is familiar with the investigation, the same 45-caliber weapon and the same stolen scooter used in the attack on the Jewish school in Toulouse, appeared to have been used in the two previous shooting attacks on French troops.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy rushed to Toulouse to visit the school with Richard Prasquier, the president of CRIF, the umbrella group representing Jewish organizations.
"This act was odious, it cannot remain unpunished," Sarkozy said. "Barbarity, savagery and cruelty cannot win, hate cannot win. The republic is much stronger than all this," Sarkozy said, announcing a minute of silence in schools on Tuesday.
"We do not know the motivations of this criminal. Of course, by attacking children and a teacher who were Jewish, the anti-Semitic motivation appears obvious. Regarding our soldiers, we can imagine that racism and murderous madness are in this case linked," he said Monday night during a special prayer session for the victims at a Paris synagogue.
He said the terrorism alert in the region around Toulouse had been raised to scarlet, its highest level.
Military police reinforcements were rushed into the area and guards were deployed at mosques and synagogues in the region. In the United States, New York police ramped up security at synagogues and other Jewish institutions citywide.
Video surveillance footage showed the gunman bursting into the school and shooting one child at close range in the head, before fleeing on a motorbike, said Nicolas Yardeni, regional head of CRIF.
Hundreds of mourners in prayer caps gathered at the main synagogue in Toulouse, a bustling university town which is a hub for Europe's aerospace industry including aviation manufacturer Airbus. In Paris, thousands staged a silent evening march in central Place de la Republique, while political leaders joined a solemn remembrance ceremony at the grand synogogue.
The bodies of the victims were brought back to the school late Monday night (Israel time). Many local Jews arrived to pay their respects and pray.
**Reuters, AP, AFP, Menachem Gantz (Yedioth Ahronoth) contributed to the report

Assad to Anan: Syrian missiles will pre-empt any military intervention
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report March 19, 2012/ The Middle East has unknowingly been living for ten days under threat of a regional war, which debkafile’s military sources disclose was delivered by Syrian president Bashar Assad to UN-Arab League peace envoy Kofi Annan when they first met Saturday, March 10. Assad warned him in no uncertain terms that Syria was ready to unleash its missiles against any country preparing for military intervention in Syria before they moved. While not mentioning them by name, the Syrian ruler was referring to Britain, France, Norway, Holland and Italy whose navies and air forces were last week drawn up ready for action in positions in the eastern Mediterranean and bases in the Middle East, including the Royal Air Force Akrotiri facility in Cyprus.
A Western military source reported to debkafile Monday night, March 19 that those European forces were standing ready to cordon off certain Syrian regions and cities as “security zones” off limits to Syrian units including its air force. Cruising opposite the Syrian coast are the USS Enterprise and the French Charles de Gaulle, both aircraft carriers. They are part of the combat disposition the West has arrayed against Iran and from their Mediterranean posts would take part in a military confrontation erupting in the Persian Gulf.
In his conversation with Annan,Turkey was the only foe Assad named specifically as his first target for a pre-emptive missile assault. He stressed he would have no qualms about attacking Turkey.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyep Erdogan is due to set out next week on a visit to Seoul where he will rendezvous with US President Barack Obama, possibly on March 28, for policy alignment on the Iranian nuclear threat and the year-old Syrian crisis. Our Washington sources report that Obama has set aside six hours for his conversation with Erdogan.
From the South Korean capital, the Turkish leader is scheduled to fly straight to Tehran. The primary Middle East issues, a nuclear Iran and the Syrian impasse. are therefore destined to reach a critical point in the coming days. This may partly explain the announcement from, Russian Black Sea headquarters at Sevastopol Monday that two Russian naval vessels had put into the Syrian port of Tartus. The vessels’ mission and names were not disclosed, excepting that one carried a unit of “anti-terrorist marines” and the other was a military tanker which joined a Russian naval reconnaissance and surveillance ship already tied up in Tartus.

