LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
January 05/2013

Bible Quotation for today/Jesus the Real Vine
John 15/01-17: " “I am the real vine, and my Father is the gardener. He breaks off every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it will be clean and bear more fruit. You have been made clean already by the teaching I have given you. Remain united to me, and I will remain united to you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me. Those who do not remain in me are thrown out like a branch and dry up; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, where they are burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish, and you shall have it. My Father's glory is shown by your bearing much fruit; and in this way you become my disciples. I love you just as the Father loves me; remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My commandment is this: love one another, just as I love you. The greatest love you can have for your friends is to give your life for them. And you are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because servants do not know what their master is doing. Instead, I call you friends, because I have told you everything I heard from my Father. You did not choose me; I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name. This, then, is what I command you: love one another

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
The Iraqi Spring and the Iranian Autumn/By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat/January 05/10

Question: "How can we know what parts of the Bible apply to us today?"
GotQuestions.org
Answer: Much misunderstanding about the Christian life occurs because we either assign commands and exhortations we should be following as "era-specific" commands that only applied to the original audience, or we take commands and exhortations that are specific to a particular audience and make them timeless truths. How do we go about discerning the difference? The first thing to note is that the canon of Scripture was closed by the end of the 1st century A.D. What that means is most, if not all, of the Bible was not originally written to us. The authors had in mind the hearers of that day and probably were not aware that their words would be read and interpreted by people all over the world centuries later. That should cause us to be very careful when interpreting the Bible for today’s Christians. It seems that much of contemporary evangelical preaching is so concerned with the practical application of Scripture that we treat the Bible as a lake from which to fish application for today’s Christians. All of this is done at the expense of proper exegesis and interpretation.
The top three rules of hermeneutics (the art and science of biblical interpretation) are 1) context; 2) context; 3) context. Before we can tell 21st-century Christians how the Bible applies to them, we must first come to the best possible understanding of what the Bible meant to its original audience. If we come up with an application that would have been foreign to the original audience, there is a very strong possibility that we did not interpret the passage correctly. Once we are confident that we understand what the text meant to its original hearers, we then need to determine the width of the chasm between us and them. In other words, what are the differences in language, time, culture, geography, setting and situation? All of these must be taken into account before application can be made. Once the width of the chasm has been measured, we can then attempt to build the bridge over the chasm by finding the commonalities between the original audience and ourselves. Finally, we can then find application for ourselves in our time and situation.
Another important thing to note is that each passage has only one correct interpretation. It can have a range of application, but only one interpretation. What this means is that some applications of biblical passages are better than others. If one application is closer to the correct interpretation than another, then it is a better application of that text. For example, many sermons have been preached on 1 Samuel 17 (the David and Goliath story) that center around on "defeating the giants in your life." They lightly skim over the details of the narrative and go straight to application, and that application usually involves allegorizing Goliath into tough, difficult and intimidating situations in one’s life that must be overcome by faith. There is also an attempt to allegorize the five smooth stones David picked up to defeat his giant. These sermons usually conclude by exhorting us to be faithful like David.
While these interpretations make engaging sermons, it is doubtful the original audience would have gotten that message from this story. Before we can apply the truth in 1 Samuel 17, we must know how the original audience understood it, and that means determining the overall purpose of 1 Samuel as a book. Without going into a detailed exegesis of 1 Samuel 17, let’s just say it’s not about defeating the giants in your life with faith. That may be a distant application, but as an interpretation of the passage, it’s alien to the text. God is the hero of the story and David was His chosen vehicle to bring salvation to His people. The story contrasts the people’s king (Saul) with God’s king (David), and it also foreshadows what Christ (the Son of David) would do for us in providing our salvation.
Another common example of interpreting with disregard of the context is John 14:13-14. Reading this verse out of context would seem to indicate that if we ask God anything (unqualified), we will receive it as long as we use the formula “in Jesus’ name.” Applying the rules of proper hermeneutics to this passage, we see Jesus speaking to His disciples in the upper room on the night of His eventual betrayal. The immediate audience is the disciples. This is essentially a promise to His disciples that God will provide the necessary resources for them to complete their task. It is a passage of comfort because Jesus would soon be leaving them. Is there an application for 21st-century Christians? Of course! If we pray in Jesus’ name, we pray according to God’s will and God will give us what we need to accomplish His will in and through us. Furthermore, the response we get will always glorify God. Far from a "carte blanche" way of getting what we want, this passage teaches us that we must always submit to God’s will in prayer, and that God will always provide what we need to accomplish His will.
Proper biblical interpretation is built on the following principles:
1. Context. To understand fully, start small and extend outward: verse, passage, chapter, book, author and testament/covenant.
2. Try to come to grips with how the original audience would have understood the text.
3. Consider the width of the chasm between us and the original audience.
4. It’s a safe bet that any moral command from the Old Testament that is repeated in the New Testament is an example of a "timeless truth."
5. Remember that each passage has one and only one correct interpretation, but can have many applications (some better than others).
6. Always be humble and don’t forget the role of the Holy Spirit in interpretation. He has promised to lead us into all truth (John 16:13).
As mentioned earlier, biblical interpretation is as much an art as it is science. There are rules and principles, but some of the more difficult or controversial passages require more effort than others. We should always be open to changing an interpretation if the Spirit convicts and the evidence supports.

