LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
September 09 /12

Bible Quotation for today
Luke 08/16-21: "‘No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light. Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.’Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, ‘Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.’But he said to them, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.’"

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Hezbollah and clans/By: Hazem al-Amin/Now Lebanon/September 08/12
The minority strategy/By: Tony Badran/Now Lebanon/September 08/12
Egyptian Father Kills Three Daughters with Snakes/By Raymond Ibrahim/FrontPage Magazine/September 08/12

Chemical threat is back. Hizballah, Israel close to clash
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis September 8, 2012, 12/
http://www.debka.com/article/22344/Chemical-threat-is-back-Hizballah-Israel-close-to-clash-
The first US-Turkish backed steps for creating safe havens in Syria and possible strategic bombardment of the Syrian army have brought the Middle East close to two dangerous junctures: The Syrian army’s use of chemical weapons, and an outbreak of hostilities between Hizballah and Israel, debkafile’s military sources report. The creeping Western involvement in the Syrian conflict was not previously acknowledged and the Lebanese Shiite Hizballah rarely figured publicly as a fighting prop of the Assad regime.
That is until the dam burst Friday and Saturday, Sept 7-8. The United States then admitted that US officials and intelligence agents were training and aiding Syrian rebels from positions on the Turkish border – and therefore directly intervening in their operations. This admission came on the heels of the debkafile disclosure of Sept. 6 that Turkish officers backed by US agents had taken command of two Syrian rebel brigades. Britain and France came next to report they were sending aid directly to the Syrian opposition, a more cautious admission than the American reference to officials and agents, but clearly on the same track, which adds up to their direct intervention in Syria for the creation of safe havens.
French and British foreign ministers attending a European Union meeting in Cyprus called Friday night for sanctions against Hizballah, meaning that mounting Western pressure on Assad has been extended to his Lebanese ally. But the big event thus portended is still to come. It will now be up to the Syrian rebels, backed and steered by a US-led Arab-Western-European-Turkish coalition, to fight for the safe haven, purge it of forces and militias loyal to Assad and expand it for control of large tracts of territory in eastern and western Syria.
Despite fairly large-scale defections, the bulk of the Syrian army still maintains its allegiance to the Syrian ruler and doesn’t appear ready to turn against him. The rebels therefore face a long, arduous and hazardous haul before they can secure a substantial safe haven – unless it can be shortened by a step now under consideration in Washington, London, Paris, Ankara and at least two Arab capitals: aerial bombardment of the Syrian army’s toughest backbone, the 9th Division commanded by the Syrian ruler’s brother, Gen. Maher Assad. .
The same treatment could be meted out to smash Hizballah bases and strategic centers.
The thinking in some circles in Washington is that Russia’s disengagement from its support of the Assad regime and cutoff of essential weapons, have opened the way to severing the military bonds tying Assad, Hizballah and Tehran together. As long as those bonds are viable, it will be that much harder to bring Assad to heel and subjugate his armed forces.
The revelation by British military sources Friday, Sept. 7 that 150 elite officers and troops of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards had flown into Syria was intended as a warning to Tehran that the time had come to pull its hand out of the Syrian fire.
This rush of events may bring closer to reality the action feared most by Western powers, Israel, Turkey and Jordan that, as his enemies close in, Assad will bring out his chemical weapons. Consciousness of this approaching threat led Washington sources to disclose Friday that Syria’s nuclear arsenal was bigger and more widely scattered than suspected hitherto. It was also an admission that Washington was no longer fully apprised of the scale of this arsenal or its locations.
Last week, Israeli media were too preoccupied with the likelihood of war with Iran to notice that Israel and Hizxballah had moved up to the brink of a major clash. The war alert declared by Israel’s armed forces in mid-week had only partly eased by Saturday..

Iran says may retaliate for Canada's "hostile" cut in ties
September 08, 2012/Daily StarظDUBAI: Iran accused Canada on Saturday of "hostile behavior" under Israeli and British influence after Ottawa cut diplomatic relations, and it raised the prospect of swift retaliation.Canada said on Friday that it was closing its embassy in Tehran and gave Iranian diplomats five days to leave the country, branding the Islamic Republic as the "most significant threat to global peace and security".Ottawa cited Iran's disputed nuclear work, which Western states see as a disguised effort to develop atomic bombs, its hostility toward Israel and alleged military aid to Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is battling a popular uprising.Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said the Canadian move was a "continuation of anti-Iranian policies" by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government, which has long had poor relations with Tehran.
"The current government of Canada under the leadership of Mr Stephen Harper is known for extreme policies in the domain of foreign policy," Mehr news agency quoted Mehmanparast as saying.
"The hostile behavior of the current racist government in Canada in reality follows the policies dictated by the Zionists (Israel) and the British."
The Jewish state is Iran's arch-enemy, while Britain expelled Iranian diplomats late last year after radical Iranian protesters sacked its embassy in Tehran.
Alaeddin Boroujerdi, who heads Iran's influential parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, said there could be an "immediate and decisive" response to Canada's action, Fars news agency reported."It is essential that the foreign ministry respond to this action by Canada on the basis of national interests."
Canada's 10 diplomats in Iran have already left Tehran, the Canadian foreign ministry said on Friday.
Western states led by the United States believe Iran is covertly trying to develop nuclear weapons capability, though Iran states its uranium enrichment work is wholly peaceful, aimed at generating electricity and medical isotopes.Mehmanparast said the Canadian move was an attempt to nullify Iran's diplomatic success in hosting a summit of Non-Aligned Movement developing countries last month, which he said Canada had tried to scuttle.He said Canada's anti-Iranian policies included a ban on money transfers for Iranian students studying in Canada and the blocking of the bank accounts of ordinary Iranians as a result of Western sanctions imposed on Iran's banking sector.There is a large Iranian diaspora in Canada, with more than 120,000 people reporting Iranian ethnic origins.
Ottawa's bilateral relations with Tehran deteriorated markedly in 2003, when Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi died in Tehran's Evin prison while in custody.
The closure of Ottawa's Tehran mission is the most significant row between Iran and another country since the ransacking of the UK embassy, which British officials said could not have happened without some level of government consent.The United States has not had a functioning embassy in Tehran since the 1979-81 hostage crisis, when 52 Americans were held for 444 days

Iran threatens retaliation over Canada's 'hostile' cut in ties
Reuters/09.08.12/Ynetnews
Tehran says 'racist' Canadian government is under influence of 'Zionist,' British policies. Iran accused Canada on Saturday of "hostile behavior" under Israeli and British influence after Ottawa cut diplomatic relations, and it raised the prospect of swift retaliation. Canada said on Friday that it was closing its embassy in Tehran and gave Iranian diplomats five days to leave the country, branding the Islamic Republic as the "most significant threat to global peace and security".Ottawa cited Iran's disputed nuclear work, which Western states see as a disguised effort to develop atomic bombs, its hostility toward Israel and alleged military aid to Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is battling a popular uprising.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said the Canadian move was a "continuation of anti-Iranian policies" by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government, which has long had poor relations with Tehran. "The current government of Canada under the leadership of Mr Stephen Harper is known for extreme policies in the domain of foreign policy," Mehr news agency quoted Mehmanparast as saying. "The hostile behavior of the current racist government in Canada in reality follows the policies dictated by the Zionists (Israel) and the British."
The Jewish state is Iran's arch-enemy, while Britain expelled Iranian diplomats late last year after radical Iranian protesters sacked its embassy in Tehran.
Alaeddin Boroujerdi, who heads Iran's influential parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, said there could be an "immediate and decisive" response to Canada's action, Fars news agency reported. "It is essential that the foreign ministry respond to this action by Canada on the basis of national interests."
Canadian diplomats already gone
Canada's 10 diplomats in Iran have already left Tehran, the Canadian foreign ministry said on Friday.
Western states led by the United States believe Iran is covertly trying to develop nuclear weapons capability, though Iran states its uranium enrichment work is wholly peaceful, aimed at generating electricity and medical isotopes. Mehmanparast said the Canadian move was an attempt to nullify Iran's diplomatic success in hosting a summit of Non-Aligned Movement developing countries last month, which he said Canada had tried to scuttle. He said Canada's anti-Iranian policies included a ban on money transfers for Iranian students studying in Canada and the blocking of the bank accounts of ordinary Iranians as a result of Western sanctions imposed on Iran's banking sector. There is a large Iranian diaspora in Canada, with more than 120,000 people reporting Iranian ethnic origins. Ottawa's bilateral relations with Tehran deteriorated markedly in 2003, when Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi died in Tehran's Evin prison while in custody.
The closure of Ottawa's Tehran mission is the most significant row between Iran and another country since the ransacking of the UK embassy, which British officials said could not have happened without some level of government consent. The United States has not had a functioning embassy in Tehran since the 1979-81 hostage crisis, when 52 Americans were held for 444 days.

