LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
September 26/09
Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Saint Luke 9:18-22. Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and
the disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"
They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, 'One of the
ancient prophets has arisen.'" Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I
am?" Peter said in reply, "The Messiah of God." He rebuked them and directed
them not to tell this to anyone. He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed
and on the third day be raised."
Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special
Reports
Release/Canada & US Foreign
Ministers
Express Concern over
Continued Detention of Canadian and U.S. Nationals in Iran/25/09/09
Hezbollah Prepared to Hold the US
Hostage/By: Chris Carte/September
25/09
Australia how-to jihadist jailed-BBC
News/September 25/09
The Real Nuclear Option/By Gene
Schwimmer/American Thinker/September
25/09
Ahmadinejad's offer of Iranian-US
cooperation may be too little too late-The
Daily Star/September
25/09
Latest
News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for September 25/09
Suleiman Stresses
Commitment to 1701, Says Lebanon Looks Forward to Being Elected Security Council
Member/Naharnet
Majority MPs Reject Opposition Conditions, Stress Respect for Poll Results on
2nd Day of Consultations/Naharnet
Qassem
Calls for Formation of National Unity Cabinet Whatever the Sacrifices/Naharnet
Canadian P.M, Mr.
Harper demands access to secret
Iranian nuclear site/AFP
Lebanon looking for positive spinoff from
Francophone Games-AFP
LEBANON: A change in mood to forming a new
government-Los Angeles Times
Fraudster Ezzedine hid investments from banking system-Daily
Star
Israeli prime minister blasts Iranian leader at UN
summit-CNN International
Al Assad trip gives Lebanese hope/GulfNews
Hariri kicks off fresh rounds of cabinet-formation deliberations-Daily
Star
Druze
Religious Council urges cabinet formation-Daily
Star
Geagea files lawsuit against Wahhab-Daily
Star
Abu
al-Aynayn insists Palestinian camps calm-Daily
Star
Israeli jets violate Lebanese airspace-Daily
Star
Jamil
al-Sayyed lashes out at UN chief in letter-Daily
Star
Lebanon budget deficit hits over 22 percent of spending-Daily
Star
Lebanon Virtual Job Fair attracts over 4,300 visitors-Daily
Star
Canada to contribute $1 million to Francophone Games-Daily
Star
Beirut-Bekaa route to be redirected for repairs-Daily
Star
ISF
seeks information on missing Palestinian-Daily
Star
Bab
al-Tebbaneh market struck by RPG-Daily
Star
Gunmen open fire on Allao family shops in Hermel-Daily
Star
2009
Beirut Marathon gets off to running start with official launch-Daily
Star
AUB
lecture tackles moral challenges in event of large-scale H1N1 outbreak-Daily
Star
Traffic light failure in south causing near-fatal accidents-Daily
Star
Sidon
declares environmental emergency-Daily
Star
Swathe of demined land returned to southern owners-Daily
Star
Security forces capture prisoner who escaped from hospital-Daily
Star
Minister Cannon and Secretary of
State Clinton Express Concern over Continued Detention of Canadian and U.S.
Nationals in Iran
September 25, 2009
The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and U.S. Secretary
of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, today made the following joint statement
regarding the continued detention of Canadian and American nationals in Iran:
“Canada and the United States are deeply concerned about the continued detention
of Canadian and American citizens, including dual nationals, inside Iran, and
once again urge Iran’s leadership to positively resolve these cases as a
humanitarian gesture and in accordance with their obligations under
international conventions. Individuals in detention include Iranian-Canadian
journalist Maziar Bahari, Iranian-American scholar Kian Tajbakhsh, retired
Iranian-American businessman Reza Taghavi and American hikers Joshua Fattal,
Shane Bauer, and Sarah Shourd. American Robert Levinson has also been missing in
Iran since March 2007.
“We call on the Government of Iran to provide American and Canadian detainees
with immediate consular access, full legal rights and protection, and a complete
and transparent account of the charges against them.
“As we have stated in the past, we fully respect the sovereignty of Iran. At the
same time, we seek the safe and rapid return of all detained and missing
citizens in Iran to their respective countries so that they might be reunited
with their families.”