Jumblatt meets Rai, says Chouf 'wounds' healed
January 04, 2013/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: The dismantling of a contested building in the Chouf marks a significant step in reconciliation efforts between Christians and Druze in the country, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt said Friday following a meeting with Cardinal Beshara Rai. “When the Patriarch [Beshara] Rai visited us in the Chouf last summer, we promised him we would work on healing an old wound left behind by the painful Chouf events,” Jumblatt told reporters at Bkirki, the seat of the Maronite Church in Lebanon. “Yesterday [Thursday], violations on Christian lands in Brih were removed, sealing all the wounds from the Chouf war,” he added, referring to the Druze-built municipal center that was located on land belonging to the Maronite Church and Christian residents. In 2010, Jumblatt and President Michel Sleiman signed a reconciliation protocol which included the dismantling of the municipal center in the village of Brih. In 2001, a historic visit by former Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir to the Chouf region marked the beginning of what was dubbed the "Reconciliation of the Mountain," as it sought to bring together Christians and Druze who fought against each other in the 1980s, during the Lebanese Civil War. The fighting forced many Christians to leave their homes. Last year, Rai met with Jumblatt in a bid to cement the reconciliation process launched by his predecessor. During the September visit in September, Rai said that in order to complete the reconciliation process, all the displaced needed to return to their hometowns without exception. Several other villages in Aley and Baabda await similar reconciliation processes.

Diskin, Former Shin Bet head : PM, Netanyahu unreliable leader possessed by Iran
By JPOST.COM STAFF 01/04/2013/Former Shin Bet head levels sharp criticism over the decision-making process at the highest echelons of Israeli government.Former Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head Yuval Diskin on Friday leveled sharp criticism against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak over their decision-making process.
In an interview published in Yedioth Ahronoth, Diskin, who served as Shin Bet chief from 2005-2011, cited alcohol consumption, cigar smoking and the fact that Netanyahu is "possessed" by Iran as reasons to oppose his premiership."Netanyahu is scared, fickle and shirking responsibility," Diskin was quoted by Yediot as saying. "There is a crisis of leadership here, a crisis of values and total contempt for the public. Maybe people will think I'm exaggerating, but I’m telling you: From close up it looks even worse."
Diskin based his criticism on "an important discussion about Iran," in which Netanyahu, Barak and former foreign minister Avigdor Liberman allegedly were "sitting and smoking cigars in front of everyone."
According to Diskin, "The defense minister [Barak] gets up and walks over to a corner and pours himself a little drink from time to time. In the middle of such a sensitive, confidential meeting, he is standing with a drink in one hand and a cigar in the other, in front of the IDF's officers and intelligence officials."
"When I look at Netanyahu and Barak," Diskin continued, "I don't see an iota of leadership qualities in either of them. [Former prime minister Yitzhak] Rabin, [President Shimon] Peres, [former prime minister Ariel] Sharon and [former prime minister Ehud] Olmert knew how to put the national interest before everything else. I didn't feel this way with Netanyahu or Barak. I don't think others did either. "
According to the former Shin Bet head, Netanyahu's attitude towards Iran is tainted by his determination to secure his place in the pages of history.
"I have a very deep feeling that when it comes to Iran," Diskin was quoted by Yediot as saying, "Netanyahu is possessed by Menachem Begin, who attacked Iraq's nuclear reactor, and by Olmert, who many claim is responsible for the attack on Syria's reactor."Bibi [Netanyahu] wants to go down in history as the person who did something on this size and scale. I have heard him belittle what his predecessors have done and assert that his mission on Iran is on a much grander scale."

US resolution pressures EU to act against Hezbollah
Hezbollah members carry a flower wreath in the colors of the resistance group’s logo during a ceremony honoring their martyrs in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Fri Jan 4, 2013/press TV
Egypt gives hope to Palestine‘Israeli accusations out of desperation’Washington has pressured the European Union to designate the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah a ‘terrorist group,’ a report says.
On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives approved a resolution that urges the European Union member states to also impose sanctions on Hezbollah, the Times of Israel news website reported.
Based on the resolution, which was co-sponsored by 85 House representatives, Hezbollah would be prevented from employing the territories belonging to the European Union for fundraising, recruitment and training.
On July 24, 2012, the European Union flatly rejected an Israeli call to blacklist Hezbollah as a terrorist group, despite being under pressure from the US.
The European Union regards Hezbollah as an active political party in Lebanon. It says there is not enough evidence to warrant listing the Lebanese group as a ‘terror group’ like the United States.
European countries argue that their relations with Lebanon, where Hezbollah provides extensive social services and its political wing holds government power, would be damaged by the designation.
Among the 27 European Union member states, only the UK and the Netherlands are in favor of the designation, which would freeze the group’s Europe-held financial assets.
On October 27, 2012, John O. Brennan, the chief counterterrorism adviser to US President Barack Obama, criticized the European Union for its failure to join Washington in designating Hezbollah a ‘terrorist organization.’