Iran: Hezbollah will retaliate in case of Israeli strike
Dudi Cohen, Roi Kais/: 09.08.12/Ynetnews
Ayatollah Khamenei's top military advisor warns that Israeli strike on Tehran's nuclear facilities will trigger massive reaction by its Lebanon-based proxy . Major-General Yahya Rahim Safavi, who serves as the top military advisor for Iran's supreme leader the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Saturday that if Israel were to attack his country's nuclear facilities, Hezbollah will retaliate.
Iran's Maher news agency quoted Safavi as saying that, "If the Zionist regime acts against us one of these days, resistance groups, and mainly Hezbollah, will respond and act against it with great ease." "Defending the Palestinian people is within the scope of our strategic defense interests and both Lebanon and Syria fall under our strategic maneuvering zone," he added.
Also on Saturday, Iranian Chief of Staff General Hassan Firouzabadi commented on the West's attempts to intervene in the Syrian crisis, saying that the West was "sure to fail in that arena."
According to Firouzabadi, "Syria will surely become a source of defeat and scandal for the United States and the West, as they race to save the Zionist regime."
The Iranian general further claimed that the recent series of al-Qaeda terror attacks in Syria were part of the West's conspiracy against Muslims.
"The international community should know that al-Qaeda and the rest of the (Islamic) radicals have nothing to do with Shiites and Sunnis and that the result of this campaign of terror… will only make things more complicated for the Europeans and the Americans," he told Iran's Press TV. Middle East experts believe that the Iranians are exacerbating their tone vis-à-vis the West in regards to Syria, for fear that their ally's days are numbered. Should the Assad regime collapse, the radical axis of Iran-Syria-Hezbollah is likely to suffer a serious blow.

UK seeks to add Hezbollah to EU's terror watch list
News agencies /09.07.12/ynetnews
British, Dutch foreign ministers urge EU nations to impose sanctions on Lebanon-based Shiite militia; seek to reopen EU's debate on blacklisting group
The UK and Dutch governments urged their European Union counterparts to reopen the bloc's debate on whether to place Hezbollah on the continent's terror watch list. Europe has long resisted pressure from both Israel and the United States to blacklist the Lebanon-based Shiite militia.
Friday's appeal by London and The Hague urged other EU governments to join the United States in imposing sanctions on the group, following its alliance with Syria's President Bashar Assad.
Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal said the European Union should brand Hezbollah a terrorist organization, a move that would enable the bloc to freeze the group's assets in Europe.
"We have for quite some time now argued that effective European measures should be taken against Hezbollah," Rosenthal said on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Cyprus to discuss the EU's response to the Syrian crisis.
The Netherlands has already places Hezbollah on its terror watch list, while Britain reserves the designation for Hezbollah's armed wing.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said London would like to see the EU "designate and sanction the military wing of Hezbollah."
So far, however, other EU member states – which have followed the US' lead and blacklisted Hamas – have resisted Washington and Israel's pressure to do the same to Hezbollah.
Hezbollah, which receives much of its funding from Iran, was placed on the US' terror watch list in the mid 1990s.
Move detrimental to Lebanon?
Several EU countries have argued that blacklisting the Shiite militia could potentially destabilize the balance of power in Lebanon and add to tensions in the Middle East.
Hezbollah, whose politburo has a strong grip on Lebanon, currently holds 12 seats in the Lebanese parliament.
Other European diplomats argued that the move may be legally difficult, sans a court ruling in an EU state that linked the group to terrorism.
"Until now the Europeans have said that to designate a group as a terrorist organization you have to have a judicial process under way against this organization, which is not the case at the present time," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said. Such a connection might eventually come from a Bulgarian investigation into July's terror attack against Israeli tourists in the Black Sea resort city of Burgas. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov stressed that the investigation was still ongoing and that Bulgaria was not ready to accuse anyone.
"The investigation is moving forward quite rapidly but will take at least another couple of months," he said. "Such a report… needs to be able to stand up in court. This is why we are being very careful in what we say."Hezbollah and Iran have denied being behind the bombing.
In August, Washington imposed a new round of largely symbolic sanctions against Syria and Hezbollah and said it hoped other countries would take action against the Lebanese group.
Reuters contributed to this report

Report: Mossad beefs up security in Bulgaria
Ynet /09.08.12/Bulgarian websites report that Mossad agents securing tourist sites highly frequented by Israeli tourists with local forces, ahead of Rosh Hashana . Special Mossad agents are working together with Bulgaria's national security agency (SANS) to beef up security in sites frequented by Israeli tourists in the country, the local Standard News website reported Friday.
Quoted by other media outlets, the report said that the steps were taken ahead of Rosh Hashana.
Bulgarian website Novinite noted that the date in which Rosh Hashana is marked, September 17, falls on St. Sofia Day.
According to reports, security has been beefed up in and around synagogues, hotels and even churches. Agents will also oversee traffic at airports in Sofia and Burgas, where a terror attack claimed the lives of five Israelis and one Bulgarian citizen in July. The Bulgarian reports stressed that Israel's Counter Terrorism Bureau did not issue a Bulgaria travel advisory. It did however ask authorities in the country, as well as in Thailand, Greece and Cyprus, to increase security measures around Israeli tourists ahead of the High Holidays.
Israeli defense officials are also monitoring the investigation being conducted by Bulgarian security forces into the Burgas attack. Bulgaria has beefed up security around Israeli tourists, they said, but not to the required level. The CTB made it clear to Bulgarian authorities that the fact that a terror attack had already taken place in Bulgaria does not a guarantee that an additional attack would not take place there again.The CTB stressed that it was very important on a diplomatic level that the Bulgarian investigation points to Hezbollah as being directly responsible for the attack. Such a declaration could lead to Hezbollah being declared as a terrorist organization, a step the European Union still refuses to take.

Canadian Embassy closure in Iran worries local Iranian-Canadians
CBC – Some Iranian-Canadians living in Edmonton are concerned by the impact that Canada’s decision to cut diplomatic ties with the Iranian government.Ahmad Sabetghadam, who teaches Farsi at the University of Alberta, said the decision could mean serious problems for students from Iran."All of a sudden I said 'Oh my God, what's going to happen to all these students who come here on a visa basis?'" he said."And also there's a lot of financial matters have to be taken care of usually done through the embassy too." Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced Friday the government is formally listing Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism and has expelled the country's diplomats from Canada.Sabetghadam said students rely on the embassy to get documents for their studies, and he is worried about how they will get them with the embassy being closed."Things like their passport, other documents they need to get approved for continuation of their program graduate program. All those things are going to be affected," he said.He also worries how the closure will affect the Persian restaurant he owns, as he often has to import specialty foods from Iran.Sabetghadam said the suddenness of the announcement leaves many people unsure what to do next."Always people [who] suffer the most, at the bottom of things," he said.Siavash Saffari, who moved to Canada 15 years ago, worries the diplomatic fight will make things more difficult for people with family abroad."It will affect a lot of Iranians who have family in Canada it's going to make it much more difficult for them to obtain visas to come and visit their families."
Saffari said people from Iran have an uneasy feeling in the wake of what's happened.

Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird Announces Closure of Canadian Embassy in Iran
http://www.international.gc.ca/media/aff/photos/2012/09/07a.aspx
September 7, 2012 - Vladivostok, Russia - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird answers questions from the media after announcing that Canada has closed its embassy in Iran, effective immediately, and has declared personae non gratae all remaining Iranian diplomats in Canada. In a statement, Baird said that Canada views the Government of Iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today, that Canada can no longer maintain a diplomatic presence in Iran and that diplomatic relations between the two countries have been suspended. All Canadian diplomatic staff have left Iran, and Iranian diplomats in Ottawa have been instructed to leave within five days.
For Minister Baird’s full statement, please visit Canada Closes Embassy in Iran, Expels Iranian Diplomats from Canada.

Canada Lists Both Iran and Syria as State Supporters of Terrorism
http://www.international.gc.ca/media/aff/news-communiques/2012/09/07c.aspx
September 7, 2012 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and the Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety, today announced that Canada has listed both Iran and Syria as states that support terrorism. “Canada is committed to fighting global terrorism and to holding perpetrators of terrorism—and those who provide them support—accountable for their actions,” said Minister Baird.
“Building resilience against terrorism is a priority for our government, and respect for the rule of law prevails in a resilient society,” said Minister Toews. “Canada recognizes victims of terrorism, and we are providing those victims with a means to seek justice.” The Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act allows victims of terrorism to sue perpetrators of terrorism and those who support them, including listed foreign states, for loss or damage that has occurred as a result of an act of terrorism committed anywhere in the world.
Backgrounder - Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act
The Government of Canada is committed to fighting terrorism and to holding the perpetrators of terrorism and those who support them accountable for their actions. The Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act (the “Act”) allows victims of terrorism to sue perpetrators of terrorism and those who support them, including listed foreign states, for loss or damage that has occurred as a result of an act of terrorism committed anywhere in the world.
The Act complements Canada’s existing counterterrorism measures, including the deterrence of terrorism, and is aimed at responding to the unique concerns of victims of terrorism, while demonstrating Canada’s leadership against those who support terrorism around the world.
The Act allows:
victims of terrorism to sue the perpetrators of terrorism and those who support them—including foreign states listed by the Government of Canada—in a Canadian court. Victims can seek redress for terrorist acts that were committed anywhere in the world after January 1, 1985;
victims of terrorism to sue the perpetrators of terrorism and those who support them if the victims are Canadian citizens or permanent residents, or if they can demonstrate a real and substantial connection between their claim and Canada; and
the suspension of statutory limitation periods. In other words, victims are not penalized if they were incapable of commencing an action within the normal limitation periods because of physical, mental or psychological conditions, or if victims were unable to ascertain the identity of the perpetrators of the terrorist act or those who supported them.
The Act made amendments to the State Immunity Act in order to allow the Governor in Council to create a list of states that there are reasonable grounds to believe have supported terrorism after January 1, 1985. As such, the Governor in Council has the authority, upon the recommendation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and in consultation with the Minister of Public Safety, to list foreign states that have supported a terrorist entity named pursuant to the Criminal Code of Canada. By being placed on this list, states lose their immunity from the jurisdiction of Canadian courts in relation to civil suits brought against them in connection with their support of terrorism.
The Government of Canada is determined to take decisive steps to protect Canadians at home and abroad from the threat of terrorism. Canada is sending a clear message that perpetrators of terrorism and those who support them will be held accountable for their actions.
For more information, see:
Justice for Victims of Terrorism;
Listed entities (terrorist entities listed pursuant to the Criminal Code); and
Building Resilience Against Terrorism: Canada’s Counter-terrorism Strategy.

Canada Closes Embassy in Iran, Expels Iranian Diplomats from Canada
September 7, 2012 – Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement:
“Canada has closed its embassy in Iran, effective immediately, and declared personae non gratae all remaining Iranian diplomats in Canada.
“Canada’s position on the regime in Iran is well known. Canada views the Government of Iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today.
“The Iranian regime is providing increasing military assistance to the Assad regime; it refuses to comply with UN resolutions pertaining to its nuclear program; it routinely threatens the existence of Israel and engages in racist anti-Semitic rhetoric and incitement to genocide; it is among the world’s worst violators of human rights; and it shelters and materially supports terrorist groups, requiring the Government of Canada to formally list Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism under the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act.
“Moreover, the Iranian regime has shown blatant disregard for the Vienna Convention and its guarantee of protection for diplomatic personnel. Under the circumstances, Canada can no longer maintain a diplomatic presence in Iran. Our diplomats serve Canada as civilians, and their safety is our number one priority.
“Diplomatic relations between Canada and Iran have been suspended. All Canadian diplomatic staff have left Iran, and Iranian diplomats in Ottawa have been instructed to leave within five days.
“Canadians in Iran seeking routine consular and passport services should contact the Embassy of Canada in Ankara, Turkey, or any other Canadian mission. Those who require urgent assistance should contact the Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa, by calling collect at 613-996-8885 or by sending an email to sos@international.gc.ca.
“Canada has updated its Travel Reports and Warnings to advise Canadians to avoid all travel to Iran. Canadians who have Iranian nationality are warned in particular that the Iranian regime does not recognize the principle of dual nationality. By doing so, Iran makes it virtually impossible for Government of Canada officials to provide consular assistance to Iranian-Canadians in difficulty.”

Canada's PM, Harper urges Putin to help end Syria bloodshed
CBC – Prime Minister Stephen Harper used a meeting at the APEC summit in Vladivostok, Russia to urge that country's President Vladimir Putin to be less obstructive towards ending the bloodshed and violence in Syria. The two leaders met for close to an hour in a discussion that lasted twice as long as had been originally expected.
"Obviously, Mr Putin has his own perspective — but I urge Russia to play a more positive role than it's been playing," Harper said after the meeting ended. The Prime Minister would not say if he made any progress in his efforts to sway Putin. Although there are a number of other issues on the table in the discussions between Canada and Russia, Canada's ambassador to Russia says the entire relationship is in a holding pattern because of Syria. Russia is blocking any United Nations resolution that would bring military sanctions against the Syrian regime for its brutal crackdown against armed opposition groups.
In an interview on Friday, Putin said Western countries still haven't finished what they started in Afghanistan or Iraq — so he doesn't see what invading Syria would accomplish.
A senior government official who was in the room for Saturday's meeting described the spirited exchange on Syria to The Canadian Press on the condition of anonymity.
Putin told Harper that Russia is not a friend of the Assad regime; Russia just wants stability and a diplomatic solution, the official said, adding that Harper reiterated Canada's long-standing position that a diplomatic solution is the best option. In Syria, President Bashar Assad has battled an 18-month uprising that has left at least 23,000 his citizens dead.