Israel to attack state targets in next war
March 20, 2012/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Monday that in any future war against Hezbollah, the Jewish state would not refrain from attacking Lebanese state targets, citing the party’s links to the government, according to the Jerusalem Post newspaper. “Unlike in 2006, when we avoided state targets, we will not hesitate to attack – in accordance with international law – Lebanese national infrastructures with all our power,” Barak said. In comments to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Barak added that Israel would hold the Lebanese government responsible for any escalation of conflict between the Jewish state and Hezbollah. He also told the committee that he believed Hezbollah was planning attacks on Jewish targets abroad.

ISF detains 6 suspected collaborators
March 20, 2012/ By Mohammed Zaatari The Daily Star
SIDON, Lebanon: Six people have been detained by the Internal Security Forces as suspected collaborators, according to security sources.They said a former member of the South Lebanon Army militia from the village of Kfar Kila had been taken into custody by the ISF’s Information Branch.
The man’s three brothers were also detained for questioning, along with two other residents of the village.Three of those detained have been transferred to Beirut while the others are being interrogated by the ISF in Marjayoun, the sources added. In another news report it was stated
Lebanon: Police arrested two brothers in south Lebanon Monday for collaborating with Israel.
Ali Mohammad J., 43, and his brother Mohsen J., 37, were apprehended in their home village of Kfar Kila in the district of Marjayoun, south Lebanon.

Geagea Says Aoun Attacking LF to Shift Attention from His Ministers 'Catastrophic Failure'
by Naharnet /Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday accused Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun of waging a “campaign” against him personally and his party because of “the LF’s central role at the domestic and regional levels,” and to “deviate attention from his ministerial team’s catastrophic failure.” “The other camp’s stances on Bkirki and the patriarch are well-known by all the Lebanese, as it has never cared for (Bkirki), especially that it has a lot of irreligious people among its ranks,” Geagea said in an interview with the privately-owned Central News Agency. Geagea accused Aoun of “waging wars” against Bkirki and former Maronite patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir and of using “the most terrible, insolent and inappropriate language.”The LF leader boasted that “the real pro-church camp in the Christian society has always been and will always be the Lebanese Forces.” “Therefore, it is very clear that Bkirki is not the motive and reason behind the campaign waged by this camp against the LF,” Geagea added. He attributed the attacks to “the growing influence of the LF at the Arab and international levels, especially during the last months, and the opinion poll results at the Christian level, which General Aoun cannot apparently digest given the fact that they clearly highlight the LF’s notable progress and the decline in the FPM’s popularity.”Another reason behind the alleged campaign, Geagea said, was “their catastrophic failure in shouldering their ministerial responsibilities and the attempt to deviate attention from their botched achievements and rampant corruption, as the FPM ministers are in charge of all the key ministries, while the social and living conditions have all declined.”“We will voice our opinion every time we find that necessary, especially if there is harm against Bkirki,” Geagea added. Asked about the Maronite summit scheduled for April 3, Geagea said: “I believe that the meeting will be called off amid this tense atmosphere, which is being clearly reflected by the other camp’s media outlets.”

Maronite church does not take sides during uprisings, says Rai
Rai has stressed that Christians support democratic means of attaining power. (The Daily Star/Elie Mansour) /March 20, 2012
BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai said the church did not take sides during regime changes that have swept parts of the Arab world as a result of popular uprisings.
He also said the Christians of the Middle East support democratic means of attaining political power. “We Christians have been in this Levant for 2,000 years. We have shaped it with our culture and values and we are open to all regimes that reach power through democracy,” Rai said during a meeting in Cairo with Catholic Coptic Patriarch Cardinal Antonius Najib.
“The church does not reject or support [any regime], and is not the one that appoints regimes. Rather, it cooperates with all the regimes on the basis of principles, at the forefront of which are human dignity, human rights, public freedoms and democracy,” Rai added in his remarks, which were carried by the National News Agency Monday.
He said these principles, once secured, would keep both Muslims and Christians in their land. But if these principles are not secured, both Muslims and Christians will leave their land, Rai said.Referring to the popular uprisings in the Arab world, Rai said: “We are today in the 21th century, the age of globalization. If the Arab world does not transition to a new world after all the victims that have fallen, the talk about threats will not be aimed only at Christians, but at the Arabs as a whole, because we together, Muslims and Christians, have shaped our identity and countries.”
Rai stressed the important role the heads of religious sects play in reconciling the different viewpoints between the various political parties.
