LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
June 07/14

Bible Quotation for today

Matthew 5,43-48/‘You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy." But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Pope Francis's Tweet For Today

Peace is a gift of God, but requires our efforts. Let us be people of peace in prayer and deed.
Pape François
La paix est un don de Dieu, mais elle demande notre engagement. Cherchons à être des gens de paix dans la prière et dans les faits.

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources For June 07/14

The Daily Star Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources For June 07/14

Islamic prayers to be held at the Vatican
Staff writer, Al Arabyia News/Friday, 6 June 2014 /For the first time in history, Islamic prayers and readings from the Quran will be heard at the Vatican on Sunday, in a move by Pope Francis to usher in peace between Israelis and Palestinians.Francis issued the invitation to Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during his visit last week to Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority. Abbas, Peres, and Francis will be joined by Jewish, Christian and Islamic religious leaders, a statement released by Peres’s spokesperson said, according to the Times of Israel.
Holy See officials on Friday said the evening prayers would be a “pause in politics” and had no political aim other than to rekindle the desire for Israeli-Palestinian peace at the political and popular level, according to the Associated Press.
Low expectations
The Vatican will broadcast a live feed of the event to viewers across the world. However, expectations for the event should be kept low, according to Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the custodian of Catholic Church property in the Holy Land. [No-one should think] “peace will suddenly break out on Monday, or that peace is any closer,” AP reported him as saying. On Friday, the Pope met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and discussed ways of promoting peace and stability in Asia the Vatican said in a statement.

Pope Francis seeks to rekindle dream of Mideast peace
Associated Press /Ynetnews/06.06.14

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4527566,00.html
Papal initiative to bring President Peres, PA President Abbas, together for peace prayer at Vatican; aim of evening prayer to reignite desire for Israeli-Palestinian peace, represents 'pause in politics'. Pope Francis is seeking to rekindle the dream of peace by bringing the Israeli and Palestinian presidents together this weekend for a unique common prayer for peace in the Vatican gardens. It will be the first time such a meeting has ever taken place at the Vatican and marks the first time in over a year that Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have met.
Vatican officials insisted Friday the Sunday evening prayer represented a "pause in politics" and had no political aim other than to re-ignite the desire for Israeli-Palestinian peace that was perhaps at its high when Peres and Abbas signed the Oslo peace accords in 1993. The latest round of US-sponsored peace talks collapsed in failure in April. "Naturally no one has the presumption to think that after this peace will suddenly break out in the Holy Land," the Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, custodian of the Catholic Church's properties in the Holy Land, told reporters. "The intent of this initiative is to reopen a path that has perhaps been closed for some time, to recreate the desire, the possibility, the dream." The Vatican on Friday released the details of how the event will unfold, a delicate balancing act of both religious and diplomatic protocol that will see Jewish, Muslim and Christians praying for peace in the shadow of St. Peter's Basilica. Francis is expected to greet Peres and Abbas separately at the Vatican hotel where he lives and have a brief one-on-one with each of the men. Francis will be joined by the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, demonstrating a united Christian front for the event. The four will then travel to a field in the Vatican gardens for the prayer ceremony. It is divided into three parts, Jewish, Christian and Muslim, with each faith group reading texts from their respective holy books that concern three common themes: creation, a prayer for forgiveness, and a prayer for peace. Francis, Peres and Abbas will then deliver their own remarks, and together with Bartholomew the men will plant an olive tree in a gesture of peace.

Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Probes Alleged Lassa Construction Violations
Naharnet/The Mount Lebanon Prosecutor launched on Friday an investigation into alleged construction violations committed in a predominantly Shiite town in Jbeil district. The state-run National News Agency said Judge Claude Karam launched his probe into allegations that residents began constructing a building on a property claimed by the Maronite church in Lassa. Karam began hearing witness testimonies to investigate the nature of the alleged violations and the persons behind them pending an appropriate decision on the matter, NNA added. The Internal Security Forces stopped a Lassa resident on Thursday from continuing construction work on the land parcel which is claimed by the Maronite bishopric of Sarba. And on Friday, the Prosecutor's office ordered the construction be demolished after reportedly several residents built a ceiling rather than waiting for a judicial decision on the ownership of the property. The residents of Lassa have in the past been caught in a land dispute with the church. Anti-Hizbullah officials accuse the party of allowing the residents to build on church land and providing a cover for the property violators.

Hezbollah members resume controversial construction in Lassa
June 06, 2014/The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Claude Karam gave a 24-hour grace period Friday for the demolition of a building being illegally constructed by Hezbollah members in the Jbeil village of Lassa.
"The violators have 24 hours to demolish the building or else the security forces will have to intervene and bring it down themselves," the judge told The Daily Star. Karam said that his decision was reached after mediators intervened in an attempt to solve the dispute in a friendly way. The Maronite Diocese had filed a complaint Friday after Hezbollah members resumed construction overnight on a controversial plot of land in Lassa that the church says belongs to it, security sources said Friday. The sources told The Daily Star that Hezbollah’s local military commander, Yasar Hasan Miqdad, backed by around 50 Hezbollah members dressed in special uniforms, entered the disputed land late Thursday night and restarted work, nearly two years after a court ruling that banned construction. Work continued until shortly before daybreak as Miqdad has threatened anyone trying to use force to stop him. Security forces were only called in after work stopped around 4:30 a.m., the sources said, adding that the provocative move has created a tense atmosphere. Around midday, a group of Lassa residents blocked a vital road linking Jbeil to its mountainous outskirts to protest the Hezbollah move. The long-running dispute over land ownership in Lassa dates back to 2011. The town has historically been a place of co-existence between Christians and the majority of its Shiite population since the early 19th century, and a local official blamed outdated maps for the recent flare-up. Lassa’s mukhtar, Mahmoud Miqdad, has said properties in the village had changed hands frequently and without any problems since the 1800s. He is said to have provided Yasar Hasan Miqdad with a forged building permit. Talal Miqdad, an Shiite official in Lassa who has been mediating the dispute, said some 150 dignitaries had signed a petition to strip the mukhtar of his powers, accusing him of preventing a survey of the disputed lands in Lassa. In July 2011, a delegation from the Maronite Patriarchate arrived in Lassa to survey land it said belonged to the church, in line with a judicial order. Residents who were not informed of the visit beforehand reacted angrily, and a brief physical confrontation forced the delegation to abandon its mission. Politicians and church officials met in a bid to solve the impasse, but even though a solution has been reached, according to the Maronite patriarch, the tension has remained.