Rahi Kicks Off Two-Day Visit to Chouf, to Meet with Jumblat on Sunday
إNaharnet / 08 September 2012/Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi kicked off on Saturday a two-day pastoral visit to the region of Chouf as he is expected to hold talks with Progressive Socialist Party Walid Jumblat. He stressed that the Lebanese are raised on coexistence among each other, urging citizens to preserve the national unity based on the “spirit of love and partnership.”Al-Rahi praised the upcoming visit of Pope Benedict XVI, saying that he chose Lebanon to deliver the apostolic exhortation, which represents the conclusion of a Middle Eastern synod in 2010 that emphasized the defense of Christian minorities in the region, because it’s the land of peace. “The visit of the pope is an opportunity for us to realize the importance of Lebanon… It will be a Lebanese Spring that will contribute to the Arab Spring,” al-Rahi Noted. The Pope is scheduled to travel to Lebanon on September 14 on a three-day visit where he will meet with a number of senior officials.
Al-Rahi will meet with Jumblat on Sunday at 4.30 p.m. in al-Mukhtara palace.

Lebanese Businessman Kidnapped for Ransom in Batroun
Naharnet/08 September 2012/Gunmen abducted on Thursday night a Lebanese businessman in the northern region of Batroun, demanding a ransom in return for his release, reported LBCI television on Saturday. It said that Bassam Tleh Tarbey, 50, was kidnapped in exchange for $4million. It stated that four gunmen, riding in a black SUV, abducted Tarbey at midnight on Thursday upon his arrival to the garage of his residence in Batroun. They have since taken him to an unknown location. On Friday, the kidnappers telephoned Tarbey's brother Ghassan to demand the ransom.
According to Ghassan Tarbey, the abductor spoke with a Syrian accent, reported Voice of Lebanon radio.The captive is the owner of a tug boat company operating in Syria's port city of Tartous.

Geagea Responding to Raad: They are Exploiting Palestinian Cause to Suit Their Interests
Naharnet/ 08 September 2012/
Head of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea noted on Friday that the greatest progress in the Palestinian cause could have been achieved during the Arab Spring. He said during a workshop on "Lebanon's role in the renaissance of the new Arab world": “The other camp is using the Palestinian cause to suit their interests.” He made his remarks in response to Hizbullah MP Mohammed Raad's press conference on Friday on the March 14 camp's memorandum to President Michel Suleiman that demanded the expulsion of the Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali. Geagea added: “The Palestinian cause is not a real issue for them, but just a matter that can be used to suit their plans.”Israeli leaders committed a major mistake when they did not hold peace talks before the eruption of the Arab Spring, he continued. On the Arab Spring, the LF leader stressed: “The new regimes will represent the real powers of defiance and resistance against Israel and they will meet their people's aspirations.”
Raad had stated on Friday that the March 14 memo is a cover for the camp's participation in the “aggression against Syria” through media incitement and the funding of armed gangs.
The March 14 camp had handed Suleiman on Tuesday a memo demanding Ali's expulsion, the suspension of security agreements between Lebanon and Syria, and the filing of a complaint to the Arab League over Syria's border violations of Lebanon.

Lebanon opening act canceled over Israel
Or Barnea Published: 09.07.12, 14:04 / Ynetnews
One of bands slated to open for Red Hot Chili Peppers in Beirut calls off its performance, likely due to American rock group's upcoming Tel Aviv concert One of the Lebanese opening acts for the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert in Beirut on Thursday evening canceled its performance, apparently in protest of the band's upcoming Israel show, Middle Eastern website Al-Monitor reports. The American rock group is scheduled to perform in Istanbul on Saturday evening before heading to Tel Aviv. Arab youth, sports ministers announce boycott of sports apparel manufacturer Adidas; vow 'all companies that sponsored Jerusalem marathon will be boycotted' According to reports, Lebanese band Mashrou Leila had been under strong pressure recently on the part of pro-Palestinian organization, which called on all opening acts to call off their participation in the concert "as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians."Mashrou Leila’s manager told Al-Monitor that the decision to withdraw had been tough to make.
“We don’t really want to get too much into the boycott debate, but it is a decision that we have thought a lot about,” he said. "At some point we will have to explain (the decision not to perform), but out of respect for the Chili Peppers and the organizers of the concert, we will be waiting to comment further.”The Campaign to Boycott the Supporters of Israel welcomed the band's decision to cancel its performance, saying that “their participation would have been a cover for normalization with Israel through alternative art. “Anything that is alternative and against the mainstream should attempt to portray the oppression of Israel as well as its racism and the negation of the rights of Palestinians," the organization's spokesperson told the website. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are expected to land in Israel on Sunday and perform at Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park the next evening.

March 14 slams release of officers in Abdel Wahed’s case
September 8, 2012 /The March 14 General Secretariat said on Saturday that the decision to release the army officers implicated in the case of Sunni cleric Ahmad Abdel Wahed’s killing aimed to destabilize Lebanon.“The decision aims [to cause] more instability and export strife in response to the Syrian regime’s devilish aims,” March 14 said following an extraordinary meeting.
“March 14 parties did their best and will continue [to work] to contain the repercussions of the suspicious decision to release [the officers].”
The participants also said that they decided to postpone announcing the political and popular measures they want to take to address the issue until after Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Lebanon ends on September 16.“[We] consider ourselves a follow-up commission whose task is to prevent [amnesia over] the case [of Abdel Wahed], reach the truth and hold the political, judicial and military concerned parties to their responsibilities,” March 14 also said.It added that the general secretariat will hold another extraordinary meeting on September 20.
In May, army troops shot dead Abdel Wahed and his bodyguard, Mohammad Hussein Merheb, when their convoy allegedly failed to stop at a checkpoint in North Lebanon.
On Friday, the Lebanese Military Court of Cassation released three army officers implicated in the case on $200 bail each.-NOW Lebanon

Lebanese Army patrol intercepts car laden with weapons in Beirut’s southern suburb
September 8, 2012 /The Lebanese Army said in a statement that it intercepted on Saturday a car transporting weapons in Roueiss in the Beirut southern suburb of Dahiyeh, the National News Agency reported. “After information became available to the army intelligence service that some individuals were attempting to smuggle weapons out of Roueiss, located in Beirut’s Dahiyeh, an army patrol managed on [Saturday] morning to intercept an [SUV] laden with a substantial amount of weapons and ammunition as well as explosives and military equipment,” the statement said.
It added that army raids were still ongoing in order “to arrest the owner of the car and other culprits and to refer them to the concerned judicial authorities.”
Earlier on Saturday, a statement released by the army said that an army unit arrested several people in raids in southern Beirut following a string of kidnappings by members of a local Shiite clan last month.
The Moqdad clan, which was involved in a string of abductions, said on Friday evening that they no longer held the Turkish national and four Syrians abducted in August in retaliation to the kidnapping of a Moqdad member by a self-proclaimed opposition group in Syria. -NOW Lebanon