Hezbollah Weighs Its Options
By: Nasser Chararah for Al-Monitor Lebanon Pulse. posted on Thu, Jan 3.
Two valuable questions are hovering around regional and Western countries: Where would Hezbollah stand and how would it react if Assad were to depart, or if Israel or the West were to launch an attack on Iran?
Nasser Chararah considers Hezbollah's options in dealing with Syria and a potential military strike on Iran.
Author: Nasser Chararah
posted on: Thu, Jan 3, 2013
Understandably, Westerners in particular do not hold a definite answer to that question. They are oblivious to the core secret of Hezbollah’s power and to the mindset of its leadership. The Shiite group is seen as secretive, casting not a single shred of light upon its structure and capabilities, while being shrilly reticent on the security and political level.
The Western impression is somehow accurate. However, the West did not provide Hezbollah with enough chances to be out in the open. Late Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was amongst those convinced that Hezbollah should be brought to light so it could become less concealed and eventually less radical and more responsible for its own actions. Thus, Hariri encouraged bringing Hezbollah into the cabinet and the parliament.
The initiative of Hariri did not fully yield the desired result. Currently, Hezbollah is an integral part of Mikati’s government — to the extent that some observers consider it the government of Hezbollah. Nevertheless, the party has maintained its secrecy, showing to the public the less important while keeping the essential well hidden.
Hezbollah is using this lack of knowledge to its benefit, in particular the Western inability to predict the party’s reactions. As a result, psychological warfare plays a crucial role in Hezbollah’s conflict management with Israel and the West. Less than two months ago, Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah set forth the acquirement of a new missile arsenal, whose specifics were kept unannounced, in case Israel were to attack Lebanon. Nasrallah hinted that these long-range missiles could strike all of Israel’s territory, including the Negev Nuclear Power Plant.
Until this point, Hezbollah’s agenda remains cloaked, with the exception of a sole publicized plan. The party’s military strength aims at liberating the rest of the occupied Lebanese territories while standing ready to deter Israeli ambitions to seize Lebanon’s natural resources, in particular water.
Recently, Arab and Western political circles have said privately that Hezbollah may shift to offensive operations if Israel were to attack Iran or if pressures intensify over Syria that threaten the regime with demise. However, Nasrallah added during his last speech a third scenario that could incite offensive strategies: a new Israeli attack against Lebanon. Hezbollah will not be content with defense, rather it will attack the settlements near the Lebanese border. Launching attacks against Israeli settlements is probably an exaggerated scenario that goes hand in hand with the party’s inclination to intensify psychological warfare efforts each time the Israeli threat beats the drums of a new war.However, Hezbollah is treading a thin line between psychological warfare and real preparations for war. Those acquainted with the tactics of the party say that it continuously enhances its military powers and readiness, as if war were imminent. Yet, whether Hezbollah will launch a war against Israel — be it to save the Syrian regime or to support Iran if a Western or Israeli war is launched against it — is related to the party’s personal considerations and to the significant events that might change the current status quo.
The majority of opinions hold that it is unlikely that Hezbollah will attack Israel. In the same context, Imad Mugniyeh, whose strategic military views are still highly influential within the party even after Israel assassinated him, declared after the 2006 war: “This is the last war to take place between Hezbollah and Israel.”
Mugniyeh held the belief that the last war had settled a “balance of terror,” which deterred both parties from falling again into the trap of military fights, given the high costs of it. Nevertheless, some exceptional, weighty events might push Hezbollah to make a move, especially if Israel’s next target is Iran. The Shiite party has unbreakable ideological and military ties with Iran, also known as “the center,” and the decision on war in that concern might not solely be made by Hezbollah. The Army of the Guardians might have the upper hand since it controls and operates, according to many sources, the strategic missile arsenal of Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The decision of war is influenced as well by the fatwa, which gives the strategic decisions of Hezbollah a political and religious legitimacy. The fatwa is a juristic, religious and political concept that specifies what is permissible. The Supreme Leader of Iran, Sayyed Ali Khamenei, enjoys the privileges and rights to issue and repeal fatwas. In other words, Khamenei is the only person to decide whether or not Hezbollah shall take part in any war between Iran and Israel.
The expectations regarding Hezbollah’s stance towards the volatile political climate in Syria and Iran differ as its relationship with each country is different. Hezbollah has ideological, dogmatic ties with Iran while its relationship with Syria is that of an integrative strategic alliance. Thus, the first has more influence and deeper dimensions than the second.
A leak of information from the political backstage of Hezbollah — even though there is a shadow of doubt that it does not fully represent the party’s tacit stance — shows that the leadership sees the crisis in Syria as more dangerous than it expected. It currently believes that the crisis is long-lasting and that a decisive military victory cannot be ensured by either the regime or the opposition.
According to the source of the leaked information, Hezbollah is convinced that the crisis in Syria, if it were to remain intact, would lead to division between the main sects: Sunnis, Kurds and Alawites.
Hezbollah is still convinced at this point that the regime in Syria will not be toppled for international, regional and internal reasons. Nonetheless, the party is treading carefully due to a fear of a dramatic development of events that might lead to an unexpected loss of a strategic ally.
One such abrupt scenario is a Syrian presidential void. After such a status quo, it will be difficult to foresee the repercussions. Hence, Hezbollah has two options. The first is adopting the concept of “the fortress,” which means protecting its strongholds in Lebanon. This precautionary step will allow the party to face any tacit intentions from its rivals to exploit the collapse of its strong, strategic ally.
The second is leaving the “fortress” in order to deal with international powers. This option must be adopted in the event that Gulf and Western countries join forces to topple the Syrian regime and try to deal a similarly fatal blow to Hezbollah. During a recent speech, Nasrallah said: “If we were attacked for disarmament purposes, we will point our weapons toward Israel and no one will be able to stop the fire that will erupt in the Middle East.” On the other hand, Iran keeps warning that any foreign attack against Syria will ignite the whole region.
In this concern, Iran and Hezbollah stand on mutual grounds. Together, they could possibly attack in case a plan is being formulated to bring about the demise of both powers in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Syrian Regime. In between these two options, an opinion is lingering within Hezbollah that believes that the party is able to “adapt” to any new regime in Syria. It is seen that the new ruler might be compelled, since Syria plays a major role in the region and in the Arab-Israeli conflict, to maintain close ties with Hezbollah, whose power is entrenched throughout the Middle East. This movement within the party reiterates the necessity of not turning a cold shoulder to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and instead calls for concluding a historical agreement with them under the flag of “the Renaissance of the Islamic nation” in order to avoid the “Great Sedition,” an expression that refers to the historical division between Sunnis and Shiites.

