LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
November 30/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 21,34-36. Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man."

The Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great (4th century)
Eucharistic prayer, 2nd part (trans. ©Holy Cross Orthodox press)
Pray at all times, standing before the Son of Man
«Do this in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this Bread and drink this Cup, you proclaim my death, and you confess my resurrection». Therefore, Master, we also, remembering His saving passion and life giving cross, His three; day burial and resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, and enthronement at Your right hand, God and Father, and His glorious and awesome second coming, we offer to You these gifts from Your own gifts in all and for all. We praise You, we bless You, we give thanks to You, and we pray to You, Lord our God. Therefore, most holy Master, we also, Your sinful and unworthy servants, whom You have made worthy to serve at Your holy altar, not because of our own righteousness (for we have not done anything good upon the earth), but because of Your mercy and compassion, which You have so richly poured upon us, we dare to approach Your holy altar, and bring forth the symbols of the holy Body and Blood of Your Christ. We pray to You and call upon You, O Holy of Holies, that by the favor of Your goodness, Your Holy Spirit may come upon us and upon the gifts here presented, to bless, sanctify, and make this bread to be the precious Body of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. (Deacon: Amen) and this cup to be the precious Blood of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. (Deacon: Amen) shed for the life and salvation of the world. (Deacon: Amen. Amen. Amen). Unite us all to one another who become partakers of the one Bread and the Cup in the communion of the one Holy Spirit. Grant that none of us may partake of the holy Body and Blood of Your Christ to judgment or condemnation; but, that we may find mercy and grace with all the saints who through the ages have pleased You... And grant that with one voice and one heart we may glorify and praise Your most honored and majestic name, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Islam would never condone the acts of barbarity in Mumbai-The Daily Star 29/11/08
Religions' complex attitudes toward war-Boston Globe 29/11/08
Alternative to Hezbollah. Al-Bawaba  29/11/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for November 29/08
Ban: International Tribunal Would End Impunity-Naharnet
Sarkozy: Eyes on Lebanon's Elections-Naharnet
Aoun Issues Own Charge Sheet in Hariri Crime-Naharnet
Lebanese army commander pays visit to Syria-Xinhua
Gen. Qahwaji in Damascus-Naharnet
Who's Behind the Mumbai Massacre?TIME - USA
Five hostages killed as Indian commandos storm Jewish center-(AFP)
Hundreds protest against SSNP attack on Future TV journalist-Daily Star
Selling Syria to a Skeptical American Audience-U.S. News & World Report
Lebanon signs up to treaty banning chemical weapons-AFP
Siniora calls on all Lebanese to 'commit to national consensus-Daily Star
Lebanon offers formal recognition to state of Palestine-(AFP)
WAAD picks Hobeika as leader-Daily Star
PSP meets with Hizbullah-Daily Star
Najjar urges independent judiciary-Daily Star
Obama seeks Lebanon stability-Daily Star
Fadlallah raps political leaders-Daily Star
Raids under way in Ain al-Hilweh-(AFP)
EU commission chief calls for 'human rescue' plan at Doha talks-(AFP)
Bassil vows to reduce cell phone rates by April 2009-Daily Star
Children of Southern village of Burghliyeh help create new playground-Daily Star
Lebanon 'worst place' for Palestinian refugees-Daily Star
Aid groups scramble to assist influx of Iraqi refugees-(AFP)