A Hizballah force reaches Quneitra crossing, halts opposite Israeli Golan deployment
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 5, 2014/

http://www.debka.com/article/23971/A-Hizballah-force-reaches-Quneitra-crossing-halts-opposite-Israeli-Golan-deployment
A small Hizballah force took up position Thursday, June 5, on the Syrian side of the Quneitra crossing directly opposite the IDF’s Golan deployment, debkafile reports exclusively. This was the first known instance of a Hizballah unit setting foot on the Golan and, moreover and, coming so close to Israeli military positions.
Intelligence observers reckon that it may be a small vanguard of a larger Hizballah force on the way to break the stalemate reached by the Syrian army and rebels in their month-long battle for the town of Quneitra. President Bashar Assad and Hizballah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah are known to attach high strategic importance to keeping the town under the control of Damascus.
debkafile’s military sources connect this military movement with a speech Nasrallah is due to deliver Friday, June 6, for making two points:
1. To congratulate Assad on his triumphant re-election as president by an 88 percent majority:
2. To brag about his own success in causing the IDF to be struck down by fear of Hizballah’s military might.
The speech is expected to be accompanied by the arrival of sizeable Hizballah strength to the Golan for deployment opposite the Israeli border.
debkafile’s military sources reported on May 26 that Nasrallah is preparing to open a second war front against Israel from the Syrian sector of Golan. Then, on June 4, our Middle East sources revealed that US Secretary of State John Kerry’s talks in Beirut carried a message of indirect US recognition of Hizballah, following the Hamas precedent.
Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Beirut Wednesday June 4 was part and parcel of the new turn in Obama administration policy, which is to start engaging directly with Arab governments backed by pro-Iranian terrorist organizations like the Lebanese Hizballah and Palestinian Hamas. The first visit to Beirut in five years by a US secretary of state came two days after Washington rushed to accept and continue funding the Hamas-backed Palestinian government installed in Ramallah.
On his arrival in Lebanon, Kerry made some awkward comments:
"We do not recognize the government of Palestine – that would mean we recognize a state." He added that the US will continue to work with the new Palestinian unity government "as we need to" and will monitor daily its policies to ensure it "doesn't cross the line."
A leading member of the Lebanese government is Hizballah, which is classied in the US as a terrorist organization. By talking with prime minister Tammam Salam, Kerry articulated the new rule: Washington will maintain ties with a government, whether in Beirut or Ramallah, so long as it “doesn’t cross the line.”
At the same time, the US Secretary delivered into the hands of the Lebanese government a half billion dollar check for the Syrian refugees sheltering in Lebanon, ignoring the fact that its member, Hizballah, has crossed many lines by fighting for President Bashar Assad in the Syria civil war, and the death and destruction Hizballah helped inflict had put those refugees to flight.
But Kerry avoided defining the lines that must not be crossed and saying how the administration would respond if they were.
Talking to journalists later, Kerry himself crossed a line to new ground, when he said:
"Iran, Russia and Hizballah must engage in a legitimate effort to bring this war to an end,”
This was the first time a US Secretary of State has explicitly invited Hizballah, whose forces are fighting in Syrian under Iranian command, to be part of the quest for a political resolution of the Syrian war and accepted the Moscow-Tehran-Beirut axis as a critical partner in this effort. Up until now, Kerry insisted in leaving Iran and Hizballah out of US discussions with Moscow on the Syrian crisis.
Senior sources in Jerusalem sharply criticized Washington’s embrace of the most violent and radical of Middle East terrorist organizations. They saw no difference between the openness to Iran and Hizballah exhibited by Kerry in Beirut and the administration's readiness to do business with the Palestinian unity government backed to the hilt by Hamas.
According to those sources, by Thursday morning June 5, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had determined to go head-on against the new Obama administration line with a confrontation in the US Congress over its support for the Palestinian unity government. Netanyahu will seek, with the aid of the pro-Israel AIPAC lobby, to get a law passed banning the continued transfer of US financial aid of approximately $500,000 a year to the Ramallah government, over its backing by the Hamas terrorist organization. debkafile's sources in Washington don’t expect this move to succeed. Even if the both houses of Congress enact such legislation - and that is doubtful - the president has enough legal and administrative resources to circumvent it.

On the presidency, look at Hezbollah
June 05, 2014/By Michael Young
The Daily Star
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Columnist/2014/Jun-05/258905-on-the-presidency-look-at-hezbollah.ashx#axzz33mZTL6gS
There has been much speculation in Beirut about how to get Lebanon out of its presidential impasse. The focus has been on convincing the main Maronite candidates to withdraw in favor of someone who is acceptable to all, an approach regarded as the key to ending the current stalemate.
With all the attention on the Maronites, relatively little consideration has been given to Hezbollah, which remains the most influential elector in Lebanon and, with Iran, perhaps in the region. Conveniently for Hezbollah, the Maronite rivalry has filled the foreground, and may continue to do so for some time. But it is the background, and Hezbollah’s interests, that may tell us what the ultimate outcome will be in the presidency. For some time Hezbollah has viewed the Lebanese situation as part and parcel of the Syrian situation. The party always considered its success in strengthening Syrian President Bashar Assad as a check that also had to be cashed in Lebanon. As Assad consolidates in Syria, Hezbollah intends to do the same at home, where the Syrian civil war repeatedly gave hope to the party’s domestic foes that its domination could be challenged. With Hezbollah now believing that the tide has turned in Syria, it is moving ahead with this project. The party did two things last year to prepare the ground. It pushed for an extension of Jean Kahwagi’s term as Army commander, in order to maintain his relevance in the presidential pre-election period, even though this angered Michel Aoun, who had hoped his son-in-law, Shamel Roukoz, would replace Kahwagi. And Hezbollah worked to delay parliamentary elections – partly by having another ally, Nabih Berri, divisively push for an impossible agreement over an election law, partly by going along with the argument that the security situation did not permit an election.
With these two pieces in place, Hezbollah bought valuable time to go on the offensive in Syria, playing a vital role in helping Assad’s forces recapture the Qalamoun district. In that way it cut off the link between Syria and Lebanon and reinforced the Syrian regime’s hold over the communications lines between Damascus and Homs, and Homs and the Syrian coast.
Kahwagi has been Hezbollah’s candidate from the start, and very little appears to have changed in its position. The party always expected a mash-up between the Maronite presidential contenders, so it was a question of maneuvering around this for a time, even if it perpetuated a temporary vacuum, while setting up the conditions for the election of its nominee.
That’s why Aoun, who is perfectly aware of Hezbollah’s plan, has been so busy trying to make himself relevant to both the party and to Walid Jumblatt, who can hand him a majority. The recent leak to Al-Joumhouria, in which Aoun said that it was necessary to accept the fact that Assad could win in Syria, was directed at the first; his statement that he would participate in elections on the basis of the 1960 law was aimed at the second. Part of Aoun’s implicit message to the Future Movement has derived from this logic: Either you vote for me, or you will have to face a Hezbollah candidate. Today Aoun’s insistence on blocking any compromise figure is directed even more against Hezbollah than it is against March 14, since once the principle of compromise is accepted, Kahwagi’s chances will go up, bolstered by the fact that the Army commander has led successful security plans in Tripoli and the Bekaa Valley.
That’s why Samir Geagea’s accusation on Wednesday that Aoun was responsible for blocking the election was music to Hezbollah’s ears. Only if inter-Christian rivalries rise can all the principal candidates be discredited, opening the door to a Hezbollah candidate. But Aoun, for all his stubbornness and opportunism, is not the main issue. The issue is Hezbollah’s agenda. In this context we should look ahead at the second part of the party’s plan, namely winning the parliamentary elections. Hezbollah believes, with good reason, that March 14 will not win a majority in the forthcoming elections. Even on the basis of the 1960 law, the breakdown of parliamentary seats will probably be roughly similar to what it is today, with Jumblatt retaining a balancing role. That is why Hezbollah wants to preserve its relationship with Aoun, whatever their momentary disagreements over the presidency. Aoun, too, has an interest in preserving a good relationship with the party. Even if he doesn’t become president, he would retain significant power as head of the largest Christian bloc. And for that to happen, Aoun needs Hezbollah’s Shiite votes in several key districts, particularly Baabda, Jbeil and Jezzine.
The potential loser in all this is March 14. The coalition took its hardest knock when Jumblatt headed for the political center. It’s possible this will lose him two Druze seats in the West Bekaa and Beirut. But then again both Jumblatt and Saad Hariri may benefit from reconciling. Jumblatt has as much to gain by securing Sunni votes as Aoun does by winning Shiite votes. As for Hariri, he only loses by alienating Jumblatt. How might Hezbollah set up a Kahwagi victory? It’s difficult to say. There are those who argue that as there is a vacuum today, no constitutional amendment is needed to bring the Army commander to office. That’s imaginative. Some fear the party will manipulate the security situation to make Kahwagi more appealing. Whatever happens the situation will have to fester until the mood is ripe for Hezbollah’s chosen solution. Kahwagi’s candidacy will also need Sunni backing. Unless the Saudis give a green light to their Lebanese allies, the general will face serious obstacles in his path. The weeks ahead will reveal what the presidential election is really about, and they will better expose Hezbollah’s role in preparing for its preferred end game.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR. He tweets @BeirutCalling.