Hezbollah to act strategically, keep composure
January 04, 2013 01:10 AM By Mirella Hodeib
Hezbollah will act strategically and play all of its cards in the face of a pending resolution to the bloodshed in Syria, a source close to the party told The Daily Star this week.
Hezbollah will remain undaunted in the face of attempts by regional and local rivals to drag it into a domestic conflict and will exhibit further endurance in dealing with the ever growing challenges ensuing from the crisis next door, the source adds.
But the source believes that Hezbollah’s patience has its limits, although the events of May 2008 – when Hezbollah and its allies took over swathes of west Beirut in response to a government decision to dismantle the group’s private telecommunications network – is unlikely to be repeated. The sectarian clashes that killed more than 80 were widely seen as a black mark in the record of the resistance movement that at one point vowed not to use its weapons on the domestic front.
The source also confides that Hezbollah is well aware that many local and regional players want its head on a plate and the only means to achieve that goal is igniting Sunni-Shiite strife in Lebanon.
Hezbollah also believes that the Future Movement, which enjoys huge financial clout, and Hezbollah, which wields huge military clout, will continue to be at loggerheads for the foreseeable future. This conflict existed long before the Syrian unrest erupted.
But according to the source, if Hezbollah is “intolerably cornered,” it will strike back.
“However, the 2008 scenario will not happen again,” the source says. “Or let’s say that this time Hezbollah will be much more careful.”
The powerful party also discerns the lack of enthusiasm displayed by Western powers for a conflict in Lebanon. This aversion to conflict is “definitely not out of courtesy,” the source explains, “but because a stable Lebanon works in favor of the turmoil in Syria.”
The source says Hezbollah foresees that the conflict in Syria will drag on, but is confident that the “terrorist groups” fighting the regime of President Bashar Assad will eventually surrender.
In addition, the source continues, the international community realizes that any confrontation with Hezbollah will automatically engender repercussions for Israel.
The source argues that the multinational United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and, surprisingly enough, Israel are actually calmed by the presence of Hezbollah in south Lebanon.
“They will not be as serene if Salafist groups, which never officially declared Israel as an enemy, take over south Lebanon,” the source continues. “Hezbollah’s presence is a guarantor against the rise of extremism.”
On the domestic scene, the source argues that Hezbollah will also maintain the composure it has so far shown, even if that means centrist figures such as President Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt gain ground at the expense of the party and its allies in the March 8 coalition.
The source describes centrist figures and parties as “buffers” rather than “decision-makers” whose role merely consists of either defusing tension or obstructing problematic issues that could lead to confrontations.
“When important deals are brokered, centrists no longer count,” the source says. “The biggest slices of the cake go to the biggest players.”