Alternative to Hizbullah?
29-11-2008 ,
Is there a political alternative to Hizbullah among the Shiites in Lebanon? According to the secretary general of the Arab Islamic Council in Lebanon, Sayyed Muhammad Ali Husseini the answer is positive.
In a recent interview, this Shiite figure said he plans to challenge Hizbullah in the Lebanon's 2009 parliamentary elections. Husseini noted the Council would present a list of 14 candidates who will compete for seats against Hizbullah politicians in the Shiite strongholds of south Lebanon and the Lebanon Valley.
According to Husseini, his party has "great chances" to beat Hizbullah. The Islamic Union will stress his "Arabism" against the Iranian links, which Hizbullah boasts. Husseini has already have a slogan "In the service of the Lebanese citizen", a clear hint to Hizbullah and its Iranian interests.
Hussieni is a well known figure in Lebanon. In the past, some observers even suggested he was being groomed to take over the position of his current rival Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah. Over the years, the competition between the two Shiite men intensified. Hussieni has become an outspoken criric of Hizbullah and Nasrallah, particularly because his claim that the Shiite movement was implementing an Iranian agenda and not a Lebanese one. "The first issue is loyalty. We Lebanese - Shi'ites, Sunnis, Druze, and Christians - are loyal to Lebanon alone, as we have proven. Hizbullah has shifted its loyalty elsewhere, to another country," he was quoted as saying in 2007. In the recent interview, Hussieni added his optimism towards the elections stems from the "huge response" he gets on the ground from potential Shiite voters, who are fed up with Hizbullah policy. According to him, many Arab states and maunly the Gulf countries have been supporting his bid to challenge Hizbullah (and Amal)'s monopoly on the Shiite politics. Hussieni is seen as a serious threat to Hizbullah. Last monthe, the Arab Islamic Council launched an anti-Hizbullah satellite channel. The station, called "Orouba", i.e. Arabism is aimed to counter Hizbullah channel al-Manar.© 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

Gen. Qahwaji in Damascus
Naharnet/Army Commander Gen. Jean Qahwaji arrived in Damascus Saturday on an official visit for talks with Syrian officials. An-Nahar daily said Qahwaji, who heads a military delegation, would discuss, among other topics, whereabouts of missing Lebanese soldiers and demarcation of the joint borders. Hundreds of Lebanese soldiers have been missing since Oct. 13, 1990 when they fought against the Syrian army that attacked an enclave controlled by then army commander and interim Premier Gen. Michel Aoun. Beirut, 29 Nov 08, 12:45

Aoun Issues Own Charge Sheet in Hariri Crime
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun said the International tribunal would "charge parties" that are not already blamed for the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri. Aoun, in an interview with the Syrian al-Dunia Television, did not attribute his information about the Hariri investigation carried out behind closed doors by a U.N. commission. Aoun also defended four generals held in connection with the Hariri crime, saying they are "political detainees." He said his forthcoming visit to Syria is "important to develop relations between the Lebanese and Syrian peoples." On Hizbullah, Aoun said: "If all mankind told me it is a terrorist organization I would say no they are a resistance group … they are Lebanese citizens who founded a party to defend their land." Beirut, 29 Nov 08, 12:32

Ban: International Tribunal Would End Impunity
Naharnet/U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the international tribunal that would try suspects in the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and related crimes is an "historic development" that would finish off the traditional state of impunity. Ban, in an interview with the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat, said setting March 1 a schedule for the tribunal to function is an "historic development that reflects a significant and extremely important meaning, not just at the judicial level, but also at the level of its political concept."  "We are committed to maintaining our determination on finishing off impunity," Ban stressed. Chief of the U.N. commission probing the Hariri assassination and related crimes Daniel Bellemare is "ready to assume his post as prosecutor general for the international tribunal," Ban noted.
The trial, he said, would not be "easy. It is a very difficult, sensitive and serious process." "Let us wait and see when the charge sheet in the case would be issued," Ban said in answering a question. He said he had discussed with Syrian President Bashar Assad and his Foreign Minister Walid Muallem the topic of Palestinian factions that threaten Lebanon's sovereignty and he would raise the issue, among other topics, with Premier Fouad Saniora in Qatar on Sunday. Ban also said he intends to discuss with Iran "in the future" its alleged role in smuggling weapons to Hizbullah in cooperation with Syria. He reiterated that Syria and Israel have failed to provide him with requested documents regarding sovereignty over the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms. "I am really frustrated by the slow pace on this issue." Ban criticized Israel for "not providing satisfactory response" to proposals by the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) regarding withdrawal from the Lebanese sector of the Ghajar village. Response by the Lebanese Government to UNIFIL's proposals was "very positive," Ban said. Beirut, 29 Nov 08, 09:03