Al-Rahi Angered by Presidential Vacuum: Protests, Civil Disobedience an Option
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi allegedly will not hesitate in calling for protests and civil disobedience over the ongoing presidential deadlock, urging the U.S. administration in a letter to facilitate the matter in cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia. According to As Safir newspaper published on Friday, al-Rahi expressed readiness a day before during a meeting with the Maronite institutions to call for wide protests led by the church. “Al-Rahi will call for nationwide protests... and civil disobedience if the ongoing vacuum remains,” sources told the newspaper.
Lebanon has been plunged into a leadership vacuum after Michel Suleiman's presidential term ended on May 25 with rival political blocs still divided over a new leader. Over the past two months the parliament convened five times to try to elect a successor to Suleiman but failed during the last four sessions due to a lack of quorum. The presidential vacuum raised fears that it would affect Lebanon's power-sharing agreement under which the president should be a Maronite, the premier a Sunni and the speaker a Shiite. On Thursday, a delegation from the Maronite institutions visited al-Rahi to brief him on the result of its talks with the country's top Maronite political leaders on the country's presidential crisis. The representatives of the institutions have previously held talks with Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh, Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, who is the March 14 alliance's candidate, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun and Kataeb party chief Amin Gemayel. Meanwhile, sources revealed in comments to al-Mustaqbal newspaper that al-Rahi handed over to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry a letter to be delivered to his country's administration. The sources said that the “written paper expresses Bkirki's concerns.”“Al-Rahi demanded Kerry during their meeting to facilitate the presidential elections by cooperating with Iran and Saudi Arabia no matter who the candidates are,” the sources noted. They pointed out that the U.S. official vowed that his country will do “everything it can to resolve the matter,” adding that Washington “isn't interfering in the details and is only interested in safeguarding” Lebanon. The meeting between the two officials came in light of a short visit carried out by Kerry to Lebanon on Wednesday. Kerry is the first secretary of state to come to Lebanon in five years. Hillary Rodham Clinton visited in April 2009. Kerry traveled to Lebanon at least four times as a senator since 2006, the last time in November 2010.

Patriarch Beshara al-Rah: Failure to Hold Presidential Elections Harms the People
Naharnet /Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stated on Friday that holding the presidential elections is necessary because it is closely linked to the people's daily living and future, the state-run National News Agency reported. The Patriarch's comments came during a visit to Adonis. “Staging the presidential elections is not a luxury nor a political activity, and it should not be undermined. It is closely related to the fate of people and their daily livelihood and future,” said al-Rahi. The political rift “which led to the elections' failure, is also leading the people to impoverishment and living and economic deterioration. It is pushing them to migrate knowing the dangerous repercussions of migration,” the Patriarch concluded. Lebanon witnesses currently a vacuum in the presidential post, as the parliament failed over five sessions to secure quorum to elect a successor to former President Michel Suleiman.

Bassil Denies he Evaded Talks with Kerry during Beirut Visit
Naharnet /Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil has denied that he avoided to meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during his visit to Beirut on Wednesday, saying he could not cancel his trip to China, which is a major investing country. In an interview with al-Joumhouria newspaper published on Friday, Bassil said: “We were informed about Kerry's visit only 48 hours before” his arrival to Beirut.
“I had a prior engagement in China for a specific conference and the date of my meeting with the Chinese foreign minister had already been set,” Bassil said. “I couldn't have canceled my visit or changed the date that had been set by a major power such as China, which is interested in investing in Lebanon,” he told the daily. “Everybody knows about the Chinese state's capabilities in investments,” Bassil added.
The foreign minister attended the sixth ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Beijing, an event underscoring China's burgeoning ties with the region.
Bassil's denial came as al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Friday that the FM rejected a proposal made by Kerry for the two officials to meet at Rafik Hariri International Airport.
Diplomatic sources told the daily that Kerry's suggestion came over lack of time caused by his lightning visit to Beirut. But Bassil took it as a “protocol humiliation” and preferred not to discuss the presidential elections crisis with Kerry, the sources said. They added that the foreign minister would have been embarrassed had Kerry mentioned the candidacy of Free Patriotic Movement chief Michel Aoun, Bassil's father-in-law. Aoun has never announced his candidacy, saying he would do so only if there was consensus on him as a compromise president.
Lebanon plunged in a presidential deadlock after Michel Suleiman left Baabda Palace on May 25 following the end of his six-year tenure and the failure of parliament to elect a predecessor over differences between the March 8 and 14 alliances. Meanwhile, the National News Agency quoted Bassil as saying at the end of his talks in China that he discussed with officials in Beijing ways to consolidate economic ties and find more diverse chances for Chinese investments in Lebanon to create employment opportunities. He said he asked for financial assistance to build the new foreign ministry building, and to help Lebanon confront terrorism by providing it with military aid and overcome the burden of the Syrian refugees.

Officials: 'No Progress' in 'Serious' Mustaqbal-FPM Talks on Presidency
Naharnet/Talks between al-Mustaqbal movement and the Free Patriotic Movement have not stopped, a high-ranking official said despite a claim made by al-Mustaqbal MP Assem Araji that the meetings are not leading anywhere. The official, who is a member of ex-PM Saad Hariri's al-Mustaqbal movement, told As Safir newspaper published on Friday that contacts between the two sides “are serious and ongoing.”They “haven't stopped,” he said, while stressing that the talks aimed at resolving the presidential deadlock would not come at the expense of Hariri's March 14 coalition allies.
The official told As Safir that Hariri informed Free Patriotic Movement officials Ministers Jebran Bassil and Elias Bou Saab during their last meeting in Paris that he would not engage in a “bone-breaking battle” with the FPM over the presidential crisis. The FPM chief, MP Michel Aoun, has been seeking the seal of approval from the country's major parties and mainly al-Mustaqbal, which leads the March 14 camp, to run for the presidency. He has so far refused to announce his candidacy, claiming there should be a political compromise first. His Change and Reform bloc, in addition to the majority of the March 8 alliance's lawmakers, have boycotted several rounds of parliamentary sessions aimed at electing a new head of state. The resulting lack of quorum left a vacuum at Baabda Palace after the expiry of Michel Suleiman's six-year term on May 25. The talks between the FPM and al-Mustaqbal, which has backed the candidacy of Aoun's rival Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, are aimed at resolving the matter. But MP Araji told al-Liwaa newspaper that contacts between the two parties have made “no progress.” He accused the FPM of “holding onto strategic issues, mainly its alliance with Hizbullah.”