Rai is on a pastoral visit to Egypt which, he said, was designed to express solidarity with the Catholic, Orthodox and Evangelical churches and the Egyptian people, who have experienced instability as a result of the uprising that led to the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak last year.Rai’s arrival in Cairo Saturday coincided with the death of Egypt’s Coptic Christian Pope Shenouda III, who was 88. Rai will attend funeral services for Shenouda Tuesday. Rai’s visit to Egypt came as part of a regional pastoral tour which has taken him to Jordan and Qatar.The tour came amid a new split within the Maronite community following Rai’s controversial statements on the unrest in Syria and Hezbollah’s arms, which have drawn the ire of March 14 parties.Last week, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea lambasted Rai’s stance on the yearlong popular uprising in Syria and accused the patriarch of defending the Syrian regime and endangering Christians in the region.

Aoun: Geagea loses his composure, Jumblatt burns his bridges
March 19, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The row between the Free Patriotic Movement and Lebanese Forces over recent statements by Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai showed no signs of abating with the head of the FPM criticizing PSP leader Walid Jumblatt and describing LF leader Samir Geagea as having lost his self-possession. “[Geagea] has lost his composure and self-control because he knows he has lost the battle on both the Lebanese and Syrian fronts,” Aoun told As-Safir in an interview published Monday.
Last week Rai, who warned that the “Arab Spring” was turning into a winter, lashed back at Geagea’s criticism of his stances on Syria, saying the LF leader had failed to read his statements in their entirety.
Geagea had lambasted Rai’s stance on the year-long popular uprising in Syria, accusing the patriarch of defending the Syrian regime and endangering Christians in the region.
Aoun weighed in on the spat, slamming his perennial political rival and accusing him of having insulted the Maronite patriarch.
In his interview with As-Safir, Aoun said Geagea’s harsh criticism of Bkirki and the FPM indicated that Geagea was desperate “because the victor tends to be calm and forgiving, while Geagea is becoming more agitated and aggressive because he knows that the wind is not blowing in his favor, nor in the interests of the internal-external project that he represents.”
Meanwhile, LF MP George Adwan defended his party’s criticism of Rai, which he attributed to a difference of views, denying that the LF had failed to read or understand Rai's statements.
“Out of keenness for [the moral position of] Bkirki and in adherence to our Christian faith, we have to stand by the oppressed Syrian people and not with the regime,” he told Al-Liwaa in an interview published Monday. “We read the patriarch’s statement in full and the truth is that there are two points of view when it comes to Hezbollah’s weapons and the Syrian revolution.”
The Lebanese Forces, a member of the March 14 coalition, has repeatedly called on Hezbollah to disarm and allow the state to regain its sovereignty. The resistance group says it needs to maintain its arsenal to defend the country against Israeli aggression. As-Safir also quoted Aoun as chastising PSP leader Walid Jumblatt, who remains nominally a member of the March 8 coalition of which Aoun's FPM is a part. In his comments, Aoun claimed that Jumblatt has reached a point of no return with his increasingly vociferous criticism of the Syrian government.He compared Jumblatt to 8th century Muslim military leader Tareq bin Ziad who, according to legend, burned the ships that transported his army to the island of Gibraltar so that his soldiers would have no recourse but to conquer the gateway to the Iberian peninsula. Aoun said that Jumblatt "has become Tareq bin Ziad after burning all his ships, even the lifeboats, and I don't know how he will return to [our] shore."

Jumblatt: Russia crucial to ending Syria conflict
March 20, 2012/By Hussein Dakroub/ The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt said Monday that Russia could play a key role in reaching an international consensus on a political solution to end the bloodshed in Syria. Meanwhile Russia’s envoy to Lebanon warned that failure of diplomatic efforts would lead to violence and extremism.However, Jumblatt stressed that only a political solution that led to the removal of President Bashar Assad’s regime could end the crisis in Syria.The remarks by Jumblatt and Alexander Zasypkin, Russia’s ambassador to Lebanon, came as Damascus was rocked Monday by the heaviest fighting between government troops and rebels since the uprising erupted a year ago. According to the United Nations, more than 8,000 people have been killed in the unrest.