Sarkozy: Eyes on Lebanon's Elections
Naharnet/French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the international community would closely watch the forthcoming Parliamentary elections that are "decisive for the Lebanon reconciliation."In an interview with the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat, Sarkozy pledged that "no one would accept that Lebanon's independence and the sovereignty of its people are targeted in any way." The elections, he added, should be held with "maximum transparency and fairness." Sarkozy expressed "satisfaction, in general, with the Lebanon developments." "Six months ago Lebanon was plunged in a very deep political crisis … the shadow of civil war was hanging over the country," Sarkozy explained. "President Michel Suleiman was elected, a national unity government was formed, Lebanese institutions are functioning again, the security situation improved, an election law was adopted and preparations are underway for the elections of the forthcoming spring," he recalled. Nevertheless, Sarkozy noted, "we haven't reached end of the March. So many stages have to be crossed, but we should admit that the situation is better." He expressed hope that Lebanon and Syria would exchange ambassadors before end of the year. Beirut, 29 Nov 08, 11:15

Religions' complex attitudes toward war
By Rich Barlow /Globe Newspaper
November 29, 2008
To those who respond with a knee-jerk affirmative, Mark Allman of Merrimack College says not so fast. Consider that the Ku Klux Klan avows Christianity. How many Christians accept Klansmen as their brothers in Christ?
The point underscores the convoluted attitudes toward violence coursing through the histories of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Misunderstandings abound with regard to how the three view war, Allman said last week as he sought to clear the air in a talk at the North Andover campus, where he teaches religious and theological studies.
The subject is topical enough to draw 150 people on a frigid night. To keep the discussion from floating away on currents of airy academic theory, Allman opened by screening photos of war's victims, the most searing of which were gory pictures of children with bodies bloodied, mangled, and limbless - a needed reminder, he said, that "what we are here to discuss tonight is grotesque."
Displaying an on-screen theological tic-tac-toe grid, Allman delved into the three faiths' histories with three philosophies of war - pacifism, just war, and holy war. He offered a few surprises. For example, he said that some pacifists accept some violence; St. Augustine, who held that individuals couldn't morally use violence even in self-defense, invented just-war theory, believing that the state had a unique obligation to defend the weak.
Allman's central concern boiled down to the question of why these three religions, which all affirm a loving God and have done so much good, have histories of embracing war, be it the morally conditioned just war or the fanatical absolutism of "holy war, in which combatants claim the Almighty is on their side?
One connecting thread is power, Allman concluded: Religious believers historically tend to pacifism when they're defenseless against superior force. Once they attain brute strength, they're more likely to wield it. Such believers don't embrace pacifism solely because they can't beat anybody and shed it when they can, he insisted - they're on firm theological ground in their pacifism -but the "context of powerlessness" creates an environment in which pacifism seems more acceptable.
What about each faith's history and scriptures? The Book of Exodus is full of the Jewish people waging holy war, but such wars are rare elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, he said. Christians have invoked God's endorsement for violence from the Crusades to the removal of Native Americans from their lands. But those claims were "fundamentally unbiblical," Allman said. "Jesus has a good record on pacifism," from his blessing of peacemakers to his turning the other cheek and his commandment to love your enemies. That's why some early church fathers were pacifists.
When it comes to Muslims, "Islam is in trouble," he said, beset by a "serious problem -how to interpret the jihad tradition and who has authority to speak within [it]." Which brings us back to Al Qaeda and the question of who's a Muslim. Osama bin Laden issues religious edicts despite his lacking any theological, juridical role within Islam. "His authority is grounded in the fact" - Allman paused for effect - "he's rich."
But Islam has a vibrant alternative tradition of which its critics are ignorant, he continued. Mohammed used the word jihad to refer not to warfare but the individual's inner struggle to overcome sin. Those who quote the Koran's "sword passages" of violence overlook its "peace passages," which relentlessly stress God's mercy.
Other passages endorse violence in self-defense or command mercy and cessation of violence for enemies who sue for peace.
In short, Islam's turmoil hinges on whether jihad is interpreted literally or figuratively. To Allman, Islamic terrorists are "rogue elements that call themselves Muslim" but actually push a political and economic ideology that feeds off the poverty and alienation of poor Muslims.
When a questioner asked why moderate Muslim leaders hadn't condemned the extremists, Padraic O'Hare, director of the Center for the Study of Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations, which sponsored the talk, said that a Google search would convince the questioner otherwise.
Allman is a Roman Catholic and advocate of rigorously conditioned just war. On that score, he might have alienated some like-minded allies with his asides during the talk, as when he criticized the "displaying of war banners - I mean American flags -in our houses of worship."
But the crowd rewarded his calls for understanding and ameliorating the causes of war with a standing ovation.
In these religiously conflicted times, O'Hare concluded, the center he leads is "an act of moral audaciousness and moral responsibility."
Comments, questions, and story ideas may be sent to spiritual@globe.com.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.