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Natalie Sarafian
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
613-995-1851
Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
Office of Press Relations
U.S. Department of State
202-647-2492
Canadian PM echoes Iranian nuclear concerns
PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (AFP) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper joined
the United States, Britain, France and Germany on Friday in demanding immediate
access to a previously secret Iranian nuclear site.
"The Prime Minister echoed President Obama's concerns on today's news regarding
nuclear proliferation in Iran," Harper's spokesman Dimitri Soudas told reporters
on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh. Harper "supports
whatever actions are necessary," he said. "I gather the UN Security Council will
be having discussions around this issue and I won't speculate on these
discussions," he said. "It is pretty serious." US President Barack Obama, French
President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown revealed
Friday that Iran had admitted to the UN nuclear watchdog that it had built a
second uranium enrichment plant. "We expect the IAEA to immediately investigate
this disturbing information and to report to the IAEA board of governors," Obama
said, branding the new plant a "direct challenge" to international
non-proliferation rules. This week, Canada boycotted Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad's speech to the UN General Assembly, calling the Islamic republic
leader's remarks denying the Holocaust "disgraceful. "This regime has been
anti-Semitic, has very dangerous views vis-a-vis Israel but also we have been
very, very concerned about its nuclear plans," Soudas said
Suleiman Stresses Commitment to 1701, Says Lebanon Looks Forward to Being
Elected Security Council Member
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman told the U.N. General Assembly on Friday that
Lebanon is committed to the implementation of international resolutions,
particularly 1701, and looks forward to being elected a non-permanent Security
Council member."Lebanon looks forward with hope and confidence to being elected
to the non-permanent seat of the United Nations Security Council for 2010-2011
and the great support which we are hoping to get from brotherly and friendly
countries," Suleiman said in his address to the General Assembly.
"Lebanon reiterates its commitment to the U.N. Charter and international
resolutions, particularly resolution 1701," he stressed, urging the
international community to compel Israel to implement all 1701's provisions
including withdrawal from the Shebaa Farms, Kfarshouba hills and the northern
part of the border village of Ghajar.
Israel should also stop its daily violations of Lebanese sovereignty, Suleiman
said.
On the issue of Palestinians in Lebanon, Suleiman said that Beirut rejects "any
form of settlement of the Palestinian refugees in its territories."
"Such a stance will neither be compromised nor reversed," according to the
president.
Suleiman also told the General Assembly that parliamentary consultations are
taking their full course in accordance with the Lebanese constitution. "We are
looking forward to forming a national unity government very soon."
The president said coexistence in Lebanon goes against all currents of ethnic or
religious cleansing. "That's why I called last year to make Lebanon an
internationally recognized center for the dialogue of civilizations."Suleiman
tackled in his speech the Mideast crisis and said any solution "should be
founded on a pre-determined and integrated scheme, the basic elements of which
have been mapped out in the resolutions of international legitimacy.""However,
the Israeli side has not shown such a will," Suleiman told world leaders.
The international community should resort to appropriate means of pressure to
compel Israel to fulfill its international obligations towards the peace
process, he said in his 20-minute speech.
Suleiman finally vowed to pursue efforts to force Israel to pay due compensation
for the full damage that it caused through its repeated aggressions against
Lebanon, particularly during the 2006 war with Hizbullah. Beirut, 25 Sep 09,
19:43
Majority MPs Reject Opposition Conditions, Stress Respect for Poll
Naharnet/Results on 2nd Day of Consultations
Parliamentary majority MPs on Friday stressed support for PM-designate Saad
Hariri's efforts to form a cabinet and criticized the opposition for "imposing
conditions."
"Our duty is to facilitate PM-designate Hariri's mission. That's why we decided
not to have any stance over the cabinet formula" before Hariri finishes his
consultations, MP Mohammed Qabbani said following the Mustaqbal bloc's meeting
with the Premier-designate. "Our hand is streched to everybody," he stressed on
the second day of parliamentary consultations.
MP George Adwan spoke on behalf of the Lebanese Forces bloc, saying "Lebanon is
suffering from a real problem that can only be solved through honest dialogue
among the Lebanese."