Lebanese Banks Establish Pressure Group to Confront Unwavering Foreign Campaigns
Naharnet /The Lebanese banking sector formed a pressure group in cooperation with the Central Bank of Lebanon to defend and explain its work mechanism to stop illicit financial activities, in case a foreign campaign was held against it, especially concerning the funding of Hizbullah. The decision came in light of a renewed move by U.S. lawmakers to introduce a new draft-law that would “target Hizbullah's fundraising activities.” As Safir newspaper reported on Friday that the Lebanese banking sector is seeking to comfort the U.S. administration regarding the measures taken to uproot money laundering, terrorist transactions and other illegal activities. Central Bank sources told the newspaper that the U.S. Department of the Treasury expressed relief over the measures implemented by the Lebanese banking sector to avert “future risks.”A U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee is seeking to “use all the diplomatic, legislative and executive authorities to ban Hizullah's criminal activities,” the report noted.
The bill's draft summary would allow the U.S. Treasury Department to "target central banks and other financial institutions, primarily in Lebanon and Europe, that knowingly engage with Hizbullah and its enablers."It also targets Hizbullah's al-Manar television by requiring the U.S. administration to list and penalize any satellite provider that still broadcasts the television channel.
Sources voiced concern that the bill would target the Lebanese banking sector, thus, having a negative impact on the country's economy. The bill, if passed, requires President Barack Obama to determine whether Hizbullah “meets the criteria of a transnational criminal organization.” The law's draft summary notes that it is American policy "to prevent Hizbullah's global logistics and financial network from operating in order to curtail its domestic and international activities.” But the head of the Association of Banks in Lebanon, Francois Bassil, told LBCI that Lebanese banks are implementing all measures aimed at combating money laundering and funding terror. A delegation from the ABL visits the U.S. every six months to brief officials on the role of Lebanese banks against money laundering, he said. The Central Bank and banks do not face any danger over the Congress' draft-law against Hizbullah, he added. In 2013, Obama renewed a “national emergency” which imposes a freeze on assets of people linked to Hizbullah, stressing that they still “undermine Lebanon's stability.” The U.S. considers Hizbullah a terror group and accuses Syria and Iran of arming it. In August 2007, President George W. Bush ordered a freeze on U.S. assets of anyone Washington deems to be undermining the Lebanese government.

Jumblat Denies Report on 'Canceled' Meeting with Kerry
Naharnet /Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Friday denied voicing any dismay over the fact that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry did not meet with him during his latest visit to Beirut. “These reports are totally baseless and no appointment had been scheduled for meeting Secretary Kerry in the first place,” Jumblat said in a statement, noting that his “deep and old friendship” with the U.S. official predates his term of office as Washington's top diplomat. According to the statement, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale conveyed Kerry's “warm greetings” to Jumblat on Thursday, one day after the secretary of state made a five-hour unannounced visit to Lebanon. The PSP leader said he “fully understands” the circumstances of the visit of Kerry, who limited his meetings in Lebanon to Prime Minister Tammam Salam, Speaker Nabih Berri and Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi. He called on media outlets to “keep away from the fabrication of fictional stories that have nothing to do with reality.” Ad-Diyar newspaper reported Friday that the U.S. embassy had set an appointment for Jumblat with Kerry and that PSP officials had mobilized to welcome the guest and taken measures in the vicinity of Jumblat's residence in Clemenceau. But according to Ad-Diyar, the PSP leader was informed two hours before the scheduled meeting that the appointment was canceled due to tight time constraints and the delay of Kerry's plane.

Constituent Assembly: 'Coup' Bid or Urgent Need to Improve System?
Naharnet/After the presidential void that paved the way for the 1989 Taef Accord, which reined in the president's powers, and after the presidential vacuum that brought the Doha Agreement in the wake of the May 7, 2008 incidents, it seems that some political forces have started considering the idea of holding a constituent assembly that would reshape the Lebanese political system.
The current presidential vacancy could be the argument that these forces might utilize in order to openly declare their support for such a proposal. While some parties have recently said that they see an urgent need for a constituent assembly, others have described it as a “coup” attempt that would undermine the current political system that was established decades ago. “Mulling the possibility of holding a constituent assembly would undermine all the formulas upon which Lebanon – the country and the message – was built,” Kataeb bloc MP Elie Marouni said, warning that it would “nullify the idea of the state, as if all of Taef's stipulations had never existed.”
“First of all, I reject the very idea of the constituent assembly, and secondly, I reject it amid the presence of Hizbullah's arms,” Marouni told Naharnet, noting that “it is unacceptable to discuss the Contitution amid the presence of a group carrying weapons and practicing hegemony against the other camp.”“Are we a country that is still under construction? We have already established a country and we have been independent since 1943,” the MP added. Asked whether such a constituent assembly would be an opportunity to introduce constitutional reforms rather than toppling Taef, Marouni said “it is possible to reach constitutional amendments through a dialogue at the parliament, which means through an agreement among everyone, not through the assembly which negates the concept of the state.”
Meanwhile, Lebanese Forces official Eddy Abi Lamaa also rejected the idea of holding a constituent assembly, telling Naharnet that it “will only lead to the country's destruction, especially amid the presence of Hizbullah's weapons.”
He noted that “the assembly would allow them to modify anything they want in the Lebanese system,” saying such a move can only be aimed at “redistributing authorities in Lebanon.”
“This assembly seeks to reallocate authorities according to new equations in order to impose a new state of affairs and through it they want to take what they believe are their rights at the expense of the other sects,” Abi Lamaa added. Wondering why “the Taef Accord has not been implemented in the first place,” the LF official said “amid failure to implement the Taef, this assembly would be an attempt to evade principles that we had agreed on in the past but were never implemented due to the Syrian occupation which had undermined the Taef Accord.”“We do not need a constituent assembly as much as we need to implement the Constitution as it is now. They are speaking of a constituent assembly while refusing to implement the Constitution through the election of a president,” Abi Lamaa lamented.
“Why do they want to hold a constituent assembly? For the sake of whom? You are not implementing the current Constitution so how do you want to amend it? Is it because you have a surplus of power and want to empower a sect at the expense of another? The Constitution had stipulated equal power-sharing (between Christians and Muslims) so why should it be changed?” the LF official went on to say.
For his part, Dr. Elias Abou Assi, political science professor at the Saint Joseph University, said “the very idea of the constituent assembly represents a coup endeavor and a sort of a plot to destroy the foundations upon which Lebanon is built.” “The circumstances do not allow a constituent assembly and it is unjustified even if the intentions are honest, because we have the Taef Accord which has become our Constitution,” Abou Assi told Naharnet.
“We cannot begin a constituent assembly as if there is no Constitution nor state institutions,” the professor stressed. But he noted that “any group can suggest improving the system or fixing gaps and defects, and reforms can be proposed through a draft law, which is something everyone would welcome.”According to Abou Assi, remarks raising the possibility of holding a constituent assembly “do not carry any honest intentions.”Noting that he cannot give the proposal “any extenuating reasons,” Abou Assi underlined that “the Taef Accord must be implemented and then it would be improved through practice.”
“Laws are affected by the balance of power and we all know today who is the strongest and who is capable to impose what they want through weapons,” the political science professor added.
Contacted by Naharnet, MP Nawwaf al-Moussawi of Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance bloc declined to give any comment over the topic.
Meanwhile, Change and Reform bloc MP Alain Aoun rejected to depict the idea as “a toppling of the political system and an endorsement of trilateral power-sharing.”
“Any move to improve the system through consensus among the Lebanese should not be scary,” Aoun said, refusing to “approach the topic as if we're in a war and someone is seeking to make gains, as things are not like this.”But the MP added: “We have reached a dead end in our political system, which requires amendments.”“Constitutional amendments would come in the same manner of the Taef Accord, which did not involve everyone and therefore lacked balance,” Aoun added. “Even if the Taef Accord is good in principle, the implementation has not been correct,” Aoun told Naharnet. The idea of holding a constituent assembly was raised by Hizbullah Secretary-General two years ago, during a ceremony commemorating the 23rd death anniversary of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran. “Why don't we form a constituent assembly elected by the people -- not on a sectarian or regional basis but on the basis of competency -- in order to discuss all options. Let it discuss the Taef Accord, a new social contract or a non-sectarian system,” he said. “I call for a serious discussion during national dialogue on how to build a real state and I call on the president (Michel Suleiman) to discuss the possibility of holding a national conference in Lebanon or rather a constituent assembly,” said Nasrallah. Recently, the idea was again floated by Arab Tawhid Party leader Wiam Wahhab, who voiced support for holding a constituent assembly while emphasizing that it must preserve equal power-sharing between Christians and Muslims.
For his part, Lebanese Democratic Party leader MP Talal Arslan has lately said that “the Lebanese political system has only become capable of stirring seditions and robbing people.”
“The Taef Accord was the first victim of lying and hypocrisy,” Arslan added.