Who's Behind the Mumbai Massacre?
By Simon Robinson -Times
Friday, Nov. 28, 2008
There has been one claim of responsibility: a group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen, which e-mailed news organizations on Thursday claiming it had carried out the attacks. The group, previously unknown, may be connected with (or even an alias of) the Indian Mujahedin, which claimed responsibility for several terrorist strikes earlier this year. Indian terrorism experts say that both are likely to have connections to, or simply be renamed versions of, older Indian militant groups such as the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba or the Students Islamic Movement of India. (See pictures of two days of terror in Mumbai.)
Yet the scale and sophistication of the Mumbai attacks — which appear to have involved dozens of militants using assault rifles, grenades and explosives to simultaneously attack multiple targets — raise suspicions of involvement by more than one group, which would involve an unprecedented level of coordination.
"This is an operation of a very new type in India," wrote Walid Phares on his well-respected Counterterrorism Blog. "The 'emirs' have sent these armed elements in their 20s to strike at Indian psyche. One goal is to sink the Pakistani-Indian rapprochement ... The goal is to target India as a power engaged in the war on terror but also to further destabilize the region, including Pakistan and its neighbor Afghanistan."
Here are the groups considered the most likely culprits in the Mumbai attacks:
Lashkar-e-Toiba (Army of the Pure), formed in 1990, probably in Afghanistan. It is based near Lahore in Pakistan and is bent on forcing India out of Kashmir. It has also said it wants to restore Islamic rule over India. Indian intelligence sources believe the group has backers within Pakistan's ISI. It also has historic links to both the Taliban and al-Qaeda. India's National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan said in 2006 that Lashkar-e-Toiba is part of the "al-Qaeda compact" and is "as big and as omnipotent" as Osama bin Laden's group.
Jaish-e-Mohammed, which emerged in early 2000 under the leadership of Maulana Masood Azhar, who had been serving time in an Indian jail for Kashmir-related militancy but was released in exchange for Indian passengers on an Indian Airlines jet who had been hijacked to Afghanistan. The group was responsible for an attack on India's parliament in December 2001 that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war. Jaish-e-Mohammed is believed to have close links to al-Qaeda and bin Laden through a religious school in Karachi.
The Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) is less focused on Kashmir than either Lashkar-e-Toiba or Jaish-e-Mohammed. Indian authorities say the group, formed in 1977, has close connections to a pocket of Chicago's Muslim community. Its fortunes have waxed and waned over the past three decades, but the group has recently become more active again. SIMI blamed the 9/11 attacks on Israelis and, at the same time, expressed admiration for bin Laden and his war against the West. Some Indian experts believe that Indian Mujahedin is simply a renamed SIMI.
In the past two years, the groups listed above have sometimes been joined in operations by the Bangladeshi arm of a group known as Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami. The group is believed to be behind twin blasts in Hyderabad in 2007. Formed in 1992 in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi group has become a lot stronger in India since the massacre of Muslims by hard-line Hindu nationalists in Gujarat in 2002.
Despite the ideological affinities of some of these groups with bin Laden's movement, Ajai Sahni, executive director of the New Delhi–based Institute for Conflict Management, says there is no real evidence "of any operational linkages between al-Qaeda and these groups." They may take inspiration from al-Qaeda propaganda, but they are unlikely to have direct organizational links back to bin Laden.
More likely, however, is that the four separate groups have begun to work together more often and in increasingly sophisticated ways. There have been instances in the past of the groups' establishing joint operational cells. While pooling resources allowed for more effective operations, it also greatly increased the risks of police infiltration. As a result, the planning of such operations has been decentralized to the point that each group of militants attacking a specific target in Mumbai on Thursday was unlikely to have been aware of the total plan.
Sahni explains that previous experience suggests that an operation of the complexity of the Mumbai attacks would be directed by handlers based outside India, who would design a plan and then contact militants within their networks based in India to carry out various missions — delivering explosives to a safe house, buying equipment and so forth — that would enable the gunmen to wreak havoc.
None of the India-based operatives would most likely know one another, nor for the most part would even meet. Contact with the handler woould always be through a public call center to make it difficult to trace calls. If an operative were picked up by police, there would be no way for him to identify fellow plotters. "It assures total anonymity," Sahni told TIME last year. "The handler is in Bangladesh or Pakistan, and the people here don't know each other. It's the most significant tactical shift in the near past and is a model for international terrorism in the future."
Sadly, the success of the Mumbai operation — at least 143 dead and, perhaps more important, two days and counting of continuous news coverage — is sure to embolden those behind it. The Indian model of disparate groups working together, if that's what it is in this case, is also likely to be copied by al-Qaeda-inspired terrorists around the world. The model, says Sahni, "is absolutely brilliant in every way."