“A sane person cannot but support a political solution in Syria because the other options are a long civil war and continuing attrition at all levels, which do not befit the Syrian people who are demanding freedom, dignity and democracy. These are the most basic political and humanitarian rights,” Jumblatt said in his weekly article to be published by the PSP’s weekly newspaper Al-Anbaa Tuesday.
“It is logical for any political solution to favor the Syrian people and their demands only. Hence, we are still attaching significance to an international consensus in which Russia plays a key role to save Syria,” he added. Jumblatt, who has urged the embattled president to step down, called for quick action to reach a political solution for the crisis in Syria “because experience with the Syrian regime has taught us that it is skilled at the game of procrastination and stalling.”
However, Jumblatt raised questions about the possibility of reaching a political solution in Syria with the presence of what he called “a ruling family clique.” He accused Assad of wasting several opportunities to save Syria from its crisis by insisting on a crackdown to end the nationwide protests.
Jumblatt said an Arab League initiative, which Assad had rejected, charted a roadmap for a political solution that could have averted chaos in Syria.
The PSP leader dismissed as “mere illusions” political and media propaganda claiming that “a security solution” by Syrian authorities to end the bloodshed was imminent.
“The Syrian people will not back off after all their sacrifices. A security solution will aggravate and further complicate matters. Only a transitional political solution that leads to the departure of this regime can end the crisis,” Jumblatt said.
He emphasized that Syria’s survival as a united country was more important than the regime’s survival. He scoffed at last month’s referendum on a new constitution that calls for a multiparty ruling system in Syria and planned elections in May to choose a new Parliament. “These steps came too late and can deceive no one,” Jumblatt said.
In the meantime, Zasypkin warned that failure of diplomatic efforts to solve the crisis would plunge Syria into extremism and more violence.
Speaking to reporters after meeting with a Hezbollah delegation led by Nabatieh MP Mohammad Raad, Zasypkin renewed Moscow’s call on the Syrian government and armed groups to stop violence and also on the U.N. Security Council to adopt a balanced resolution on the Syrian crisis.Asked whether the crisis in Syria would deteriorate if peace efforts failed, he said: “When political efforts fail, violence and extremism will always come. We as politicians and diplomats say that we must work daily to achieve political goals.”Zasypkin said there had been no change in Moscow’s stance on the Syrian regime following Vladimir Putin’s election as president of Russia. “Since the beginning we have been pointing to the significance of accelerating reforms ... The Russian side has insisted on the need for quick reforms in Syria. This position is still the same,” he added. For his part, Raad said the meeting with the Russian ambassador was to congratulate him on behalf of the Hezbollah leadership on Putin’s election. He accused regional and international powers of financing armed groups against the regime in Syria.He praised Moscow’s stance on the Syrian crisis, saying it called for a dialogue to reach a political solution to the crisis. “But unfortunately, there are regional and international powers that are still backing and financing armed groups and encouraging them to violence against civilians in Syria, and also against the regime,” Raad said.

French Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, 30, killed in Toulouse shooting
Haaretz/By Yair Ettinger /Rabbi dies with two sons, Aryeh, aged six, and Gavriel, aged three, leaving behind wife and four-year-old daughter.Jonathan Sandler, 30, was killed Monday in a shooting that took place in Toulouse, France. Born in Paris, he spent his life studying Torah and working in Jewish community outreach. Sandler was father to two sons, Aryeh, aged six, and Gavriel, aged three, who were also killed in the attack. Sandler is survived by his wife and four-year-old daughter. As a child, Sandler was sent to school in Toulouse. When he finished, he went to study at a yeshiva in Jerusalem, where he continued to live for three years. Four-and-a-half years ago, Sandler went back to France and got married. Following that, he returned to Jerusalem, and lived in Jerusalem's Kiryat Hayovel neighborhood. Sandler studied at Kollel Zichron Shimon, preparing young French students to become rabbis and teachers. Like many graduates of the school, Sandler went with his family last September to work in a Jewish community in France, where they settled in Toulouse. Sandler was well known in France's Jewish community for his column in a Lithuanian Haredi monthly newspaper, "Kountrass", which is distributed in France and Israel. His column focused on outreach with secular Jews and theological questions. Sandler also performed outreach work with secular Jews as a volunteer for the organization, "Shoresh," which works in community outreach. Aharon Getz, a friend of Sandler's said the father of three was a "delightful man," adding, "He had a wonderful connection with his fellow students and the communities in which he worked."