"It is not logical for the (parliamentary) minority to impose its conditions on
the majority in the cabinet formation," he told reporters. He said the issue of
Hizbullah's arms should be tackled on the national dialogue table. Adwan
stressed: "We should preserve the Constitution and respect the June 7 election
results in forming the cabinet." The LF bloc agreed with Hariri to continue
consultations during another meeting "in order to reach better understanding."
Meanwhile, following the Phalange bloc's meeting with Hariri, MP Elie Marouni
said the group asked for two cabinet portfolios, the tourism and industry
ministries. He told reporters that the Phalange backed a national partnership
cabinet on condition that the opposition does not impose its conditions because
"national consensus is about being in agreement over everything and not
transforming victory into defeat."Marouni also said that the Phalange bloc will
hold another round of talks with Hariri. The bloc delivered a memo to Hariri in
which it recommended adopting decentralization, and rejecting all arms outside
the control of the state and naturalization of Palestinians. "Cabinet formation
should respect the results of the elections," said MP Tony Abou Khater in the
name of the Zahle MPs bloc.Beirut, 25 Sep 09, 20:46
Kouchner: Hizbullah Cabinet Ministers to Visit Paris
Naharnet/French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner confirmed Friday that the
Paris government is in contact with Hizbullah. Kouchner said that some Hizbullah
Cabinet ministers have accepted an invitation by the French foreign ministry to
visit Paris. He expressed France's desire to provide assistance to the Lebanese
people. Beirut, 25 Sep 09, 13:01
Qassem Calls for Formation of National Unity Cabinet Whatever the Sacrifices
Naharnet/Hizbullah's number two, Sheikh Naim Qassem, on Friday called for
formation of a national unity government "whatever the sacrifices required."
"We have always called for a government of national unity, not for the sake of
shares and portfolios, but in order to strengthen Lebanon and put our hands
together, since no one party … can govern the country alone," Qassem said. "No
one (political) team can also resolve all these issues and obstacles without the
help of other parties," Qassem added.
"This is why we encourage a constructive dialogue away from the media and away
from political tension … in order to achieve the objective of forming a national
unity government whatever the sacrifices, meetings, patience and time required,"
he said. Qassem advised political leaders to stick to the 15-10-5 Cabinet makeup
"because it is the formula that took time (to accomplish) and courage and mutual
concessions and has achieved national consensus." "Let everyone know that when a
government is formed by consensus, whatever the distribution of roles and
portfolios, everyone will win," Qassem thought. Beirut, 25 Sep 09, 14:20
Hezbollah Prepared to Hold the US Hostage
By: Chris Carter /25 Sep 2009
http://www.analyst-network.com/article.php?art_id=3159
A Middle East terrorism expert has warned that Iran may use a terrorist group to
strike the United States if it becomes threatened. “If Iran's regime is in
trouble, either from the outside or even from a democratic uprising, it may
order Hezbollah to attack the U.S.” said Dr. Walid Phares during an appearance
on FOX News last week.
This reiterates what Hezbollah themselves have said. “We have 2,000 volunteers
who have registered since last year,” Hezbollah spokesman Mojtaba Bigdeli told
Reuters in a 2006 interview. “They have been trained and they can become fully
armed. We are ready to dispatch them to every corner of the world to jeopardize
Israel and America's interests. We are only waiting for the supreme leader's
green light to take action. If America wants to ignite World War III … we
welcome it.”
While many in the U.S. are concerned with al Qaeda, the Lebanese-based and
Iranian-funded Hezbollah poses the greater threat. Excluding the 9/11 attacks,
Hezbollah has killed more Americans than any other terrorist group. Phares has
stated previously that Hezbollah is “well funded, very well organized, and we
assume that their penetration of the U.S. is deeper than al Qaeda's.”
In addition to their activity in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, Hezbollah
is operating in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, and other
countries in Central and South America.
Following news in 2006 that Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with
Hezbollah's military commander Imad Mugniyeh (who until his death would have
likely commanded attacks against Western targets), investigations were conducted
on Hezbollah cells in 14 U.S. cities. FBI and Justice Department probes revealed
about a dozen hard-core supporters of Hezbollah in New York City alone. Another
cell was discovered in Detroit, which has become the center for Hezbollah's
fundraising operations. San Antonio reportedly has Hezbollah-linked groups as
well.There have been multiple instances in recent years where personnel from the
Iranian mission to the United Nations were expelled for monitoring New York City
subways, bridges, tunnels, and other potential targets. According to testimony
from former CIA director James Woolsey, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
“says that he knows of the 29 sensitive sites in the U.S. and the west which he
has spied out and is ready to attack in order to, quote: 'End Anglo-Saxon
civilization.'”