France says government work should resume
June 06, 2014/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: France encourages the revival of the work of the Cabinet and Parliament, Ambassador Patrice Paoli said Friday, once again urging Lebanese lawmakers to elect a new president as soon as possible. "I visited the speaker today to send him a message from French authorities that we support the institutions and we should encourage the revival of the work of Lebanese institutions and its effectiveness,” Paoli told reporters after meeting Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain al-Tineh. “We support the election of a new president as soon as possible, and we encouraged the speaker to exert all possible efforts to elect a president and we think that the election is the priority in Lebanon today." Paoli’s remarks come as officials struggle to keep the work of the executive and legislative branches unimpeded by the presidential vacuum, which began on May 25 after former President Michel Sleiman left Baabda Palace without a successor. Most Christian lawmakers and all of the March 14 MPs have refused to attend Parliament sessions, arguing that the assembly should only discuss urgent matters under a presidential void. FPM ministers have said they will only attend Cabinet sessions after the government establishes a clear mechanism to govern its work in the vacuum. Last week, the Cabinet agreed that the prime minister would send the agenda to the ministers 72 hours before scheduled sessions. The remaining issue is whether Cabinet decrees need the signatures of all 24 ministers, or only a third or a half of them. The Constitution vests full executive powers, including those of the presidency, with the Cabinet in the case of a presidential vacuum

Rifi seeks to lift secrecy on officials’ assets
June 06, 2014/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi Friday submitted a draft law to the Cabinet to force government officials to disclose their assets publicly. Rifi’s proposal suggests amending Article 2 of the Lebanese Illicit Enrichment Law to lift the secrecy on the officials’ wealth declarations and allow them to be published publicly. The minister said that such step “would guarantee fighting corruption and prevent taking advantage of official positions” for personal benefits. “The illicit enrichment laws should be constantly amended to keep pace with social development and recent legislative trends,” the minister said in his proposal. “Those who wish to engage in public affairs, politics or entering state institutions have to be sincere and clear and far from any suspicion over their financial or ethical statuses,” the minister said.According to the current law, Grade 3 civil servants, officers and judges are required to submit a declaration to the Lebanese authorities detailing their assets and properties and those of their spouses and minor children. Such documents have to be submitted within a month of assuming office. The declaration is usually submitted to authorities in a secret sealed envelope. The law does not cover public school and university teachers.

Being the daughter of the Resistance
Friday, 6 June 2014
Hanin Ghaddar/Al Arabiya
The people of the Resistance, the most honored [achraf al-nas], or “the Shiites of Ali” as Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah likes to call them, unleashed on Wednesday evening a barrage of celebratory gunfire following the announcement of Bashar al-Assad’s unsurprising victory in Syria’s presidential elections. Supporters in the Bekaa and in Tripoli’s Alawite-populated Jabal Mohsen, as well as in Beirut’s southern suburbs, celebrated Assad’s victory as their own. You’d think Imam Mahdi had finally appeared, or that Israel had been wiped off the map.
It was a significant show of power, dominance, and entitlement, as if to say, “We are here, we are everywhere, we have weapons, and we will use them anytime we want. You – the insignificant others – cannot do anything.” It was a sign of the power that had forced many Syrians to vote for an incumbent president who had wreaked havoc on their nation. And that’s the only thing that matters. Victory is about the ability to stay in power, no matter what the consequences are.
Drunk with power and triumph, Hezbollah and its supporters will now look further down on anyone in disagreement with them, and even more so if you are a Shiite. Whoever you are, you’ll be a traitor, a symbol of betrayal to the Resistance and all the sacredness it carries. But if you’re a Shiite, your betrayal is more striking because, simply, this fight is about your identity and the community’s sense of power and righteousness. The Resistance tolerates no resisting, especially not from Shiites. The Resistance is about dominance.
What is it like to be a Shiite today?
At best, you are a Shiite first and a Lebanese second. You are the daughter – or son – of the Resistance, not a Lebanese citizen. Your land, your family, your home, and your life are not yours. They belong to the Resistance. All you are and all you have are a price to be paid at the altar of the Resistance, because liberation – supposedly a calling – turned out to be a very costly endeavor, for which you have to pay everything and cease to live.
If you disagree with Iran’s policy in the region, it means you’ve betrayed all the Ahl al-Beit, from Imam Hussein to Sayyeda Zeinab, and attempted to destroy the collective history of Karbala. If you don’t like what Hezbollah is doing in Syria, you better stay silent, or pretend to be happy and celebrate Assad’s victory, like many others.
You have no say in anything. Your ideas and way of life are not yours to shape or decide. You’ve been occupied, conquered, and branded. You have no choice but to accept your destiny, and the omen of domination and power of those in charge of your life.
Resistance is a way of life
It is a commitment and an identity. You are brought up to believe that without the Resistance, you would have been and will be defeated. Resistance is your family. You are not a person. You are a small part of a bigger picture, and you are not supposed to understand all the details. Leave that to the leadership. All you have to do is believe. You are nothing if you don’t believe. Resistance defines you and makes you who you are. And it will take care of you; it will provide you with everything you need. All you have to do is give up, and give in.
“In the name of the Resistance, you must rejoice. Keep your fears and pains to yourself. Ignore those passing feelings of sympathy for the dead children of Syria”
Hanin Ghaddar
Give in to Wilayat al-Faqih. Give in to the death tornado in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. Give in to the wretchedness of everyone around you and question nothing – it’s smoother that way. Rejoice in the signs of dominance. Rejoice in the victories – in Qusayr, Yabrud and Homs. Rejoice in death and blood, and you will be victorious.
Don’t you crave the glory you’ve heard about during every single Ashura since you were born? You will be given that glory, but it requires acquiescence. Stop asking questions. Forget about those bloody pictures of dead innocent Syrian children. Why don’t you stop watching TV and reading papers altogether? Watch al-Manar TV and you will get the truth – the truth they need you to know – so that you can relax.
Forget about the small definitions of resistance. Think about the bigger picture: the dominance of the Shiites. Isn’t that a glorious cause? Resistance is no more about Hezbollah’s army fighting Israeli occupation. Forget about borders and states; these are details. Lebanon is not your ultimate homeland. Your community and your family are much bigger than that. Think of the Resistance as a longer and broader fight against everyone who wants to defeat you as a Shiite. Then you will understand that it is a fight for you, for your family and your community.
The ultimate victory
The Resistance is about the ultimate victory. You will have to accept the sacrifices, the death of friends and relatives. What is an individual death compared to the glory of the community? If you die for the bigger cause you will be called a hero, a martyr, and a champion. Yes, you will be forgotten after a few days and your family will suffer indefinitely, but that’s okay, because you are nothing. You are a small but necessary sacrifice, and you should rejoice.
In the name of the Resistance, you must rejoice. Keep your fears and pains to yourself. Ignore those passing feelings of sympathy for the dead children of Syria. In the name of the Resistance, you should stop feeling. Think of yourself as a victim - a victim of a grand conspiracy theory that aims to kill all the Shiites in the world. Believe in the Resistance as your identity and way of life. Believe everything it tells you. Forget you are a thinking, feeling human being. It is easier that way.
As a Shiite, you are to believe that you are one of the chosen people. Believe, or you will be a traitor. It is not a choice. You are not free. Surrender your freedom. Surrender your life, and rejoice.
This article was first published on NOW Lebanon on June 5, 2014.