Amin Gemayel warns of Syrian crisis’ implications on Lebanon
Now Lebanon/Kataeb Party leader Amin Gemayel on Friday sounded a warning over “the uncalculated implications of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon.”During a meeting with US Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly, Gemayel also called for “understanding Lebanon’s limited financial capabilities that make it unable to bear the refugee burden.”He also called on the international community to help Lebanon face “the political and humanitarian burdens caused by the Syrian crisis.”Lebanon is facing difficulties dealing with the increasingly high number of refugees from Syria on its soil. More than 150,000 refugees are registered with the UNHCR in Lebanon; some activists, however, say the actual number is much higher.

Israeli products sold in Lebanon supermarket “a mistake”
Now Lebanon/A corporate manager for the Spinneys supermarket chain in Lebanon said that the display earlier this week of Israeli produce at one of their branches was “a mistake.”“The Dutch exporter who gets his products from European countries… and always makes sure not to make such mistakes, was not careful enough this time,” the Spinneys manager told NOW on Wednesday on condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to discuss the matter to the press. “When we spotted the products we destroyed them and referred all documents related to the case to the Public Prosecution and the Lebanese judiciary.”According to local media reports, Lebanese Army Intelligence raided the Sidon Spinneys branch after local authorities were informed by a customer of the existence of peppers produced in Israel on the retailer’s shelves.

Syria rounds land on Lebanon border villages
Now Lebanon/Mortar rounds launched from Syria landed Friday evening on Lebanese villages along the border in the country’s northern Akkar region, New TV reported.The reported added that residents of the area called on the army to intervene. However, the station did not elaborate any further. Lebanon’s border regions with Syria have experience regular border violations, including shelling and gunfire as well as limited incursions by Syrian troops.

Lebanon asks for $180 million to aid Syrian refugees
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon, now a haven for 170,000 Syrians fleeing civil war, has asked foreign donors for $180 million to help care for them and said it will register and recognize refugees after a year-long hiatus.
The Beirut government has officially sought to "dissociate" itself from the 21-month-old struggle in Syria, nervous about the destabilizing impact of the increasingly sectarian conflict in its bigger neighbor on its own delicate communal balance. But there has been pressure from humanitarian agencies and the public to do more to help Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The cabinet, which approved the measures after a six-hour session on Thursday night, rejected a proposal by Energy Minister Gebran Bassil, a Christian, to close the border to stop the influx into Lebanon, where mainly Sunni Muslim Syrian refugees now account for almost 5 percent of the population.
Bassil belongs to the Free Patriotic Movement, part of a political alliance with Shi'ite Muslim militant group Hezbollah, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
However, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech on Thursday that the border should stay open for refugees.Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour told reporters after the cabinet debate: "The Lebanese state will register the refugees...and guarantee aid and protection for the actual refugees in Lebanon." Until now Syrian refugees have found shelter with local communities in Lebanon, rather than being housed in camps, as in the other two main host countries, Jordan and Turkey. Abu Faour did not say if camps would now be constructed.
"FIRST CONCRETE PLAN"
Lebanon's ambivalent attitude to the new arrivals is partly a legacy of its own 15-year civil war, a conflict fuelled by sectarian tensions which linger on, especially over the presence of 400,000 Sunni Palestinian refugees in the country. Ninette Kelley, representative of the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) in Lebanon, said the government's action was "the first concrete plan" it had presented to the international community.
She said Lebanon had previously given formal recognition to Syrian refugees who entered via official border points, but not to those who had crossed illegally, either because they feared authorities or to escape violence near their homes. This group accounts for around 30 percent of all Syrian refugees in Lebanon and the government's decision should allow them to register for legal refugee status, Kelley said.
"Initially the government jointly registered Syrian refugees with UNHCR through its High Relief Commission. It stopped in 2011 as the numbers became larger due to insufficient capacity," she said, adding that joint registration would now resume. The United Nations says more than 560,000 Syrians have fled abroad. In Lebanon, many not hosted by friends or relations live in shacks of wood and plastic sheeting. In the southern city of Tyre, they brave the winter cold and wash in the sea. Lebanese politics is marred by sectarian divisions that have been inflamed by the mainly Sunni revolt against Assad, whose minority Alawite sect is derived from Shi'ite Islam.
Syria-related violence has flared periodically in the northern port of Tripoli, which has a Sunni majority and an Alawite minority, as well as in Beirut and Sidon in the south.
Assad's Lebanese opponents blame Syria, which stationed troops in Lebanon from 1976 to 2005, for the unresolved killing of Lebanese security official Wissam al-Hassan in October.
Hassan had been leading an investigation that implicated Damascus and Hezbollah in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, a Sunni.
(Reporting by Issam Abdallah, Oliver Holmes and Ayat Basma; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