It is likely that the attacks Ahmadinejad mentions would be executed by members
of Hezbollah.
In 2000, members of a North Carolina cell were convicted for providing “material
support” to Hezbollah. In addition to sending profits from a cigarette smuggling
ring to Hezbollah, one group member was ordered by a Hezbollah member in Lebanon
to obtain night-vision equipment, surveying equipment, global positioning
systems, mine detectors, radar, and other dual-use technology to send to
Lebanon.
In Canada, intelligence officials disclosed that Hezbollah mobilized as many as
four of their sleeper cells following Mugniyeh's assassination last year. Up to
20 Hezbollah suspects were tracked as they conducted reconnaissance on
synagogues and the Israeli embassy in Ottawa. Members of the cells were also
instructed to send their family members back to Lebanon. Toronto has become a
hub of activity for Hezbollah, despite the Canadian government declaring
Hezbollah a terrorist organization in 2002.
A federal indictment recently revealed that Hezbollah is trafficking weapons in
Mexico. The indictment alleges that in 2008 a Hezbollah member with a weapons
cache in Mexico had offered to sell the weapons to the Colombian narco-terrorist
group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The weapons – which
included military rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, plastic explosives, and
surface-to-air missiles – had been stolen from Iraq.
If Hezbollah's weapons can go south, what is to stop them from being brought
into the U.S. through a porous border?
In 2006, FBI director Robert Mueller confirmed that the FBI busted a Hezbollah
cell that smuggled operatives across the Mexican border. In 2001, Mahmoud
Kourani, who according to his indictment is a Hezbollah “member, fighter,
recruiter and fund-raiser,” illegally entered the U.S. through Mexico before
being convicted for providing material support to Hezbollah. Kourani's brother
is Hezbollah's chief of military security in Lebanon.
Hezbollah operatives also infiltrate the U.S. through the Canada. An associate
of Kourani smuggled 20 to 30 Hezbollah members into the U.S. across the Canadian
border.
In South America, the strategic partnership between Iran and Venezuela have
provided a base of operations for Hezbollah activity in the Western Hemisphere.
Venezuelan cells are part of the “Special Operations Command,” the group tasked
with overseas attacks, such as the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos
Aires, Argentina and another bombing in 1994 of a Jewish community center in the
same city. U.S. Treasury officials alleged last year that two Venezuelans had
“facilitated the travel” of Hezbollah members and “discussed operational issues
with senior officials” of the terrorist group. The import of operatives and
material were further eased as the State Department noted that Venezuelan border
officials in the airport did not stamp passports and rarely entered passengers
into the immigration database.
Hezbollah operatives and equipment could reach South America through Venezuela,
migrate to the U.S. through Mexico, and await their orders from Teheran.
Although Hezbollah has not yet attacked targets in the U.S., the terrorist group
clearly has the capability, and has announced their intention to strike. Their
presence on our soil serves to hold the American people hostage with the threat
of terrorist attacks in order to protect Iran's nuclear weapons program.
Therefore, it is essential that America become increasingly vigilant in order to
stop the threat from Hezbollah.
Fraudster Ezzedine hid investments from banking system
25/09/09/Compiled By -Daily Star Staff
BEIRUT: Arrested businessman Salah Ezzedine admitted during questioning on
Thursday that he had hidden large investments from the Lebanese banking system,
judicial sources told The Daily Star. Ezzedine’s bankruptcy and arrest on
suspicion of fraud have transfixed Lebanon, largely because of Ezzedine’s
connections to members of Hizbullah. Ezzedine was questioned for five and a half
hours by Mount Lebanon Investigating Magistrate Jean Farnini. Ezzedine during
the interrogation described details of his financial situation and of his recent
bankruptcy. He also admitted to having invested large amounts of money,
estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars, without going through the Lebanese
banking system, the source said. The businessman then gave further details about
his ambiguous transfer of money from and to Lebanon, the source added. The
investigating magistrate also questioned on Thursday Ezzedine’s partner Youssef
Faour, after having issued arrest warrants against the two suspects last week.