The truth about Lebanon and Syria
Now Lebanon/September 7, 2012
On Thursday, Syrian Social Nationalist Party MP Marwan Fares told the Kuwaiti daily As-Seyassah that President Michel Suleiman “showed a lack of loyalty toward the Syrian government.” At first glance one might be forgiven for thinking that Suleiman was Syrian and not Lebanese, but such is the level of desperation of hardcore Syria supporters in Lebanon that they will try anything, go out on any limb, to convince anyone still listening that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad is worthy of our support and admiration.
They are finding it an increasingly uphill struggle. The truth is finding its way out of decades of darkness and has emerged blinking into the sunlight. In fact, it must have been a similar sensation for Yaaqoub Chamoun, a man allegedly released from 26 years of captivity in a Syrian jail for belonging to the Kataeb Party. His sentence: life with hard labor. Nothing much to admire there.
But Shamoun’s release three months ago not only gives hope to those families whose loved ones were abducted during Syria’s three decade “presence” in Lebanon—the number of those still thought to be incarcerated is around 300—it should also offer further proof, if ever any were needed, of the repressive nature of the Assad regime. If it spirited people away and detained them illegally, why should it not also be equally ruthless with those seeking regime change? Do such actions merit our loyalty? Hardly.
Furthermore, the regime to which Fares says our president should be so loyal clearly does not feel compelled to reciprocate those feelings. If it did, it wouldn’t blithely violate Lebanon’s territorial sovereignty by shelling our land, killing our people and raiding our homes. That the Lebanese foreign minister has—to his eternal shame—not summoned the Syrian ambassador and told him to pack his bags is surely “loyalty” enough. Our president should not have to over-egg this particular omelet.
And then we hit the mother lode: the arrest of former Information Minister Michel Samaha on charges of allegedly planning, on the orders of the Assad regime, to destabilize North Lebanon with a series of bomb attacks. The video evidence was damning. The Syrian regime, far from being a brotherly, was allegedly involved in preparing terror attacks on Lebanese soil, presumably to ensure its survival and discourage the flow of weapons from Lebanon into Syria by inciting sectarian violence. Remind us, Mr. Fares, just exactly why our president should be loyal to Syria.
Elsewhere, Hezbollah, for so long the party that always fought for the downtrodden and the repressed, has been caught in something of an ideological quagmire. It seems that it is one thing to fight on behalf of those living under Zionism but quite another thing to stand up for those feeling the full force of the Baathist jackboot. Women and children may die by the thousands in Syria, but Hezbollah will not condemn the barbarity. The wheels really are coming off, aren’t they?
Mr. Fares, whatever your party’s outdated ideology might advocate, Lebanon and Syria are not joined at the hip. One million people marched through the streets of Beirut on March 14, 2005 to prove precisely that point. The current government, driven as it is by the pro-Syrian March 8 bloc, has found that since it came to power it has had to juggle its loyalty to Syria with its responsibilities toward its own people. Its pitiful performance in the past 16 months has demonstrated that the two cannot go hand in hand.
We need to stop slavishly tugging our collective forelocks to a Syrian regime that is in its death throes and start being a nation.

Hezbollah slams March 14’s Syria memo
September 08, 2012/ The Daily Star
Raad urged Sleiman to be vigilant of the “dangers” of the March 14 memo’s goals. BEIRUT: Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad lambasted Friday the March 14 coalition’s memo to President Michel Sleiman on Syria’s violations of Lebanese territory. The lawmaker said it was aimed at covering up the opposition group’s involvement in the 17-month turmoil in the neighboring country.
Speaking at a news conference in Parliament, Raad said the main goal of the March 14 memo was to incite the world against Syria and “team up with the international offensive that is targeting its unity, position and role.”“This memo aims at covering up the March 14 group’s involvement and participation in the aggression against Syria through money, arms, fighters, media incitement and direct contacts with armed groups in Syria,” Raad said. “This memo has enhanced our belief that had the Lebanese government been under the administration of the March 14 group, it would have taken Lebanon to war with Syria and also to destruction – something that achieves the goals of this group’s masters,” added Raad, also the head of Hezbollah’s bloc in Parliament.
Hezbollah has repeatedly accused March 14 of serving U.S. and Western interests, and by extension Israel.
In a petition handed to Sleiman Tuesday, the March 14 coalition called for the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers along the northern border with Syria in response to Damascus’ repeated violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty.The petition, delivered by Future parliamentary bloc leader MP Fouad Siniora, also called for the expulsion of Syria’s Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel-Karim Ali. The memo, signed by 58 lawmakers, demanded considering Ali a persona non grata “for playing a security and intelligence role rather than a diplomatic one” in his capacity as ambassador.
Raad said that despite over 20,000 Israeli violations of Lebanese territory, water and airspace since the 2006 war, the March 14 group did not present any memo to Sleiman or any regional or international body on these violations.“But this same group handed the president a memo of incitement against Syria containing a host of demands that reflected complete distraction from the Israeli enemy and its dangers,” he said.“The memo targets Syria in a hostile way contrary to the Taif Accord, bypassing the mechanism and procedures contained in the Brotherhood, Cooperation and Coordination Treaty signed by the two countries,” Raad added. He criticized the March 14 memo’s demand for the deployment of U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon on the border with Syria, and said March 14 made the same demand during the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon. “This demand reflects doubts in the Lebanese Army and amounts to a practical rejection of its deployment on the border [with Syria],” Raad said.
“The March 14 group’s memo does not reflect keenness for Lebanon’s sovereignty as much as it reflects this group’s involvement in the hostile American project which seeks to destroy and tear the region apart and sabotage Lebanon.”Raad urged Sleiman to be vigilant of the “dangers of the March 14 memo’s goals” and to deal with it with “full national responsibility.”
Syria’s violations along the poorly demarcated border with Lebanon have prompted Prime Minister Najib Mikati to instruct Lebanon’s envoy to Damascus to send a letter to Syria’s Foreign Ministry to complain about “the continuous shelling of Lebanese border towns from nearby Syrian military bases.”
Meanwhile, Future MP Ammar Houry hit back at Raad for criticizing the March 14 memo. He said Raad’s news conferences would increase in the coming days to defend the Syrian regime after the suspension of the regime’s satellite broadcasts. “When MP Raad criticized the March 14 demand for the deployment of UNIFIL on the northern and eastern border, considering it as an Israeli demand, this means that Hezbollah’s approval of [U.N.] Resolution 1701, namely Article 14, comes in this framework because the resolution calls for the UNIFIL deployment on the border with Syria,” Houry told Akhbar al-Yawm news agency. Ahmad Hariri, secretary-general of the Future Movement, declined to respond to Raad directly, but defended March 14’s memo as “historic.”
“This document can be called historic. Some 58 lawmakers have signed it. We know that when there is something repugnant in the country called Syrian tutelage, its traces remain.
“This memo came to eliminate once and for all the traces of this tutelage,” Hariri told reporters after meeting Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai at the patriarchal’s summer residence in Diman, northwest Lebanon.

Sleiman says discussed seized explosives with Syrian officials in Iran
September 08, 2012/ The Daily Star /BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman said Saturday that he and senior Syrian officials discussed in Iran the recently seized explosives by Lebanese authorities linked to the case of former Minister Michel Samaha, who, along with two other Syrian figures have been charged with plotting terror attacks in Lebanon.
He also expressed hope that there was no relation between official Syrian sides and the seized explosives.“There was no secret meeting in Iran ... but there were no reporters in the hall at the time. The initiative was by both Syrian Prime Minister [Wael Nader al-Halqi] and Foreign Affairs Minister Walid Muallem ... we discussed this matter and what I told them was identical to what I said on the day that the explosives were seized,” Sleiman said, according to a statement from his office. In late August Sleiman took part in the 16th Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tehran. Former Information Minister Michel Samaha was arrested last month and then later charged by the Military Tribunal with plotting terror attacks in Lebanon. Samaha, Syrian National Security Bureau head Ali Mamlouk and a Syrian army officer identified as Brig. Gen. Adnan were also accused of planning to incite sectarian clashes through terrorist attacks with explosives that Samaha transported to Lebanon and stored after taking possession of them from Mamlouk and Adnan.
In the days following the discovery of the explosives, Sleiman described reports of the possible terrorist plots in the country as frightening, but praised security agencies’ work in foiling such plans.
In his speech in his home town of Amchite, Jbeil, north Lebanon, Saturday, Sleiman said he would not retract his praise of the Internal Security Forces for their efforts in the case of seizing of the explosives.
“I wish to praise the Internal Security Forces. Yes, I congratulate them and I hail Interior Minister Marwan Charbel who is the head of the force, particularly on their seizure of these explosives which, had they exploded, could have led to [the loss of] hundreds of lives and casualties in Lebanon,” he said.
“I will never retract this praise,” he added. He also expressed hope that there was no relation between any “official Syrian side and the explosives.”
“We therefore thank God that these bombs were seized and I stress that we will not resort to accusations and this case is in the hands of the judiciary, which I ask to fulfill its duties,” he said.