The Russian bear does a backflip
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
Russia’s recent statements regarding the Syrian crisis indicates that the Russian bear has actually done a backflip, but is yet to stand on his feet, and only then we will truly see the magnitude of Russia’s size and the impact of its reversal! Indeed, we have recently witnessed a series of statements from Moscow suggesting that Russia is now in a stage of repositioning its stance towards the Syrian crisis.
We have seen heated Russian statements, including those made by President Putin in which he said that his country’s stance on Syria was not in support of al-Assad, and that the interests of his country with the West, and of course the Arabs, were more important than its interests with al-Assad. There was also the Russian-Arab agreement – formulated in Cairo – on five points in support of UN-Arab League peace envoy Kofi Annan’s mission, in accordance with the Arab resolutions, which stipulates a peaceful transfer of power in Syria along the lines of Yemen. Furthermore, there was the criticism lodged by the Russian Foreign Minister [Sergei Lavrov] speaking in the Russian State Duma (parliament) a few days ago, where he rebuked al-Assad by saying: “Regrettably, he hasn’t always followed our advice in his activities”. Lavrov claimed that Russia’s advice had not transformed into a practical reality within an appropriate timeframe, rather the opposite has happened. He warned that “inertia” may “sweep and engulf all”.This is not all of course, another important Russian statement was the one issued by Mr. Lavrov the day before yesterday during an interview with a Russian television channel, where the Foreign Minister said: “We believe the Syrian government should quickly, without delay, support (Annan's) approaches”. He added “I repeat, we do not support the Syrian government. We support the need to start a political process. To do that it is first necessary to cease fire”. Lavrov went on to say: “The Russian side will do all it can for that, regardless of the decisions the Syrian government makes. With many of which, by the way, we do not agree”. These Russian statements confirm what I wrote on Saturday about a Russian official – of less stature than Lavrov – telling Syrian ministers that the al-Assad regime must respond to Annan’s proposals, and that Moscow is not prepared to look like it is protecting a “killer”.
Therefore, the Russian bear has actually done a 180 flip with regards to its position towards the Syrian crisis, but it is not standing on its feet yet so we cannot see the size of its influence. It is clear that a complete Russian turn-around will depend on the al-Assad regime’s response to Annan’s efforts, which the tyrant of Damascus will not take very seriously as usual, but rather he will negotiate along the famous way of Adel Imam; “you give up and then I will give up”. The al-Assad regime will demand that the rebels lay down their weapons first, while the West says that al-Assad must stop the killings first, and Russia says that all parties must stop the fighting, i.e. Moscow stands in the middle. All this means that those concerned with the region are communicating with Moscow more than ever. If Russia allows US forces to use its territory, how can it then go to the very end defending al-Assad? This is incomprehensible, and so we say that the Russian bear has done a flip, and all that remains is for him to regain his footing, so we can all see its complete reversal on the Syrian crisis. I think we are close to that.

Russian anti-terror troops reportedly enter Syria
March 19, 2012
| FoxNews.com
Reports of Russian anti-terror troops on the ground in Syria is raising new concerns about whether Russia's policies are indirectly, or even directly, enabling the brutal crackdown on Syrian protesters.
Russia's Defense Ministry acknowledged Monday that the navy's Iman oil tanker arrived at the Syrian port of Tartus 10 days ago on a mission to assist Russian navy ships on anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and “for demonstrating the Russian presence in the turbulent region and possible evacuation of Russian citizens," the Black Sea Fleet told Interfax news agency.
A ministry spokesman would not say how many troops are on board, but Russian news reports suggest a more active military presence in Syria.
Russia is a strong ally to Syrian President Bashar Assad and has angered fellow members of the United Nations Security Council by blocking repeated attempts to put an end to violence in Syria.
A Security Council source told ABC News that the arrival of members of Russia’s military in Syria was a “bomb” of a development, sure to have serious repercussions.
Interfax reported the tanker arrived in Tartus on the Mediterranean Sea with an anti-terror squad from the Russian Marines.