Three other suspects who were not arrested were also called to the magistrate’s
office. However, the three opted to wait for legal representation and their
questioning was hence delayed, the source said. Ezzedine is a wealthy
businessman from the south and a prominent financier, particularly among Shiite
circles in Lebanon. He is the owner of Dar Al-Hadi Publishing House, which has
published religious Shiite books, including books by Hizbullah officials. He was
officially charged with fraudulent embezzlement, a crime punishable by up to 15
years in prison, on September 15. Ezzedine had major business interests,
particularly in oil and iron industries, in Eastern Europe and suffered
substantial losses when oil prices dropped starting in mid-2008. It was believed
that he tried to make up for his losses by taking money from investors,
promising them up to 40 percent interest on their deposits – a return he could
not repay. Having declared bankruptcy two months ago, Ezzedine faced several
charges and according to well-informed sources a new lawsuit has been filed
against him and other suspects. Also present at the questioning on Thursday was
a large number of people who invested with Ezzedine along with numerous
attorneys. Ezzedine has been sued by Hizbullah MP Hussein Hajj Hassan, among
others, for the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the group has
maintained that Ezzedine was not a member, nor had any official connection to
the party. Hizbullah’s unsullied reputation when it comes to corruption has
long-rested on the myriad social-welfare projects the group sponsors for its
mostly Shiite constituents. – The Daily Star
Australia how-to jihadist jailed
BBC 25/09/09
Muslims live and worship freely in Australia despite occasional friction
A man who produced a do-it-yourself jihad book has been sentenced to 12 years in
prison in Australia.
Bela Khazaal was found guilty last September of producing a 110-page book, in
Arabic, entitled Provisions Of The Rules of Jihad.
This advised about terrorist acts such as exploding bombs, shooting down planes
and assassinating people such as former US President George W Bush.
Khazaal had claimed his book was never intended to incite terrorist acts.
At his sentencing in Sydney, Justice Megan Latham said she found it
"unsurprising" a jury had rejected his defence.
"It beggars belief that a person of average intelligence who has devoted
themselves to the study of Islam over some years would fail to recognise the
nature of the material," she said.
"The dissemination of extremist activity, connected or unconnected with a
terrorist plot, is caught by the government's (anti-terror) scheme ... (because
such material) is capable and is shown to foment terrorist activity."
Khazaal, a former Lebanon-born Qantas Airways baggage-handler, compiled the book
from a range of Internet sources, his lawyer George Thomas told the court at an
earlier sentencing hearing.
Its full title is Provisions Of The Rules of Jihad - Short Judicial Rulings And
Organisational Instructions For Fighters And Mujahideen Against Infidels.
He is the first person to be convicted on the charge of making a document
connected with assistance in a terrorist act, which carries a maximum jail term
of 15 years.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that US international terrorism consultant
Evan Kohlmann, who was called as a witness at Khazaal's trial, described the
book as a "do-it-yourself jihad" manual, aimed at people who "don't have Osama
bin Laden's telephone number".
The Supreme Court heard that, in December 2003, a military court in Lebanon
sentenced Khazaal to 10 years' hard labour for terrorism-related offences,
including forming a terrorist association for the purpose of committing crimes
against people and property
The Real Nuclear Option
By Gene Schwimmer
September 25, 2009
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/09/the_real_nuclear_option.html
Appeasement aficionados no doubt can barely contain their excitement as they
count down the days to October 1, when the U.S., cowering behind a risible
"multi-party" smokescreen, sits down with the Iranians to determine how best to
give the terrorist-supporting state (note to Liberals: "terrorist-supporting"
refers to Iran, not America) sufficient time to put the finishing touches on
their atomic bomb.
What does this mean? For the Obama Administration, it means is that, since
October 1 is taken, they'll have to find another other day to hold its direct
talks with North Korea. Hopefully, with 364 other days from which to choose, the
North Koreans will not be too greatly inconvenienced. For if North Korea walk
out this time, what does Obama offer next to bring them back to the table?
One-half-on-one-half talks? They talk and we just listen? (Or are we already
doing that?)