Siniora calls on all Lebanese to 'commit to national consensus'
Premier cites birth of Israel as most difficult challenge
By Hussein Abdallah
Saturday, November 29, 2008
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said on Friday that consensus among the Lebanese was the key to safeguard the country against all forms of foreign interference. Siniora added that the challenges Lebanon was facing nowadays were not to be compared with bigger and harder challenges of the past.
"The Lebanese have succeeded in overcoming more crucial challenges in the past ... the struggle for power within the country is something that everybody can cope with as long as we commit to national consensus," Siniora said during the opening of the 52nd Arab and International Beirut Book Fair. More than 150 Lebanese and 30 Arab publishing houses are taking part in the annual exhibition, which will last for two weeks.
"The Lebanese should have no other option than the state ... our differences should not be exaggerated and consensus should be our only way out of all kinds of differences," the premier said.
"Overcoming political crises requires commitment to the idea of the one state ... any other idea would tear the country apart and take us to internal strife," he added.
Siniora cited the birth of the state of Israel in 1948 as the most difficult challenge that Lebanon has ever faced.
"This is not only because Israel had waged war against us on more than one occasion ... not only because Israel had occupied and still occupies parts of our territory ... but because the establishment of a racist and ethnic state is in itself a challenge to the Lebanese multi-confessional state which is based on the idea of coexistence," he said. Siniora added that the Lebanese people had paid a heavy price to protect their freedom and identity.
"Today we find ourselves more committed to protecting cultural diversity and playing a pivotal role in facilitating dialogue between different religions," he said.
Also Friday, President Michel Sleiman told a delegation of Arab justice ministers who visited him at the Presidential Palace that the concepts of freedom and justice were interrelated. "The judge's role is to tackle specific cases, while justice ministries are tasked with creating an atmosphere of justice ... this atmosphere cannot be created without respecting all freedoms," he said.
The Arab ministers, who held their 24th annual conference in Beirut on Friday, were accompanied by Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar.
Sleiman also received on Friday a phone call from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who thanked him for the Cabinet's recent decisions to recognize and establish diplomatic ties with the state of Palestine.
Meanwhile, Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) media officer Rami al-Rayyess was quoted by news reports on Friday as saying that a meeting between Hizbullah and PSP officials had took place last Wednesday at the residence of Youth and Sports Minister Talal Arslan in Khaldeh.
The meeting came in line with earlier meetings between officials from both groups.
"We are open to any meeting that contributes to promoting reconciliation," Rayyess told Al-Liwaa newspaper.
Separately on Friday, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri received US Ambassador Michel Sison at his residence in Beirut.
Sison made no remarks after the meeting.

Statement by Canada's Minister Cannon on the Death of Second Canadian in Mumbai
The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today released the following statement on the death of a second Canadian citizen in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India:
“On behalf of all Canadians and the Government of Canada, I offer my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the deceased. The next of kin have been notified, and our consular officers have put themselves at their service.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this difficult time.
“I want to reassure Canadians and the families affected that the Government of Canada is making every effort to help and support Canadians in Mumbai. We continue to monitor the situation very closely.
“Canada strongly condemns these despicable acts of violence, which targeted innocent civilians.”
Canadians in need of consular assistance are asked to contact Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada in Ottawa at 613-996-8885. Collect calls are accepted.