ABC News reported that RIA Novosti, a news outlet tied to the Kremlin, announced the arrival only on its Arabic-language website.
Russian embassy officials have declined to comment, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week told a meeting of the Russian State Duma that there were no plans for sending combat troops to Syria, according to RIA Novosti.
“As for the question whether I consider it necessary to confront the United States in Syria ... to take part in military actions, no. I believe this would be against Russia’s national interests,” Lavrov said.
Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Russian parliament’s upper house, said last week that a government delegation would visit Syria this week for discussions with representatives from Assad’s cabinet and opposition groups, according to RIA Novosti.
Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov denied reports that special forces were inside Syria, although he said there are military and technical advisers in the Syria.
The port of Tartus is now the only naval base Russia has outside the former Soviet Union. A Russian navy squadron made a call there in January in what was seen by many as a show of Moscow's support for Assad.
**The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Muslim Persecution of Christians: February, 2012
by Raymond Ibrahim/Stonegate Institute
March 16, 2012
http://www.meforum.org/3193/muslim-persecution-of-christians-february-2012
Half of Iraq's indigenous Christians are gone due to the unleashed forces of jihad, many of them fleeing to nearby Syria; yet, as the Assad regime comes under attack by al-Qaeda and others, the jihad now seeps into Syria, where Christians are experiencing a level of persecution unprecedented in the nation's modern history. Likewise, some 100,000 Christian Copts have fled their native Egypt since the overthrow of the Mubarak regime; and in northern regions of Nigeria, where the jihadi group Boko Haram has been slaughtering Christians, up to 95 % of the Christian population has fled.
Meanwhile, the "big news" concerning the Muslim world in the month of February—the news that flooded the mainstream media and had U.S. politicians, beginning with President Obama, flustered, angry, and full of regret—was that copies of the Koran in Afghanistan were burned by U.S. soldiers because imprisoned Muslim inmates were using them "to facilitate extremist communications."
Categorized by theme, February's batch of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited to) the following accounts, listed in alphabetical order by country, not severity.
Church Attacks
Algeria: Armed men raided and ransacked a church formally recognized since 1958, dismantling the crucifix above the premises. The pastor and his family, trapped inside, feared that "they could kill us." The pastor "has been repeatedly threatened and attacked since being ordained as pastor in 2007. In the summer of 2009 his wife was beaten and seriously injured by a group of unknown men. Then, in late 2011, heaps of trash were thrown over the compound walls while an angry mob shouted death threats."
Egypt: Thousands of Muslims attacked a Coptic church, demanding the death of its pastor, who, along with "nearly 100 terrorized Copts sought refuge inside the church, while Muslim rioters were pelting the church with stones in an effort to break into the church, assault the Copts and torch the building." They did this because a Christian girl who, according to Islamic law, automatically became a Muslim when her father converted to Islam, fled and was rumored to be hiding in the church.
Iran: Iran's Ministry of Intelligence has ordered the last two officially registered churches holding Friday Farsi-language services in Tehran—Farsi being the nation's language—to discontinue the language: "Friday services in Tehran attracted the city's converts to Christianity as well as Muslims interested in Christianity, as Friday is most Iranians' day off during the week." Banning church use of Farsi prevents most Iranians from hearing the Gospel.
Kazakhstan: A new report notes that "Churches are being raided, leaders fined and Christian literature confiscated as the Kazakh authorities enforce new laws intended further to restrict religious freedom in the country."
Kuwait: A parliamentarian is set to submit a draft law banning the construction of churches. Originally, Osama al-Munawer announced on Twitter his plans on submitting a draft law calling for the removal of all churches in Kuwait. However, he later "clarified," saying that existing churches can remain, but the construction of new ones must be banned.
Macedonia: A two-century-old Christian church famed for its valuable icons was set on fire in response to "a carnival in which Orthodox Christian men dressed as women in burkas and mocked the Koran." Earlier, "perpetrators attacked a[nother] church in the nearby village of Labunista, destroying a cross standing outside" and "also defaced a Macedonian flag outside Struga's municipal building, replacing it with a green flag representing Islam."