And of course, two years after Israel destroyed Syria's nuclear reactor project
(partially funded by North Korea, by the way), Obama "punished" Syria by sending
two diplomats to Syria, to discuss directly with the Syrians "how to seal best
[sic] the Syrian border with Iraq and fuel the stalling Syrian-Israeli
negotiations." (Stalled, perhaps, because the Syrians were busy building a
nuclear reactor?)
Like Dirty Harry, I know what you're thinking: The U.S. Is talking with Israel,
isn't it? No, the U.S. is talking at Israel -- freeze your settlements, freeze
your plans to destroy Iran's nuclear capability before it destroys you, freeze
your asses off in the resulting nuclear winter. Talking at, instead of to, a
country of us consider an ally doesn't count.
Let's see, what else? In the underside of a bus already crowded with Jeremiah
Wright, Barack Obama's grandmother, Bill Ayers, Van Jones, Poland, the Czech
Republic and others, Obama's Secretary of State managed to fit the over a
billion Chinese. We can't talk to China about human rights and risk China not
wanting to talk to us, now, can we? And of course, we can't put purely defensive
missiles in the Czech Republic and Poland if it means that the Russians might
not talk to us. Why even get up in the morning if our enemies, competitors and
adversaries won't talk to us?
Can there possibly be anyone on the planet with whom Barack Obama does not want
to talk?
As a matter of fact, there is:
[House Minority Leader John] Boehner told reporters that the president has not
invited House GOP leaders to the White House for meetings on healthcare reform
since the end of April.
So. Here, we have a president willing to send his envoys around the world,
willing to travel all the way to Cairo to talk to the "Muslim world" (and at the
5.5 million Jews-half the "Jewish world"). But he cannot bring himself to sit
down with a group of his fellow Americans, in America, if those Americans happen
to belong to the Republican Party.
Mr. President, as one of those Republicans to whom you will not speak, I am
deeply hurt. But mostly, I'm jealous. You're willing to pull your diplomatic
pants down and bend over for every two-bit (and one-bit; see Hugo Chavez)
tinhorn tyrant out there, but you won't talk to us. What do the Iranians, North
Koreans, Syrians, Chinese, and Russians have that we don't?
That's when it, and inspiration, hit me. What these guys have that we
Republicans don't is... nuclear weapons or, at least, the potential to acquire
them. And therein, I believe, lies the means by which to get Barack Obama to sit
down and talk to us Republicans.
The Republican Party needs to become a nuclear power.
Go ahead , laugh if you must, but I'm serious. Give us a nuke and the the
Democrats will have to talk to us. Let's see them try to blow us off when we
have the power to blow them up.
When Senate Democrats filibustered George W. Bush's judicial nominations, the
then-GOP majority spoke of a "nuclear option." And they were right, but only
half-right. Yes, the GOP needs a nuclear option, but not as a euphemism for a
Senate rule. We need a real one. Instead of building bridges to women,
minorities and independents, we need to be building (or renting; more on this in
a moment) centrifuges, and we need to start building them now.
Can we actually do it? Yes, we can! These easy-to-follow instructions, readily
available on the Internet, will let the nuclear scientists in the party get
started on the hardware while the rest of us start scrounging up the uranium.
Fortunately, we won't have to scrounge far. Everyone knows that the Republican
Party is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wall Street and it just so happens that at
least one Wall Street firm, Lehman Brothers, has 500,000 pounds of the
stuff-just about enough, by fortuitous coincidence, for one bomb. Even one bomb
should be enough to get the attention of even the most recalcitrant Democrat as
long as we're careful to use it threaten some major metropolitan area that the
country cares about, as opposed to, say, my home town of Detroit, where a
nuclear blast would barely be noticed.
And why shouldn't Lehman sell to us all the uranium we want or at least all the
uranium they have? We've been carrying Wall Street's water, and cleaning up
their &#%@, for as long as there's been a Wall Street, as any Liberal will tell
you. It's high time those three-martini-lunched fat cats did something for us.
As of April 14, according to Lehman, the value of 500,000 pounds of uranium was
$20 million. $20 million? What's $20 million? A rounding error on some hedge
fund honcho's bonus check. Heck, even the RNC managed to raise $6 million in
just one month.