Iran: Nuclear negotiations to be held this month
By REUTERS 01/04/2013 /No date or venue has been set, but Tehran's chief negotiator says he accepts the talks should be held this month. NEW DELHI - Iran has agreed to hold talks with six major powers about its atomic program in January but the date and venue has yet to be decided, the country's top nuclear negotiator said on Friday.
The six powers want to rein in Iran's uranium enrichment program to ensure it is geared only for civilian energy, through a mix of diplomacy and sanctions. Iran denies Western assertions it is seeking nuclear weapons capability.We have accepted that these talks should be held in January, but until now, the details have not been finalized," Saeed Jalili said through a translator during a trip to India.The six powers - the United States, Russia, France, Britain, Germany and China - have failed to achieve a breakthrough in three rounds of talks since April. But neither side has been willing to break off totally, partly because of concern this could lead to war if Israel attacked its arch-foe.The powers last met Iran for talks in Moscow. That meeting was followed by low-level technical talks in Istanbul.
Jalili is the second member of Iran's nuclear team to visit India in the past month. He said he welcomed the two countries' strong ties but said India had no particular role in getting nuclear talks restarted.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Iran has not yet crossed the red line that Israel set on its nuclear program, and Israel remains determined to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Netanyahu was speaking at the last session of the annual year-end meeting in the Foreign Ministry for Israel’s ambassadors serving abroad.

Iranian Jew murdered, was dating IRGC's daughter'
By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON 01/02/2013/Channel 2 reports that 24-year-old Daniel Magrufta murdered last week; Jewish community suspects girlfriend involved in murder.A 24-year-old Iranian Jew, who was part of one of the wealthiest Jewish families in the Iranian Jewish community, was murdered last week as reported by Israeli Channel 2. The Iranian Jewish community is fuming.His name was Daniel Magrufta, the son of a well-known businessman. He was dating the non-Jewish daughter of a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Channel 2 reported that Jewish community suspects that she was involved in the murder, but she was released without any charges being brought against her. According to the Jewish community in Iran, the investigators reportedly told her that “if you were involved in killing a Jew, you did a good deed.”
His funeral was held last Sunday at the Yusuf Abad Synagogue in Tehran.Less than a month ago, a Jewish woman was murdered.

From Sodom and Gomorrah to the UN, and back
By Chirine Lahoud/The Daily Star
January 05, 2013
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Art/2013/Jan-05/201012-from-sodom-and-gomorrah-to-the-un-and-back.ashx#axzz2GxZ3Pe00
BEIRUT: The turmoil roiling through the Middle East lately has been a source of inspiration for many artists. Syria’s Thaer Maarouf is among them. His most recent works are now up at Galerie Piece Unique, in an exhibition entitled “Veto.”Maarouf’s works have been exhibited at ArtDubai, the city’s art fair, and at Singapore’s recently opened Sana Gallery. Part of the “Afak” exhibition series founded by curator Razan Chatti, “Veto” consists of 25 mixed-media works along with one unusual installation.This installation – after which the exhibition is named – consists of a round glass table stamped with the U.N. logo and surround by five toilet seats. On a shelf underneath that table, onlookers can see papers with the word “Veto” written on them in red capitals. The relationship between the United Nations and the word “veto” should be transparent enough – the latter having become a metaphor for the ineffectualness of the former. The washroom artifacts, however, may be somewhat more obscure. “[My work] is about the veto decision,” Maarouf told The Daily Star at the show’s opening, “and on how it is not a democratic decision.” He went on to explain how one official figure makes a decision while the four others cannot vote. Placing toilet seats about the table rather than conference chairs, say, is a fairly explicit expression of the artist’s point of view. Accompanying this installation is a black-and-white self-portrait in which the artist is represented with a clothes peg pinching his nostrils closed, suggesting something of the symbolic odor arising, as the curatorial essay says, from such “one-sided resolutions that do not consider or respect ... freedom of human self-determination.” Maarouf’s 130x130 cm mixed-media work “Give Me Freedom” shows an old T-shirt affixed to the black background of the canvas. On this T-shirt the onlooker can easily recognize U.S. President Abraham Lincoln – who issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which abolished slavery in his country – decked out in shades. Some onlookers may detect a link between Lincoln’s best-known political gesture and Maarouf’s desire that his native Syria taste some of the same freedom. Framing Lincoln’s portrait is a line of Arabic calligraphy, made up of lyrics from one of Oum Kalthoum’s songs of freedom. All Maarouf’s work is preoccupied with what is happening in Syria. “I don’t paint the war,” he writes in the exhibition catalogue, “but I indicate the pain left by [it].” His “Sodom & Gomorrah” (mixed-media, 150x200 cm), puts viewers before a gloomy representation of contemporary Syria.
Sodom and Gomorrah are well known from an episode in the Book of Genesis, in which the Hebrew people were allowed to flee divine judgment upon the two sinful cities. Here, a city (presumably a Syrian city) has been reduced to ruins, while in the foreground a crow is evidently enjoying the vista of destruction spread before it. Maarouf’s work is not without humor, however.
In “Asinus Asinum Fricat,” 130x130 cm, the onlooker finds a donkey-faced man riding a donkey. The Latin title translates as “The donkey rubs the donkey,” a well-known expression mocking sycophancy.
Onlookers meandering through the gallery will also encounter eight 50x70 cm artworks representing peculiar-looking figures. One has red eyes – perhaps from weeping? Another is without a mouth – as though censored. A third holds an axe, while another looks like the devil. Maarouf leads onlookers through an eerie – at times frightening – series of vistas of the home that has provided so much inspiration. Thaer Maarouf’s “Veto” is now up at Galerie Piece Unique in Saifi until Jan. 19. For more information, please call 01-975-655.