On the presidency, look at Hezbollah
June 05, 2014/By Michael Young /The Daily Star
There has been much speculation in Beirut about how to get Lebanon out of its presidential impasse. The focus has been on convincing the main Maronite candidates to withdraw in favor of someone who is acceptable to all, an approach regarded as the key to ending the current stalemate.
With all the attention on the Maronites, relatively little consideration has been given to Hezbollah, which remains the most influential elector in Lebanon and, with Iran, perhaps in the region. Conveniently for Hezbollah, the Maronite rivalry has filled the foreground, and may continue to do so for some time. But it is the background, and Hezbollah’s interests, that may tell us what the ultimate outcome will be in the presidency. For some time Hezbollah has viewed the Lebanese situation as part and parcel of the Syrian situation. The party always considered its success in strengthening Syrian President Bashar Assad as a check that also had to be cashed in Lebanon. As Assad consolidates in Syria, Hezbollah intends to do the same at home, where the Syrian civil war repeatedly gave hope to the party’s domestic foes that its domination could be challenged.
With Hezbollah now believing that the tide has turned in Syria, it is moving ahead with this project. The party did two things last year to prepare the ground. It pushed for an extension of Jean Kahwagi’s term as Army commander, in order to maintain his relevance in the presidential pre-election period, even though this angered Michel Aoun, who had hoped his son-in-law, Shamel Roukoz, would replace Kahwagi. And Hezbollah worked to delay parliamentary elections – partly by having another ally, Nabih Berri, divisively push for an impossible agreement over an election law, partly by going along with the argument that the security situation did not permit an election.
With these two pieces in place, Hezbollah bought valuable time to go on the offensive in Syria, playing a vital role in helping Assad’s forces recapture the Qalamoun district. In that way it cut off the link between Syria and Lebanon and reinforced the Syrian regime’s hold over the communications lines between Damascus and Homs, and Homs and the Syrian coast.
Kahwagi has been Hezbollah’s candidate from the start, and very little appears to have changed in its position. The party always expected a mash-up between the Maronite presidential contenders, so it was a question of maneuvering around this for a time, even if it perpetuated a temporary vacuum, while setting up the conditions for the election of its nominee.
That’s why Aoun, who is perfectly aware of Hezbollah’s plan, has been so busy trying to make himself relevant to both the party and to Walid Jumblatt, who can hand him a majority. The recent leak to Al-Joumhouria, in which Aoun said that it was necessary to accept the fact that Assad could win in Syria, was directed at the first; his statement that he would participate in elections on the basis of the 1960 law was aimed at the second.
Part of Aoun’s implicit message to the Future Movement has derived from this logic: Either you vote for me, or you will have to face a Hezbollah candidate. Today Aoun’s insistence on blocking any compromise figure is directed even more against Hezbollah than it is against March 14, since once the principle of compromise is accepted, Kahwagi’s chances will go up, bolstered by the fact that the Army commander has led successful security plans in Tripoli and the Bekaa Valley.
That’s why Samir Geagea’s accusation on Wednesday that Aoun was responsible for blocking the election was music to Hezbollah’s ears. Only if inter-Christian rivalries rise can all the principal candidates be discredited, opening the door to a Hezbollah candidate. But Aoun, for all his stubbornness and opportunism, is not the main issue. The issue is Hezbollah’s agenda. In this context we should look ahead at the second part of the party’s plan, namely winning the parliamentary elections.
Hezbollah believes, with good reason, that March 14 will not win a majority in the forthcoming elections. Even on the basis of the 1960 law, the breakdown of parliamentary seats will probably be roughly similar to what it is today, with Jumblatt retaining a balancing role. That is why Hezbollah wants to preserve its relationship with Aoun, whatever their momentary disagreements over the presidency.
Aoun, too, has an interest in preserving a good relationship with the party. Even if he doesn’t become president, he would retain significant power as head of the largest Christian bloc. And for that to happen, Aoun needs Hezbollah’s Shiite votes in several key districts, particularly Baabda, Jbeil and Jezzine.
The potential loser in all this is March 14. The coalition took its hardest knock when Jumblatt headed for the political center. It’s possible this will lose him two Druze seats in the West Bekaa and Beirut. But then again both Jumblatt and Saad Hariri may benefit from reconciling. Jumblatt has as much to gain by securing Sunni votes as Aoun does by winning Shiite votes. As for Hariri, he only loses by alienating Jumblatt. How might Hezbollah set up a Kahwagi victory? It’s difficult to say. There are those who argue that as there is a vacuum today, no constitutional amendment is needed to bring the Army commander to office. That’s imaginative. Some fear the party will manipulate the security situation to make Kahwagi more appealing. Whatever happens the situation will have to fester until the mood is ripe for Hezbollah’s chosen solution. Kahwagi’s candidacy will also need Sunni backing. Unless the Saudis give a green light to their Lebanese allies, the general will face serious obstacles in his path. The weeks ahead will reveal what the presidential election is really about, and they will better expose Hezbollah’s role in preparing for its preferred end game.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR. He tweets @BeirutCalling.