Of course, there's also the matter, and expense, of building the thousands of
centrifuges we would need to enrich all that uranium. So follow my thinking:
Since Obama has already broken the ice and started talking with Iran, instead of
building our own centrifugues, why don't we ask the Iranians if we can rent some
time on theirs?
An insane plan, you say? Audacious? Perhaps even a little dangerous? Well, on
the one hand, I must admit, yes, a nuclear GOP, could, possibly, be one or more
of those things.
On the other hand, it just might work.
And since Obama isn't talking with us Republicans anyway, what have we got to
lose?
Comments on "The Real Nuclear Option"
"أOPINION: The Problem With Arab Denial
September 23, 2009
By Ari Lieberman for The Jewish Star:
On October 6, 1973, Yom Kippur Day, Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated
assault against Israel. Under cover of heavy artillery and aerial bombardment,
the Egyptians crossed the Suez Canal and stormed Israel’s neglected Bar-Lev
fortifications. Several hundred miles to the north, a thousand Syrian tanks
accompanied by anti-tank guide missile squads crashed through the Golan Heights.
Facing them were a mere 177 Israeli tanks.
Afte 18 days of bitter fighting, the picture on the ground appeared vastly
different from those first precarious days. In the North, the Syrians were in
full retreat. Their destroyed and abandoned tanks littered the Golan and the
Israelis stood a mere 20 miles from Damascus. The situation for the Egyptians
was no better. The bulk of their army was trapped and surrounded by the Israel
Defense Forces and there was nothing to stop the Israelis from advancing on
Cairo. In fact, the Arab situation was so dire that the Soviets threatened
direct military intervention unless Israel stopped its offensive, prompting the
U.S. to heighten DEFCON readiness and place its 6th Fleet on alert.
Strangely, October 6 is marked yearly as a holiday in Egypt. There are military
parades and patriotic songs play over government controlled radio. Egyptians are
taught that the Yom Kippur War, or as they call it, the Ramadan War, was an
Egyptian victory. Despite the fact that their army was hopelessly trapped,
despite the fact that the IDF was operating with impunity over a large swath of
land in Africa, despite the fact that the Egyptians suffered tens of thousands
dead and wounded, despite the fact that their Syrian allies suffered equal
devastation and despite the fact that the Soviets had to bail them out (again),
the Egyptians still call it a victory. Strange, indeed.
Fast-forward nine years. On June 6, 1982 the IDF invaded Lebanon. Within six
days, its forces swept aside PLO and Syrian resistance and were on the outskirts
of Beirut, trapping some 7,000 PLO fighters in the Lebanese capital. Within two
months, the PLO was expelled from Lebanon and banished to scattered destinations
throughout the Middle East. Their humiliating exit from the Lebanese capital was
accompanied by celebratory gunfire as if they had achieved a glorious victory.
So many bullets were fired into the air that dozens of Fatah terrorists were
injured by falling lead. Yasser Arafat even compared the Battle of Beirut to the
Battle of Stalingrad. Obviously, nobody had told Arafat that the Russians
actually won that battle.
On July 12, 2006, twenty-four years after the First Lebanon War, Israel was
again forced to fight a war in Lebanon, this time against a foe called
Hezbollah. The war was sparked by a serious Hezbollah border provocation.
After 33 days of fighting, the IDF was in control of every single Lebanese
village in the sub-Litani region (from Israel’s northern border to the Litani
River near Tyre). Hezbollah lost a third of its elite fighting force and by some
estimates, up to a thousand killed in action. Damage to Hezbollah’s
infrastructure was equally severe and the billions the terrorist group and its
Iranian sponsors spent in developing its military capabilities went up in smoke.
Whole Shi’a neighborhoods were obliterated and, despite the passing of three
years, the scars of war are still evident throughout Lebanon. Hezbollah was
pushed away from the border and the organization was forced to allow the
Lebanese Army to deploy there in its place, something its leader, Hassan
Nasrallah, vowed he would never allow. Pouring salt on Hezbollah’s wounds, UNFIL
(United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) was enlarged and now included a big
European contingent led by French and Italian troops. The new reality meant that
Hezbollah could no longer operate with impunity in the sub-Litani region, as
this would necessarily invite confrontation with the Lebanese Army and the
Europeans. Moreover, Iran and Syria had hoped to utilize Hezbollah as a
deterrent against any Israeli strike against those rogue countries. By
prematurely provoking a fight with Israel without strategic purpose, Hezbollah,
Iran and Syria exposed their hand and gained nothing. The Israeli home front
absorbed the worst that Hezbollah had to offer and escaped relatively unscathed.