Official says Hezbollah will retaliate if Israel attacks Iran: report
September 08, 2012/ The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Hezbollah will retaliate against Israel if the Jewish state launches any steps against the Islamic Republic, Iran’s Mehr agency quoted Saturday a senior military aide to Iran’s supreme leader as saying. “If the Zionist entity carried out any steps against us, resistance groups, particularly Hezbollah in Lebanon, given their central role in our defensive strategy, will respond against this entity,” the semi-official news agency quoted Maj. Gen. Yahia Safawi as saying. “The defense of the Palestinian people comes within the framework of our defensive strategy and Lebanon and Syria also constitute the core of our defensive strategy,” Safavi, an aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, added, the agency said. In June Safavi was quoted by AFP as saying: “Hezbollah has thousands of missiles ... Hassan Nasrallah is a soldier of the supreme leader ... All places in the Zionist entity are within missile range.”
Safavi was until 2007 the commander in chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the force that protects Iran's Islamic system of governance.
In a face-to-face interview with Almayadeen television last week, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said a possible Israeli strike on Iran would invite a strong retaliation from the Islamic Republic, but he played down the possibility such strike would take place, adding that Israeli officials were divided on the issue.

Meqdad clan says five hostages missing
September 08, 2012 02:02/By Hussein Abdalla/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: A Turkish hostage and four Syrians held by the Meqdad tribe went missing after Lebanese Army forces raided the area where they had been held and arrested a number of people, the spokesman of the clan said Friday. The raid was conducted to arrest a number of wanted individuals linked to the recent kidnappings, an army statement said.
“An Army force carried out a raid to execute arrest warrants against individuals that were linked to kidnappings and recent incidents that took place on the Airport road. The Army arrested a number of wanted, including Hasan al-Meqdad, and continues to chase others,” said the statement, which made no mention of the hostages.
Hasan al-Meqdad is the brother of Maher, the clan’s spokesman.
Maher al-Meqdad told The Daily Star he knew nothing about the whereabouts of Turkish national Aydin Tekin and the four Syrians who were kidnapped by the clan last month in response to the abduction of a clan member by anti-regime rebels in Syria.
The Army deployed in the Meqdad neighborhood in the Beirut southern suburb of Rways after a personal feud broke out between a member of the Meqdads and another from the Srour family, the spokesman said.
Sheikh Hasan al-Meqdad, Maher’s brother, had been intervening to end the fight when he was arrested by Army soldiers, he added.
“The sheikh intervened to settle the dispute, but the Army deployed suddenly and arrested him along with others. He had nothing to do with the fight. He was just trying to help,” Meqdad said.
“When the Army realized the sheikh had nothing to do with the feud, they wanted to release him, but an unknown third party fired shots on Army troops who were deployed in the area, and the Army responded by raiding the neighborhood,” he added.
The clan could not locate any of the five hostages after the raid took place, Maher said, adding that they were also not in Army custody.
A military source told Al-Jadeed television the Army has not “freed any of the hostages.”
Maher said the Meqdad clan did not want any trouble with the Army, adding that a “third party” was trying to trigger a clash between the clan and Army troops.
The Meqdads had earlier threatened to kill the Turkish hostage if Hassan al-Meqdad was killed by his captors.
The clan initiated a spate of abductions in the country last month in what they said was an attempt to pressure their relative’s captors to release him.
Eleven Lebanese Shiites were also kidnapped by rebels in northern Syria last May on their way back from a pilgrimage in Iran. Hussein Omar, one of the 11, was released late last month in what was described as a “goodwill gesture” from the captors following negotiations that included Lebanese and Turkish officials.
Efforts are ongoing to secure the release of the remaining 10 and Hassan al-Meqdad.

Hezbollah and clans
Hazem al-Amin/Now Lebanon/September 7, 2012
Like so many boisterous events, the kidnapping of Syrian and Turkish nationals by the Moqdad clan prevented us from delving deeper into the significances of the sudden rise of Bekaa clans. This rise is indeed sudden, considering that the previous two decades were characterized by the receding role of clans as political and economic units, thus further weakening them as social units.
We were quick to accuse Hezbollah of using the Moqdad clan as pawns, and we have enough evidence to back such claims. “The Moqdad clan can hardly take action without Hezbollah’s blessing or – at least – without its turning a blind eye; Hezbollah wanted to do something similar to what Abu Ibrahim did in Aazaz when he said he is not affiliated to the Free Syrian Army, etc.” These are but few of the explanations that could have been invoked.
One feels that the Moqdad clan’s rhetoric embodies a certain amount of bitterness despite the “victory” to which the clan’s spokespersons alluded. The bitterness is not due to the fact that a family member was kidnapped in Syria, but rather to a more essential cause than an otherwise ordinary event in the clan’s life. In fact, as is the case with all Beqaa clans, Hezbollah has been confiscating the representation of the Moqdad clan for more than two decades. It did it slowly, deliberately and efficiently, and achieved victory over the clan without any war. Hezbollah did not defeat the function of the clan for the purpose of modernism; rather, its military and security system replaced the clannish organization that watched over the clan’s interests and distributed its bounties and rents. It was tremendously difficult, for instance, for the Shamas clan to defeat someone like Yahya Shamas, who was sitting on top of the clan hierarchy, when Hezbollah set out to defeat him in the last two elections. This came along with collective pain the clan felt when the majority of its voters were forced to cast their ballots against a person they love and whom they wish would represent them.
Hezbollah in the Beqaa is a general authority, a driving authority that does not like minor ones and gives but little credit to local specificities in its areas of influence. While this did not lead to a direct clash with the “local cultures” of Shiite communities, Hezbollah still achieved a tangible victory on Shiite traditions, be it in the Beqaa or in the South. In this respect, Hezbollah did achieve victory over Beqaa clans.
Being a subliminal unit as well, the clan’s relation with Hezbollah is characterized by an inherent bitterness that is not revealed in its direct rhetoric. When Maher Moqdad says “Hezbollah can ask for our blood in the conflict with Israel but we will not be lenient with anyone with regard to our son’s kidnapping,” this is tantamount to implicit protests that have long been voiced by the Beqaa clans toward the party, as though they were saying: “Let us manage our daily life knowing that we agree with you on strategic issues.”
Yet Hezbollah has had to reconsider the security function of the clan on the local level, which means that the party’s absolute power is experiencing a dual deficiency: First, the party is unable to undertake a mission required of an authority that seeks to replace the clan and second, it cannot confront the phenomenon of kidnappings with kidnappings of its own.
Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc encompasses a member of the Moqdad clan, namely MP Ali Moqdad. The latter did not have any front-row seat in the negotiations regarding those kidnapped in Syria. Ali Moqdad was chosen by Hezbollah as a Member of Parliament: the clan did not unanimously support him, but still he was not a matter for divisions; rather, he is merely Hezbollah’s MP.
If the Moqdad clan keeps on “taking matters in its own hands” to achieve justice, Hezbollah will have no choice next time but to have Maher Moqdad run for elections instead of Ali Moqdad.