Iran projects its power in Assad’s re-election
By Dr. Majid Rafizadeh | Special to Al Arabiya News
Friday, 6 June 2014
The major Shiite power Iran is boasting about the reelection of President Bashar al-Assad, with Tehran trumpeting his reelection as a defeat for the United States and some Arab countries in the region.
First of all it is significant to point out that, without doubt, the election lacks any sort of legitimacy and credibility. The election was held in the midst of war, where many parts of the nation are surrounded by the Assad forces, engulfed in the war, or controlled by the rebel groups. Also, there were no credible and objective observers monitoring the elections. Further, only a few pre-selected unknown and weak candidates were allowed to run against Bashar al-Assad. These factors unquestionably assured Assad’s bid to be reelected as president for a third seven-year term in the office.
A burst of announcements and declarations have come out of Iran, from top Iranian foreign policy figures including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, celebrating this victory.
These declarations are aimed at sending political signals from Tehran to the United States and other regional Arab powers regarding the regional balance of power. The Islamic Republic is asserting its ownership of an Arab country in the region. Tehran had even sent its observers to monitor the objectiveness and fairness of elections in Syria, in order to illustrate its possession of Syria and the crisis.
The Iranian government is attempting to project a picture that it totally and efficiently controls the destiny of, and the war in, Syria. The message from Tehran is clear; Iran is the key player even though the United States, the West, and other Arab countries are putting all their efforts to support the rebels. The message from Iran indicates that the balance of power will not be tipped as long as Tehran is backing the Syrian government.
Syria has been used as a platform by the Islamic Republic to project its power into the Arab world since its birth in 1979. In addition, Iranian authorities are using the current Assad victory as a credible vindication for Iran’s financial, advisory intelligence, economic, and military steadfast backing to the Assad’s government.
“After more than three years of the conflict, Tehran apparently has delivered on its vow and has kept its word. ”
Iran has spent billions of dollars in terms of financial credits, used Hezbollah to fight alongside the Syrian government forces, utilized Iraq as a territorial platform to deliver arms to Syrian forces, deployed Iraqi Shiite militias, and is currently deploying Afghan Shiites to the region according to latest reports. Although, the Islamic Republic repeatedly denies that it has deployed Iranian revolutionary troops on the ground in Syria (or it has sent officers to train Syrian governmental forces despite the valid and credible videos and reports), Iran’s military has mourned the killing of senior Revolutionary Guard officers while fighting in Syria on several occasions, such as Abdollah Eskandari (who was killed fighting just south of Damascus, according to a statement released by the Iranian Defense Ministry). Iranian officers being killed in Syria are currently numbered at 60 “martyrs” according to Syrian opposition sources.
Power projection
Secondly, the flow of these celebratory declarations by the Islamic Republic is clearly an attempt by Tehran to show its power projection in the Arab world. From the Iranian authorities’ view, although many Arab countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, are assisting the rebels, Tehran has single handedly been capable of retaining Assad in power.
Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, the military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, triumphantly and openly expressed his sense of victory by stating on the government-run Press TV, “The strategy of the U.S. Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and European countries to overthrow Bashar al-Assad has failed,” adding, “this is a strategic failure for the Western, Arab and Zionist front and a big victory for the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Tehran is attempting to show the failure of U.S. and Arab countries, foreign policy initiatives, and campaigns regarding the Syrian crisis and toppling of Assad. Senior Iranian officials have told the Guardian that the concentrated attempts to overthrow President Assad has failed, and this election shows that Tehran and its staunchest ally, Damascus, have won the war. Accordingly, chairman of Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi, an influential political figure and governmental insider, pointed out, "We have won in Syria,” adding, “The regime will stay. The Americans have lost it.”
This victory from Iranian authorities perspective is part of Iran’s extensive and concerted efforts to mirror and reflect the U.S. and Arab countries’ failed foreign policies when it comes to the Syrian crisis. This week, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, told a Friends of Syria conference in Tehran, “Foreign powers should give up their illusions about fulfilling their personal desires and strategies through military methods in Syria.”
From realistic and political perspectives, when states and governments keep their words, it is a manifestation of power and political will. Since the crisis and uprising erupted in Syria, the Islamic Republic promised that it would not permit President Assad to be toppled. After more than three years of the conflict, Tehran apparently has delivered on its vow and has kept its word.
Nevertheless, looking deep in Iran’s foreign policy towards Syria, Tehran still bears a concealed and considerable amount of concerns regarding the destiny of its staunchest ally in the long-term.

Question: "What things in this world have a true eternal value?"
GotQuestions.org/Answer: It goes without saying that the only things of eternal value in this world are those that are eternal. Life in this world is temporal, not eternal, and therefore, the only part of life that has eternal value is that which lasts through eternity. Clearly, the most important thing in this world that has true eternal value is having a relationship with Jesus Christ, as the free gift of eternal life comes only through Him to all those who believe (John 3:16). As Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Everyone is going to live somewhere for all of eternity, Christians and non-Christians alike. And the only eternal destiny other than the one in heaven with Christ is one that provides everlasting punishment for those who reject Him (Matthew 25:46).
Regarding the abundant material things this world offers, which many tenaciously seek after, Jesus taught us not to store up for ourselves earthly treasures that can be destroyed or stolen (Matthew 6:19–20). After all, we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it. Yet our core Christian values often get overlooked in our diligent quest for success and material comfort, and in the midst of these earthly pursuits we often forget about God. Moses addressed this issue 3,500 years ago as his people were about to enter the Promised Land. He warned them not to forget about God, for he knew once they “built fine houses and settled down” their hearts would become proud and they would forget about Him (Deuteronomy 8:12–14). There is certainly no eternal value in living our lives for ourselves, looking to get out of life all that we can, as the world system would have us believe.
Yet there can be significant eternal value in what we do with our lives during the exceedingly short time we are here on earth. Although Scripture makes it clear that our earthly good works will not save us or keep us saved (Ephesians 2:8–9), it is equally clear that we will be eternally rewarded according to what we have done while here on earth. As Christ Himself said, “For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will reward each person according to what he has done” (Matthew 16:27). Indeed, Christians are God’s workmanship, “created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10, emphasis added). These “good works” pertain to serving the Lord the best we can with what He has given us and with full dependence on Him.
The apostle Paul discusses the quality of the works that can bring eternal rewards. Equating Christians to “builders” and the quality of our works with the building materials, Paul informs us that the good materials that survive God’s testing fire and have eternal value are “gold, silver, and costly stones,” whereas using the inferior materials of “wood, hay and straw” to build upon the foundation that is Christ have no eternal value and will not be rewarded (1 Corinthians 3:11–13). Essentially, Paul is telling us that not all of our conduct and works will merit rewards.
There are many ways our service to the Lord will bring us rewards. First, we need to recognize that every true believer has been set apart by God and for God. When we received God’s gift of salvation, we were given certain spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7, 11). And if we think our gifts are insignificant, we need to remember that, as Paul told the church in Corinth, the body of Christ is made up of many parts. And “God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be . . . and those parts of the body that seem weaker are indispensable” (1 Corinthians 12:14, 18, 22 emphasis added). If you are exercising your spiritual gifts, you are playing a significant role in the body of Christ and doing that which has eternal value.
Every member of Christ’s body can make meaningful contributions when we humbly seek to edify the body and to glorify God. Indeed, every little thing can add to the beautiful mosaic of what God can do when we each do our part. Remember, on earth Christ has no body but ours, no hands but ours, and no feet but ours. Spiritual gifts are God’s way of administering His grace to others. When we show our love for God by obeying His commandments, when we persevere in the faith despite all opposition and persecution, when in His name we show mercy to the poor and sick and less fortunate, and when we help alleviate the pain and suffering that is all around us, then we are indeed building with the “gold, silver, and costly stones” that have true eternal value.
**Recommended Resources: Who am I in Christ by Neil Anderson and Logos Bible Software.