Nigeria: A Muslim suicide bomber forced his way into the grounds of a major church, killing two women and an 18-month-old child during Sunday morning service; some 50 people were injured in the blast. In a separate incident, Muslims detonated a bomb outside a church building, injuring five, one critically: "The bomb, planted in a parked car, was left by suspected members of Boko Haram, which seeks to impose sharia (Islamic law) throughout Nigeria."
Pakistan: A dozen armed Muslims stormed a church, seriously wounding two Christians: one man was shot and is in critical condition, the other risks having his arm amputated; another church member was thrown from the roof, after being struck repeatedly with a rifle butt. "The extremist raid was sparked by charges that [the] church was trying to evangelize Muslims in an attempt to convert them to Christianity. The community several times in the past has been the subject of assault and the pastor and his family the subject of death threats." As usual, the police, instead of pursuing the perpetrators, have opened an investigation against the pastor and 20 other church members.
Syria: Some 30 armed and masked jihadis attacked a Catholic monastery—unprecedented in Syria's modern history—demanding money. According to the Catholic Archbishop of Damascus, "the situation in the country is spiraling out of control as the armed opposition spreads its influence to different regions of the state."
Dhimmitude
[General Abuse, Debasement, and Suppression of non-Muslims as "Tolerated" Citizens]
Bangladesh: Three American Christians were injured after their car was attacked by a Muslim mob that suspected they were converting Muslims into Christians: at least 200 angry locals chased the missionaries' car and threw stones at it, leaving three with cuts from broken glass.
Egypt: Rather than punishing the perpetrators who opened fire on and ran tanks over Christians protesting the constant destruction of their churches, the government arrested and is trying two priests in connection to the Maspero massacre. And although Egypt's new parliament has 498 seats, only six are Copts, though Copts make up at the very least 10% of the population, and so should have approximately 50 seats. Finally, evincing how bad the situation is, Coptic protesters organized a demonstration in front of Parliament to protest "the disappearance and abduction of Coptic girls."
Indonesia: The Islamist Prosperous Justice Party complained about the Red Cross' symbol of a cross, saying it is too identifiable with Christian culture and traditions. Red Cross volunteers and activists rejected the claim, saying that any changes to the logo would be "tantamount to giving in to the extremists."
Iran: A pastor of a major house church movement began serving a five-year prison sentence for "crimes against the order." According to one activist, "His 'crimes' were being a pastor and possessing Christian materials." He is being beat in jail and getting sick, to the point that his hair has "turned fully gray."
Israel: A mob of some 50 Palestinian Muslims stoned a group of Christian tourists atop Jerusalem's Temple Mount, wounding three Israeli police officers in the process. The attack is believed to have been instigated by the former Muslim mufti of Jerusalem.
Pakistan: Yet another Christian woman, a teacher, has been targeted by Muslims due to allegations that she burned a Koran. A mob stormed her school in an attempt to abduct her, but police took her into custody. Also, a Christian student who missed the grade to get into medical school by less than 0.1% would have earned 20 extra points if he had memorized the Koran—though no bonus points for having similar knowledge of the Bible.
Turkey: A new report notes that "Christians in Turkey continue to suffer attacks from private citizens, discrimination by lower-level government officials and vilification in both school textbooks and news media," adding that there is a "root of intolerance" in Turkish society toward adherents of non-Islamic faiths: "The removal of this root of intolerance is an urgent problem that still awaits to be dealt with."
Turkmenistan: A 77-year-old Christian man was detained and questioned by police for six hours after he tried to print copies of a small book of Christian poetry. He was forced to write a statement and banned from travelling outside his home region while the case is being investigated.
Uganda: Not long after a pastor was attacked with acid and blinded by "Allahu-Akbar" screaming Muslims, his friend, another pastor, was shot at by "Islamic extremists,"
in what is being described as "a new wave of persecution against Christians in Uganda."
Murder, Apostasy Issues, and More
Egypt: Two Christians were killed "after a Muslim racketeer opened fire on them for refusing to pay him extortion money." The local bishop "hold[s] security forces and local Muslims fully responsible for terrorizing the Copts living there, who are continuously being subjected to terror and kidnapping."
Iran: After enduring five months of uncertainty in a prison, a Christian convert who was arrested in her home by security authorities has been sentenced to two years in prison by the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. Authorities further arrested six to ten Christian converts from Islam while they were meeting for worship at a home in the southern city of Shiraz. And Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani awaits execution for refusing to renounce Christianity.