Syrian defector reveals how al-Assad regime “fabricates” news
By Adham Saif al-Din
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat – A Syrian regime media defector, who previously worked at the pro-Assad al-Dunya TV, informed Asharq Al-Awsat how the al-Assad regime fabricates news, misleads the public and distorts the reputation of the Syrian revolution on Syrian state television. The Syrian source, who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity, also leaked several clips taken from the archive of pro-Assad media that reveals just precisely how the Damascus regime is running its propaganda operations.
Al-Arabiya published a video, leaked by the same media defector, which shows a young Syrian woman – her features blurred to protect her identity – relating the story of how she was kidnapped by Syrian rebels in the city of Harasta in Rif Dimashq governorate. Following this, we see a clip of one of the young men confessing to his part in this kidnapping; the only problem is that the story is a complete sham. In fact, the compete video clip shows the young Syrian woman – her features uncovered – relating the same story, only this time smiling and stumbling over her lines.
The Syrian defector informed Asharq Al-Awsat that “the scene will have been pre-prepared at one of the security branches. Following this, Syrian state media correspondents will go to record confessions with the speaker being prompted in what he must say to harm the Syrian revolution and revolutionary forces.”
He added “the large number of security branches and their lack of coordination means that sometimes blatant contradictions appear on television such as with regards to the killing of Sarriya Hassoun, the son of Syrian Grand Mufti Ahmed Badreddin Hassoun. Syrian state television broadcast the confession of two separate terrorist cells – telling two different stories – regarding Sarriya Hassoun’s death. Of course, both stories highlighted the aspects that the Syrian regime wanted highlighting.”
The Syrian source revealed that he originally comes from one of Syria’s northern provinces and that he previously worked as a news editor at al-Dunya TV in 2011 before the start of the revolution. He later left this job for a different one, preparing to defect from the regime and join the Syrian revolution.
The Syrian media defector asserted that Syria security apparatus interfere and put pressure on Syrian media and Syrian media staff, adding that this had happened at al-Dunya TV during his time there. However he denied that any single security or intelligence authority was responsible for overseeing this, informing Asharq Al-Awsat that “all of the security branches interfered in the media’s operations, as is the case with all government institutions in Syria.”He added ‘within the corridors of al-Dunya TV, no employee or media figure would dare to express any opinion against regime policy for fear of the Syrian security forces and its agents and informers who are everywhere inside every Syrian media organization.”
The source also revealed that “some employees were arrested after their support for the revolution was exposed, whilst some other detainees were freed and they fled the country for Egypt and Dubai” adding “there are others who were arrested and whose fates remain unknown until now.”
The Syrian media defector remains within Syria, where he receives information from some of his former colleagues which allow him to expose the shocking practices of Syrian state media. He refused to reveal who is responsible for this for fear of putting them – and their families – in danger, also refusing to reveal when such files were leaked to him to further confuse their source of origin.
The media defector told Asharq Al-Awsat that Syrian state and pro-Assad media are now doing everything in their power to promote the regime’s line regarding a “foreign conspiracy” against Syria, as well as the presence of “armed gangs” committing atrocities on the ground. He said “there are some people on social media who are actively helping the state-sponsored media to fabricate and promote such news, particularly the pro-Assad Shaam news outlet, as well as the so-called Syrian Electronic Army which is funded by Mujahid Ismail, the leader of the Shabiha in Syria.”
The source added “as for the biggest pro-Assad newspaper, this is funded by businessman Majd Suleiman, son of well-known Intelligence chief and current Syrian ambassador to Jordan, Bahjat Suleiman.”
CNN previously interviewed former Syrian presidential palace press officer, Abdullah al-Omar, who lately defected from the al-Assad regime and revealed its questionable practices. He said “our job was to fabricate, make deceptions and cover up for Bashar al-Assad’s crimes.”
He also revealed that during the regime’s bombardment of the rebel-held Baba Amr neighborhood in the city of Homs, al-Assad regime loyalist women were brought in and disguised as locals for government television. He said “the women would say that the massacres against men, women and children were perpetrated by armed gangs, when it was actually the Syrian regime, security forces and the Shabiha who were behind these horrendous acts.”