Political commentators, academics and defense analysts have, for the most part,
recognized the Second Lebanon war as a strategic loss for Hezbollah and a
victory for Israel. Indeed, Nasrallah himself, facing growing domestic
criticism, admitted that he vastly underestimated the strength of Israel’s
response and stated that he would not have provoked Israel had he known that it
would lead to war. Yet shortly after offering this humbling statement, Nasrallah
boasted (from his underground hideout) that Hezbollah had scored a “divine
victory” over Israel.
What leader apologizes for and doubts the wisdom of starting a war that leads to
“divine victory” for his people? Perhaps Michael Young of Lebanon’s “Daily Star”
summed it up best when he wrote, “one dreads to imagine what Hezbollah would
recognize as a military loss.”
In December 2008, just two years after Nasrallah’s colossal blunder, 26 years
after the PLO’s humiliating Beirut expulsion and 35 years after Egypt’s
disastrous Yom Kippur misadventure, Hamas decided that it, too, wanted to join
the Arab humiliation club. It violated an agreed-upon ceasefire by unilaterally
firing deadly rocket salvos at Israeli towns. In the three weeks of war that
followed, Israel killed 709 Hamas combatants including senior commanders and
bomb makers for losses of 9 IDF soldiers, a kill ratio of nearly 80 to 1. Hamas
failed to hit a single Israeli tank and its “fighters” chose to run or surrender
rather than fight. Yet in the midst of a smoldering Gaza with his guerilla
fighters in tatters and scattering in different directions, Ismail Haniyeh
emerged from his underground hospital bunker (after Israel had already left, of
course) to declare victory over the Zionists.
Once again Israel had scored a major military and strategic victory and once
again an Arab leader defied logic and reality by declaring victory over the
“Zionist imperialists.”
Aside from being motivated by a hatred of anything not Islamic, these wars
demonstrate another common theme: the Arabs live in a state of perpetual
delusional fantasy. Their reality is so steeped in fantasy that it almost makes
Disney’s Alice in Wonderland appear as reality. But there is logic behind this
absurd, seemingly bizarre and irrational behavior.
The Islamic antagonists facing Israel and the West are indoctrinated in a
convoluted mixture of radical Islam, extreme fanaticism and a depraved hatred of
anything un-Islamic. Some refer to this as Islamofacism. Admitting defeat would
require the Arabs to acknowledge that within a sixty-year span, they have been
defeated nine times by the non-believing heretics. This, in turn, would
undermine the core of their belief system. After all, how could Allah abandon
them nine straight times? Unless of course, Allah doesn’t adhere to the
corrupted form of Islam they espouse. That would mean that everything they were
spoon-fed from birth, all the hate and religious fanaticism, was a lie and their
sacrifices were in vain. No virgins awaited them in paradise.
Thus, denial runs deep in the Islamofacist mindset. Seemingly bizarre claims of
“divine victory” or ludicrous comparisons with Stalingrad are more than empty
rhetoric. They are coping mechanisms designed to deal with a reality they prefer
to ignore. Until this bankrupted belief system is rejected by level-headed,
moderate Muslims, the Arabs are likely to continue experiencing defeat and
likely to continue proclaiming phantom victories while their people live in
abject poverty and die by the tens of thousands.
Canada to contribute $1 million to Francophone Games
Friday, September 25, 2009/BEIRUT: Canada will contribute $1 million to help
organize the sixth Francophone Games, which will take place in Beirut from
September 27 to October 6, according to an announcement Thursday by Josee Verner,
of intergovernmental affairs minister, president of the Queen’s Privy Council
for Canada and francophone minister. This contribution is in keeping with
Canada’s traditional support for the International Francophone Organization and
in particular for the Francophone Games which were held in Ottawa-Hull in 2001.
Nearly 50 Francophone countries have confirmed their participation. – National
News Agency