Nigeria: A 79-year-old Christian woman and choir singer was found dead at her home, her throat slit with a note in Arabic left on her chest reading: "We will get you soon," a message believed to be directed at her son, a pastor at a local church.
Somalia: Al-Shabaab Muslims beheaded a 26-year-old Muslim convert to Christianity who had worked for a Christian humanitarian organization that the terrorist organization had banned. He is at least the third apostate to Christianity to be beheaded in Somalia in recent months.
Turkey: A 12-year-old boy, Hussein, publicly professed his Christian faith by wearing a silver cross necklace in school. Accordingly, Muslim classmates began taunting and spitting on him. When the boy threatened to report one of the bullies, the bully's father threatened to kill him. His religion teacher beat him severely: "Like in most Islamic countries, students of all faiths are required to attend Islamic studies in school. Those who refuse to recite the Koran and Islamic prayers are often beaten by the teacher. And so it was for Hussein. He said he was punished regularly with a two-foot long rod because he wouldn't say the Islamic Shahada."
About this Series
Because the persecution of Christians in the Islamic world is on its way to reaching epidemic proportions, "Muslim Persecution of Christians" was developed to collate some—by no means all—of the instances of Muslim persecution of Christians that surface each month. It serves two purposes:
Intrinsically, to document that which the mainstream media does not: the habitual, if not chronic, Muslim persecution of Christians.
Instrumentally, to show that such persecution is not "random," but systematic and interrelated—that it is rooted in a worldview inspired by Sharia.
Accordingly, whatever the anecdote of persecution, it typically fits under a specific theme, including hatred for churches and other Christian symbols; sexual abuse of Christian women; forced conversions to Islam; apostasy and blasphemy laws; theft and plunder in lieu of jizya (tribute); overall expectations for Christians to behave like cowed "dhimmis" (barely tolerated citizens); and simple violence and murder. Oftentimes it is a combination thereof.
Because these accounts of persecution span different ethnicities, languages, and locales—from Morocco in the west, to India in the east, and throughout the West, wherever there are Muslims—it should be clear that one thing alone binds them: Islam—whether the strict application of Islamic Sharia law, or the supremacist culture born of it.
*Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

Assad's Train Schlepped by a Locomotive of Fetishism
Farid Ghadry Blog
The world is literally mesmerized by the trove of emails leaked from the presidential palace in Syria showing who does what and how it affects Syrian policies.
The number of Syrian experts who have tried to explain Baschar al-Assad's policies since 2000 can fill a whole library. From the most thoughtful analysis down to the most absurd, many who follow Syria closely have read and heard much about this regime the last 12 years.
Well, you can pack all that analysis and archive it somewhere because what really influenced Baschar al-Assad are two things: Young ladies, either fully dressed or naked, or his shopaholic beast of a wife. It's either skin or high Louboutin heels. In fact, one can say that the train of Syrian politics has been schlepped by a locomotive of fetishism. So much for our analysis!!
No matter how acutely aware of the killing and the tragedy of Syrians living under constant bombardment, the sexiness of these leaked emails is arousing bitchiness amongst many worldly ladies of the salons and intoxicating a less kinder, hormone-driven lot with either axes to grind or about to after reading some of the Assads' private exchanges.
There is nothing more crucial to inject bias into the published media than when journalists covering a region feel they have been fooled. Their communal sense of what is right and what is wrong now becomes master of their pens and their voices. These emails truly challenge the quote "There is no such thing as bad publicity".
This is the WikiWicked of the Assad legacy. Their disconnect from reality challenges our perceptions because to most of us all of this is just unreal. How can one shop for a $20,000 pair of chandeliers when one's own people are tragically dying from your actions and one's own country is under immense social and economic duress? What the west is witnessing today about the Assads has been paraded in front of hungry Syrian children, their lamenting mothers, and powerless fathers. Any wonder why the Syrian Revolution erupted?
Never ask why Syrian women are joining this Revolution and why their sons would rather die than stop or why their fathers are content to see their families endangering themselves for a small prize Americans call freedom but Syrians call heaven.
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