The Iraqi Spring and the Iranian Autumn
Asharq Al-Awsat./By Tariq Alhomayed
The leader of the Sadrist trend, Muqtada al-Sadr, warned that “the Iraqi Spring is coming” after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki threatened to use force to disperse a protest along the international road in Anbar province ten days ago. So is the Iraqi Spring really coming? The simple answer is that the Iraqi Spring will be the Iranian Autumn.
Al-Maliki has not overcome the storm he is facing; rather it has transformed into a hurricane, and those that will fall this time are the Iranians, not the Iraqis. Tehran certainly would not be able to bear the fall of the criminal al-Assad regime and the uprooting of its ally al-Maliki in Iraq, for this would be a tough Iranian Autumn, especially with the Iranian presidential elections around the corner, not to mention other issues soon to come to a head such as the Iranian nuclear program. All this could push Iran to accelerate the fall of al-Maliki, before the fall of al-Assad, by replacing al-Maliki as Iraq’s Prime Minister with another, more acceptable figure. This is what many in Iraq must be alert to, especially some of the Sunnis there. They must distance themselves from such sectarianism and not raise pictures of Saddam Hussein in their protests. Just as al-Sadr warned them himself, and he is right, it is possible to turn the Iraqi storm into a hurricane to uproot al-Maliki, even before he uses the force he is threatening.
Al-Sadr has entered into the anti-Maliki demonstrations, and certainly the Kurds will follow, especially with al-Maliki’s continual threats towards them. Of course the Sadrists and the Kurds understand - along with other Iraqi political forces - the seriousness of what al-Maliki is doing in Iraq. These factors could all force Iran to take a step, along the lines of “jumping before you are pushed”, to replace al-Maliki with another figure capable of achieving the minimum level of Iraqi consensus, especially as al-Maliki has burned his bridges with the bulk of the Iraqi political trends. Iran, which is doing all it can today to prevent the inevitable fall of al-Assad, cannot afford the fall of another strategic ally, Iraq. This would be a difficult blow to take for the mullah’s regime in Iran, which, as noted above, has other important and decisive concerns, whether externally or internally.
The fall of al-Maliki, as threatened by al-Sadr through his claim that “the Iraqi Spring is coming”, means that Iran’s hands in the region will be cut off, and the magic would turn against the magician. Just as Iran thought there would be no Syria without al-Assad, Tehran could soon find itself without any state-level allies in the region, including Iraq and Syria.
Thus, as long as the active Iraqi parties mobilize in a coordinated manner, and with al-Maliki countering the demonstrations with force, and some of the Sunnis in Iraq realizing that the time now requires intelligence not emotion, especially when it comes to raising pictures of Saddam Hussein and other divisive acts, then we should not rule out the possibility that al-Maliki could fall at the hands of Iran, before the fall of the tyrant al-Assad. This would be in order to preserve the minimum of Iran’s interests in the region. Yet the fall of al-Maliki at the hands of the Iraqis, through the so-called “Iraqi Spring” that al-Sadr has warned of, will likely represent the Iranian Autumn, and this is what wise minds everywhere must encourage!

Morsi: No peace with descendants of apes and pigs
By JPOST.COM STAFF 01/04/2013
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=298434
Newly translated interviews by MEMRI show Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in 2010 opposing two-state solution. Israeli-Palestinian negotiations are "a waste of time and opportunities" as Arabs and Muslims get nothing out of engagement with "the descendants of apes and pigs," current Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi asserted in September 2010, according to newly translated interviews published this week by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).In the first interview, aired on Lebanon's Al-Quds TV on September 23, 2010, Morsi denounced the Palestinian Authority as a creation of "the Zionist and American enemies for the sole purpose of opposing the will of the Palestinian people." Therefore, he stressed, "No reasonable person can expect any progress on this track.""Either [you accept] the Zionists and everything they want, or else it is war," Morsi said, "This is what these occupiers of the land of Palestine know – these blood-suckers, who attack the Palestinians, these warmongers, the descendants of apes and pigs."In the result, according to MEMRI, Morsi called on Arabs and Muslims worldwide to "employ all forms of resistance against...those criminal Zionists, who attack Palestine and the Palestinians.""Pressure should be exerted upon them," Morsi continued, so that Jews should "not be given any opportunity [to] stand on any Arab or Islamic land." In a separate interview translated by MEMRI, aired on the same network on March 20, 2010, Morsi affirmed that "The Zionists have no right to the land of Palestine.... What they took before 1947-8 constitutes plundering, and what they are doing now is a continuation of this plundering. By no means do we recognize their Green Line. The land of Palestine belongs to the Palestinians, not to the Zionists."He therefore called on the Islamic world "to confront this Zionist entity" and to severe "all ties of all kinds...with this plundering criminal entity," including a total boycott of Israel and the avoidance of "normalization of relations with it."Morsi concluded that the Arab-Islamic world "want[s] a country for the Palestinians on the entire land of Palestine...[and] all the talk about a two-state solution and about peace is nothing but an illusion."
The Jews, he said, "have been fanning the flames of civil strife wherever they were throughout history. They are hostile by nature.... The Zionists understood nothing but the language of force."