International Christian Concern (ICC)/FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Over One Million Chin Christians Still Face Persecution in Burma
New Report Details Ongoing Campaign Against Christianity in Chin State
Washington, D.C. (September 7, 2012) - International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that over one million Christians belonging to the Chin tribal group in Burma continue to face regular persecution on the basis of their faith and ethnicity. The information comes after the release of an in-depth report on Wednesday by the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) documenting dozens of incidents of government-directed persecution against Chin Christians, including forced labor, rape, and extra-judicial killings.
The report, entitled " 'Threats to Our Existence:' Persecution of Ethnic Chin Christians in Burma," reveals that an unwritten policy of "Burmanization" whereby ethnic groups are assimilated into the "Union of Burma" is still being carried out despite democratic reforms by the current government. Central to this policy are severe restrictions on minority religions and the promotion of a nationalistic form of Buddhism. According to the report, this policy has led to "endemic discrimination" against Chin Christians and even attempts to coerce their conversion to Buddhism.
The report, which documented incidents between March of 2004 and June of 2012 and is based on over 100 interviews with Chin Christians, records 40 separate incidents of "torture or ill-treatment" targeting Chins on the basis of their faith and ethnicity. It also states that at least 26 official complaints made by Chin Christians to various levels of government, including complaints of rape and extra-judicial killings, were followed up with "no action taken against the perpetrators."
Furthermore, thirteen Christian crosses in Chin State, some of them structures over 20 feet tall, were destroyed during the reporting period. Chin Christians were also forced to construct over a dozen Buddhist monasteries and pagodas. One unidentified representative of the Burmese government was recorded as saying "Christianity is not the state religion, therefore one day your Christianity may be persecuted to the point of it being wiped out by the government. We are authorized to persecute you and all the Christian missionaries."
"President Thein Sein's government claims that religious freedom is protected by law but in reality Buddhism is treated as the de-facto state religion," said CHRO Program Director Salai Ling. "The discriminatory state institutions and ministries of previous military regimes continue to operate in the same way today. Few reforms have reached Chin State."
The Chin people are located in the mountainous western region of Burma bordering India and Bangladesh. It is estimated that 90% of the approximately 1.5 million Chin are Christian.
Ryan Morgan, ICC's Regional Manager for Southeast Asia, said "The persecution of Burma's Christian population, which includes most of the Chin people, has been institutionalized for decades. Sadly, the international community has somehow managed to overlook this and is lifting sanctions on Burma as if all is well. In the light of this new report we call on the international community to carefully reconsider the progress that Burma has made, especially in the area of religious freedom. We also call on the Burmese government to immediately lift restrictions placed on Christian citizens and to reverse its policies of 'Burmanization' all the way down to the local level."

Egyptian Father Kills Three Daughters with Snakes
by Raymond Ibrahim/FrontPage Magazine
September 7, 2012
http://www.raymondibrahim.com/12241/egyptian-father-kills-three-daughters-with-snakes
A tragic story concerning an Egyptian father who killed his three young daughters with snakes last April was largely missed in the West. According to Emirates24:
The three dead sisters, killed by snakes from their father for being girls.
An Egyptian man killed his three young daughters aged 7, 5 and 3 by letting a poisonous snake bite them. According to 'Al Youm Al Sabea'a' newspaper, the three kids were found dead in their bed in Bani Mazar town of Al Minya governorate of upper Egypt. Forensic reports confirm the kids died due to snake poison. The man allegedly bought two cobras and let them bite the children while they were asleep so as not to be caught. He was divorced from their mother because he doubted her. He alleged that the children's mother was in a relationship before marrying him and, therefore, denied that he fathered the kids. But she insisted he support the three daughters. However, when his second wife gave birth to a boy, he decided to do away with the children, he confessed to police under arrest.
While Emirates24 gives the story a Western spin—saying the man doubted his wife's fidelity, the true parentage of his daughters, and did not want to pay child-support—the Egyptian show, Al Haqiqa ("the Truth"), which devoted an episode to this matter, never mentioned this angle, but rather portrayed him as killing his daughters simply because they were girls. Among the many people interviewed who verified this was the maternal grandmother, who said that, beginning with the birth of the first daughter, the man became hostile saying "I hate girls" and had to be placated to return to his wife. This scenario was repeated more dramatically with the birth of the second daughter. When he discovered his wife was pregnant with a third daughter, he tried to poison the pregnant woman but failed. He then spent a year plotting how to kill the girls without getting caught and had even tried with different snakes earlier, which proved ineffective, until he finally succeeded.
After stressing that the father was clearly not insane, but acted in a very deliberate manner, the host of Al Haqiqa, Wael Ibrashi, explained that "this matter deserves discussion, since these mentalities are present in Egyptian society. We never thought that these understandings that existed in pagan [jahiliyya] times concerning female infanticide would ever return, but they have returned."
By "pagan times," or jahiliyya, Ibrashi was alluding to a famous narrative: according to Muslim tradition, pre-Islamic Arabs used to bury their newborn infants alive, if they were daughters, but the prophet of Islam, Muhammad, outlawed female infanticide.
While this was a positive step, unfortunately, it is only half the picture. Indeed, this brutal filicide is a reminder of an often overlooked phenomenon of the Muslim world: oftentimes it is not the specific teachings of Islam that inform the actions of the average Muslim—many of whom are wholly unaware what the Koran teaches, let alone Sharia—but rather the general culture born of 14 centuries of Islam. Marshall Hodgson originally coined the term "Islamicate" to describe this phenomenon, which refers "not directly to the religion, Islam, itself, but to the social and cultural complex historically associated with Islam and the Muslims…" (The Venture of Islam, vol. 1, p.59).
Consider the issue of forced conversion. While the Koran states that "there is no coercion in religion"—even Koran 9:29, which is said to abrogate such verses, allows Christians and Jews to remain in their faiths—from the dawn of history till the present, forced conversions have been a normal aspect of Islam. Why? Because while the average Muslim may not know the letter of the law, based on Islamic culture, they know being an infidel is a terrible thing. Hence, "compelling" such hell-bound infidels to embrace Islam can be seen as an act of altruism.
As for the issue of female infanticide, while Islam certainly does not promote killing females simply because they are female, it does teach any number of things which dehumanize and devalue them in Muslim society, including the notion that women are deficient in intelligence (which even an Egyptian female political candidate agrees with); men are permitted to beat their wives; a woman's testimony is worth half a man's; and infidel women taken in jihad raids can be bought and sold as sex slaves (which even a Kuwaiti female political activist agrees with). Muhammad even likened women to dogs and devils, and said most of hell's inhabitants would be women.
In this context, while Islam did not cause this man to murder his daughters, it certainly helped mold his low opinion of females, which was the seed of his misogynistic bloodlust.
Hence the great irony of Islam: it often matters less that Muhammad once said there is no coercion in religion or that female infanticide is wrong. His many other statements that characterized non-Muslim infidels and all women as "bad" have been more influential throughout the course of history, and seen any number of people forced to convert to Islam and any number of women abused and killed.