http://www.international.gc.ca/media/aff/news-communiques/2014/06/06a.aspx
June 6, 2014 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today released the following statement:
“Canada is concerned by the rise of terrorism in Iraq that enabled elements of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to take temporary control of parts of the city of Samarra.
“Approximately 3,000 Iraqi civilians have died in acts of terrorism and violence since the beginning of 2014. In Fallujah, Samarra, and elsewhere in Iraq, civilians are being caught in the crossfire between ISIL and security forces.
“Canada condemns all acts of terrorism and stands in solidarity with the Government and People of Iraq during these difficult times. We extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those killed in this horrific violence and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded.
“Canada calls for restraint in the use of force in populated areas—particularly in Fallujah, where ongoing attacks are killing dozens daily—and calls on all parties to refrain from targeting civilians, and to protect medical facilities.”

Nasrallah: Multi-party effort to elect new president
June 06, 2014/
By Dana Khraiche/The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Hezbollah Chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah Friday called for a multi-party effort to speed up the election of a new president, asking rival political leaders not to wait for developments in Iranian-Saudi ties to end the stalemate. Speaking during a ceremony commemorating late Sheikh Mustafa Qassir, Nasrallah also described the presidential election in Syria as “historic,” saying that the president’s win meant that any political solution should involve Bashar Assad. “If we are the ones disrupting the election [in Lebanon], then you should choose a strong candidate who has a Christian popular base and we could elect them tonight in Parliament, I’m certain Speaker [Nabih] Berri is willing to call for such a session,” Nasrallah said, speaking via a television screen in a Beirut southern suburb. “But we know who is prohibiting the rightful candidate from acquiring his rights in this country,” he said. Although MP Michel Aoun, Hezbollah’s main Christian ally, has not publicly announced his candidacy to the presidential election, the former general is the March 8 coalition’s undeclared nominee for the top Christian post.
“I call for a multi-party effort to fulfill this election with the needed result, local efforts of course,” Nasrallah said. He also asked rival leaders to launch such efforts and “not wait for developments and negotiations between Iran and Saudi Arabia,” adding that the Islamic Republic never “imposes conditions on its allies.” Lebanon plunged into a presidential vacuum on May 25 after former President Michel Sleiman left Baabda Palace without a successor. Lawmakers have struggled to reach a consensus on a single candidate with the March 14 coalition accusing Aoun and the March 8 of disrupting the election.
Nasrallah also said his party was keen on strengthening and maintaining security and stability in the country, calling for an end to “sectarian rhetoric,” which he said hindered the success of any security plan to restore law and order. “It is our responsibility to strengthen security and stability, and coordinate and cooperate on all levels to help the security plan to succeed,” he said, referring to the recently-launched crackdown in volatile Lebanese regions plagued by the neighboring crisis in Syria.
Nasrallah also denied what he said were allegations accusing Hezbollah and its ally Speaker Nabih Berri of seeking to impose a tripartite power-sharing formula – Shiite, Sunnis and Christians - instead of the Taif Accord’s formula of equality between Christians and Muslims. “They claim that we are disrupting the presidential election because we want to reach a point of a tripartite power-sharing ... what evidence do you have?” Nasrallah said. “We have never thought about, demanded or sought such a thing,” he added. He also said that the idea was first proposed by a French delegation in Tehran, who proposed the three-way power dynamic “because they thought that the Taif Accord was no longer appropriate.”“That idea never occurred to Iran,” he said.
Nasrallah also spoke extensively on the recent Syrian presidential election, saying millions of people turned out to vote despite mounting pressure on the regime.
“This popular turnout is a historic achievement and it was a triumphant win for Syria ... they did all they can do to prevent the election from taking place,” the Hezbollah leader said.
He also said that some countries based their decision to prevent Syrian expatriates from voting in their embassies on “information they had received that the turnout would be enormous, so they worked hard to prevent the election.” “If the election was a farce, then they wouldn’t have tried so hard to prevent it,” Nasrallah said.
He also ridiculed the opposition for asking people to refrain from going to the polls under the pretext that the regime had prepared explosive-laden vehicles at several polling stations.
“This is comical because it is in the interest of the regime to have people stand in long lines and come to the polls to vote,” he said, adding that the numbers of people who turned out to vote were “undeniable facts.”Assad was declared the winner of Tuesday’s presidential election in a landslide victory, capturing 88.7 percent of the vote. The Syrian Supreme Constitutional Court said the turnout for the vote, which took place only in regime-held areas of the neighboring war-ravaged country, was 73.42 percent. Nasrallah, whose party fighters are engaged in battles alongside regime troops, said the election sent a message to the world that the Syrian government was capable of holding the election, and that Syrians were the only ones allowed to decide their future.
“The election confirmed ... that Syrians were not abandoning their government or giving up on their state ... for the so-called friends of Syria,” he said.
He also described the election as a “public, political declaration that the war against Syria has failed.”
“Whoever wants a political solution cannot disregard the election and the victory of Bashar Assad ... any solution for Syria cannot be based on his resignation such as Geneva 1 or Geneva 2,” he said.
“We say to the regional and international players ... any political solution in Syria begins and ends with Bashar Assad,” he said.
He also asked Syria’s rival factions to end the bloodshed there and launch “dialogue and reconciliation,” to preserve what is left of the war-torn country.
Nasrallah's remarks were an indirect response to U.S. Secretary John Kerry who called on Iran, Hezbollah and Russia to end the Syrian conflict.
During his short visit to Beirut Wednesday, Kerry said called on Iran, Russia, and Hezbollah "to engage in a legitimate effort to bring this war to an end.”

Damascene delusions
June 06, 2014/The Daily Star /Saudi Arabia, France, the United States and other political heavyweights have been keen to stress that the Lebanese presidential election is an issue for Lebanon alone, and that they wish to play no part in intervening. But Syria has revealed itself to be characteristically removed from reality by insisting on having a role in the choice of a new Lebanese president. In remarks to Lebanon’s pro-regime Al-Mayadeen TV channel, Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said Wednesday that anyone who thought Syria would keep out of the Lebanese election process was naive. Syria, he insisted, must be consulted, just as the rest of the world was. Stressing that the choice would not happen in Damascus, he awarded Syria’s implicit support to Michel Aoun, in what was perhaps a death knell for the Free Patriotic Movement leader’s presidential bid. The remarks belie Aoun’s own attempts over the last few months to prove that he is a neutral candidate. Mekdad’s comments came as Syria’s own election was being derided by most of the world as a non-event and a joke. It was welcomed only by Syria’s few remaining friends – Iran, China, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela. It is clear that in its wish to interfere with Lebanese politics, Syria aims to distract people from goings on at home. It also appears Damascus has not managed to wake up from its own nightmare of being thrown out of Lebanon in 2005. The sooner it does, the better for its own people, whose needs must be attended to, and the people of Lebanon, who need independence.