The minority strategy
Tony Badran/Now Lebanon/September 8, 2012
Syrian government forces take aim during a battle in Aleppo. The Assad regime is recruiting minority groups to fight against rebels. (AFP photo)
The most recent developments in Syria indicate that Bashar al-Assad is stepping up his efforts to entwine himself with other Syrian minority groups by calling up reservists from these groups and arming communal neighborhood militias. This tactic is perhaps less of a military nature than of a political one.
Assad is still playing to win, but with his already limited manpower constantly shrinking, the president is exploiting Syria’s fissures to embed the regime in as many communal pockets as possible in order to ensure he remains a non-circumventable interlocutor in any future negotiation. If he cannot win the military battle, this, Assad perhaps calculates, will be the inevitable outcome of a stalemated conflict.
Assad had begun this strategy with his core base, the Alawites. He systematically implicated the Alawites in the regime’s sectarian mass killings against Sunnis, thereby seeking to widen the target for the rebels’ retaliation beyond the regime. Assad’s policy has moved past mere employment of the shabiha paramilitaries to the establishment of new, local Alawite militias. Whether such groups—some of which call themselves the Syrian “muqawama”—are the ones Iran is helping Assad form, is unclear. What’s more, the regime is even seeking recruits among the Arab Alawites of the Turkish Hatay province, using the services of an old associate by the name of Mihraç Ural, who also once worked closely with the PKK.
I have previously described Assad’s attempt to draw the Kurds into an alliance. The full nature of his possible understanding with the PYD, the PKK’s Syrian affiliate, is still unclear. However, Kurdish areas remain off limits to the Free Syrian Army (FSA) or to any armed Kurdish defectors (including those who fled to Iraqi Kurdistan). Moreover, in recent days, the regime has launched raids in Kurdish cities to forcefully drag military-aged male Kurds back to active service. And last week, the PYD detained Kurdish activists and conscripts as they tried to cross into Turkey, then proceeded to attack demonstrators in Amude who protested the abductions.
The regime always sought to cast as wide a net as possible to drag in the country's minority communities. Not satisfied with the tacit support of minority groups like the Christians and the Druze, Assad is trying to engineer an explicit minoritarian alignment behind him, one that actively implicates these groups against the Sunnis.
There were already various incidents indicating a measure of cooperation—voluntary or not—between the regime and some Christians in providing intelligence tips or using certain Christian villages as staging grounds for assaults against Sunni towns. In late July, The Wall Street Journal reported that the regime actively armed male loyalists in the Christian and Druze quarters of the capital. The paper also noted that a Christian family in the Wadi al-Nasara region took up arms “alongside Alawite loyalists,” a trend the regime is surely encouraging.
The same is happening in Aleppo, where regime-supported Christian militias are setting up checkpoints and conducting house searches. Some Armenian Christians are also reportedly following suit. Late last month, the Higher Council for the Syrian Revolution issued a statement urging Armenians not to take up arms alongside the regime. It noted that in Aleppo and Kasab—north of Lattakia—some Armenians were manning checkpoints, and their houses were being used by Assad’s paramilitaries.
Similarly, some Druze factions are also taking part of this regime-supported effort. In the Damascus suburb of Sahnaya, for instance, Druze men are also reportedly manning checkpoints in order keep out rebel units. There had long been rumors that Assad loyalists, like Lebanese Druze figure Wiam Wahhab, have been working to arm and mobilize Syrian Druze on the side of the regime.
This phenomenon pushed Lebanese Druze chief Walid Jumblatt to attack those “shortsighted” Druze factions, who, “in collusion with some notables in [the Druze] Jabal al-Arab, are seeking to drag the Druze, after arming them, into a confrontation with the revolution, for the benefit of the regime.” Jumblatt saw in this drive to arm the minorities, as well as the recent bombing in the Jermana suburb, an effort to instigate them to fight the Sunnis on behalf of the regime.
Assad’s ploy, however, is unlikely to solve the problem of his continuously dwindling manpower. None of these minorities is eager to enlist in Assad’s army, and most choose to flea the country instead. Nor is it clear that the disparate, small-scale formations of Druze and Christian neighborhood militias will be sufficient to embroil the FSA and limit its increasing expansion. In other words, the military significance of this strategy is highly questionable.
Rather, the move is primarily political. Assad seeks to assemble the minorities around him in order to present himself as the sole and unavoidable interlocutor on behalf of these segments of Syrian society, where he has cultivated loyal patches.
Realistically, Assad’s only viable strategy is to maintain his hold on loyal, but contracted territory, mainly in the coastal mountains, and secure Damascus and parts of Aleppo for as long as possible, in the hope that such a prolonged stalemate would force a negotiated, power-sharing settlement with him.
Iran supports this endgame, as evident from its recent call for a contact group on Syria, as well as from the statement by Hezbollah MP Nawaf Musawi that the solution in Syria can only be a Lebanon-style “no victor, no vanquished” compromise settlement.
The endgame for the US and its regional and international allies, however, should remain unchanged: the total eradication of the Assad regime. As for Syria’s minorities, one can only hope they don’t foolishly choose to allow Assad to ride on their backs. Either way, tailoring policy to their contours is not the way to go.
Tony Badran is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He tweets @AcrossTheBay.

U.S. Senators John McCain, Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham urge tougher stand on Syria, Iran
September 08, 2012/By Dan Perry /Daily Star
CERNOBBIO, Italy: U.S. Senators John McCain, Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham on Friday urged Washington to help arm Syria's rebels with weapons and create a safe zone inside the country for a transition government. They also called for a far tougher position against Iran over its suspected - and seemingly inexorable - drive toward acquiring nuclear weapons capability.
McCain blasted President Barack Obama, who defeated him in the 2008 presidential election, for recently setting the "red line" for Syria at use of chemical weapons.
"If you're (Syrian President) Bashar Assad ... maybe you interpret that to mean that you can do anything short of chemical weapons before the United States will intervene," the Republican from Arizona told the Ambrosetti Forum, a gathering of political and business leaders on the shores of Lake Como in Italy.
Lieberman and McCain - who together with Graham have toured the volatile Middle East in recent days - both argued that the longer the West waits the more jihadists will gain influence in the rebellion.
"We should be supplying weapons to the opposition to Assad (and) I strongly support the creation of a safe zone," said Lieberman, the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee, who has since become a Connecticut independent.
"The opposition has effectively seized control of a piece of land in northern Syria," he said. "If we help them protect themselves from Assad's helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft they can establish a transitional government ... I am confident that if we set it up and told (the regime) that if they attacked it there would be a vigorous response, they would not attack it."
He said such a zone would enable potential future leaders now located in places like Istanbul and Paris to establish a presence among the people.
Recent Turkish efforts to push for just such action ran aground at the United Nations, due both to Russian and Chinese opposition as well as lack of enthusiasm in many Western countries for more direct involvement in Mideast tumult, especially after the less-than-stellar outcomes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, agreed that people in the West are war-weary, but argued that if Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney "would speak out more forcefully about the consequences of doing nothing compared to the consequences of taking a calculated risk, public opinion would change."
"It is better to shape history than to see it pass by," he said.
Lieberman spoke of the human toll.
"There is a slaughter going on," he said of the Syria conflict, whose death toll has reached about 25,000. "Everything that motivated all of us to get involved in Libya is happening in Syria, and more."
He noted that "Assad is the number one ally in the Arab world of Iran, and Iran is that greatest threat to stability in the region and beyond the region at this point."
And on Iran, the three were united in a belief that economic sanctions will not cause Tehran to end its nuclear drive.
McCain argued that with the notable exception of the case of Apartheid South Africa, "sanctions, when we look at history, rarely work" - and in the case of Iran that's exacerbated by a sense that the nuclear program has the people's support.
"We have applied very tough economic sanctions on Iran and they have clearly affected the economy of Iran - but they have not affected the nuclear program one iota," marveled Lieberman. "By its recalcitrance Iran is presenting the rest of the world with only two choices: Do we accept a nuclear Iran and try to contain it - or do we take military action? That's a fateful decision that's got to be made in the months ahead." Lieberman noted that the UN nuclear agency has shown "evidence that the Iranians are rushing toward having the capability to develop nuclear weapons (that) would be a total change of the balance of power in the Middle East and more broadly in the world," since Iran is a patron of terrorist groups. Lieberman said the "red line" should be the acquisition of capability as opposed to the actual construction of a nuclear weapon. Graham said he did not expect Israel - whose leaders have been saber-rattling all year in what many suspect is a bluff aimed at sparking tougher Western action - to forever remain inactive. But he argued that the U.S. should be the one making military threats. "If the Iranians believed that there's a credible threat of a massive attack by the United States to disrupt their nuclear program and their regime's survivability, they will start thinking differently."
"I believe (Iranian leaders) feel that a nuclear weapon gives them complete immunity forever because the international community will leave them alone if they get that weapon," he said. "The one thing I know they cannot possibly believe is that they can survive a conflict with the United States."