LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
September 29/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 21,28-32. What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.'He said in reply, 'I will not,' but afterwards he changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, 'Yes, sir,' but did not go. Which of the two did his father's will?" They answered, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him.

Clement of Alexandria (150-215), theologian
Homily «How can the rich be saved?», 39-40 (©Friends of Henry Ashworth)
"Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you"
The doors are open for all who sincerely and wholeheartedly return to God; indeed, the Father is most willing to welcome back a truly repentant son or daughter. The result of true repentance, however, is that you do not fall into the same faults again, but utterly uproot from your souls the sins for which you consider yourself worthy of death. When these have been destroyed God will again dwell within you, since Scripture says that for the Father and his angels in heaven the festal joy and gladness at the return of one repentant sinner is great beyond compare (Lk 15,10). That is why the Lord cried out: «It is love that I desire, not sacrifice,» (Hos 6,6; Mt 9,13). «I take no pleasure in the death of a wicked man, but rather in the wicked man's conversion» (Ez 33,11). «Though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be crimson red, they shall be white as wool» (Is 1,18). Although only God has power to forgive sins and cancel transgressions, the Lord commands us also to forgive our repentant brothers and sisters every day. So if we who are evil know how to give good gifts (Mt 7,11), how much more generous must be «the Father of mercies» (2Cor 1,3), the good Father of all consolation, who is full of compassion and mercy, and whose nature it is to be patient and await our conversion! Genuine conversion, however, means ceasing to sin without any backward glances... By repenting we condemn our past misdeeds and beg forgiveness of the Father, the only one who can in his mercy undo what has been done, and wipe away our past sins with the dew of his Spirit.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Where did the Saudi Aid to Lebanon Go?Tariq Alhomayed is the Editor-in-Chief of Asharq 28/09/08
Egyptian sheik's outburst against Shiites roils Mideast. By Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles 28/09/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for September 28/08
Syria says 'terrorists' coming from outside border-The Associated Press
SYRIA: Bomb blast continues to rattle region-Los Angeles Times
Olmert to visit Russia early next month for talks on Iran, Syria-Xinhua
Washington to Israel: No Deals with Syria over Lebanon-Naharnet
Parliament Approves Half of the Election Law-Naharnet
Jumblat's Bloc: Bin Laden or Iran Behind Damascus Bombing-Naharnet
UN, US, Arab countries condemn car bombing in Syria-Xinhua
Suleiman to Launch Initiative to Reconcile Christians -Naharnet
Hizbullah Denounces Damascus Blast, Doesn't Blame Israel -Naharnet
Syrian Troops Nibble Lebanese Territories-Naharnet
Washington to Israel: No Deals with Syria over Lebanon-Naharnet
Salloukh Denies Leaking the Suleiman-Bush Discussion-Naharnet
2nd Car Bomb in Damascus Since Mughniyeh Killing-Naharnet
Najjar: Lebanon, Syria, Saudi in Danger-Naharnet
Opposition website: Syria blast may be 'work accident'-Israel News
Iran dismisses draft UN nuclear resolution- Israel News

Opposition website: Syria blast may be 'work accident'
Syrian opposition website suggests Damascus explosion may be result of security forces' mishap; Lebanon PM condemns attack as 'terror crime'
Roee Nahmias Published: 09.27.08, 22:05 / Israel News
The Damascus blast that left 17 people dead earlier Saturday may have been a result of a "work accident" by Syrian security forces, an opposition website reported. A local resident told a website reporter the car bomb that exploded in the Syrian capital may have been meant to explode in Iraq or Lebanon.
The opposition website reported that Syrian television images make it appear that the explosion took place in a building belonging to the security establishment. However, at this time the reports are mostly speculations and the cause of the blast remains unclear.
Vehicle rigged with 200 kg of explosives explodes near airport, at intersection leading to shrine popular with Shi'ite pilgrims from Iran, Lebanon; Interior minister: This was a cowardly terror attack Meanwhile, Syrian opposition figures told Ynet that the explosion may in fact be a staged incident aimed at heightening fears of a growing radical Islamic threat, thereby presenting the Syrians with a pretext to deploy troops in Lebanon.
Saturday evening, senior Lebanese figures, including Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, condemned the explosion. The Lebanese PM issued a statement saying that "this crime is despicable and unacceptable." Siniora referred to the blast as a "terror crime" and said such incidents must be rejected, particularly when they take place in an Arab capital. According to television reports, the car that exploded in Damascus Saturday was rigged with at least 200 kg (440 pounds) of explosives, and also injured 14 people. The reports also said that "an investigation by the Counter-terrorism Unit us underway to identify the attackers."

Washington to Israel: No Deals with Syria over Lebanon
Naharnet/A senior U.S. official said Washington has asked Israel to avoid concluding a deal with Syria over Lebanon. The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat said on Sunday Jeffrey Feltman, deputy assistant U.S. Secretary of State, relayed Washington's message to Israel during a recent visit to respect the United States' commitment to Lebanon's independence and sovereignty in its talks with Syria. The official, who was not identified, said Israel would "respond to any act by Hizbullah that threatens its security, but would not launch a preemptive war." He said the recent meeting between U.S. President George Bush and his Lebanese counterpart Michel Suleiman was of symbolic importance because "Suleiman is not (ex-President) Emile Lahoud and is not Syria's representative in Lebanon."Suleiman, the official added, is playing a "very cautious role so that he doesn't disagree with anybody." Beirut, 28 Sep 08, 11:40

Syrian Troops Nibble Lebanese Territories
Naharnet/Syrian troops are nibbling Lebanese territories along the eastern borders by digging a network of trenches and setting up positions in a region that abuts Israel. The daily al-Mustaqbal said Sunday that the latest in such alleged activities by the Syrian army was reported in the vicinity of the remote northern hamlet of Kfarqouq in the Hasbaya region. Syrian troops, according to the report, are dug in about 500 meters deep in Lebanese territory. It quoted political sources as saying Syria is trying to nibble Lebanese territories in the eastern mountainous range in advance of demarcating the joint borders in line with U.N. Security Council resolutions. Beirut, 28 Sep 08, 11:49

Suleiman to Launch Initiative to Reconcile Christians
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman is to launch an initiative in the coming days to reconcile the various Christian factions, according to reports published on Sunday. The daily An-Nahar attributed the information to sources within the Maronite League that is launching an effort to achieve intra-Christian reconciliation.
Predictions had it that Suleiman would sponsor a meeting grouping Maronite leaders prior to the second round of national dialogue scheduled for Nov. 5.
Meanwhile, the daily al-Balad quoted sources in New York as saying Suleiman has had talks with representatives of his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy during which the Lebanese leader expressed "dismay" over the escalation adopted by some Christian leaders. The Lebanese and French presidents are "coordinating" efforts related to the intra-Christian reconciliation. Beirut, 28 Sep 08, 12:08

Jumblat's Bloc: Bin Laden or Iran Behind Damascus Bombing
Naharnet/Democratic Gathering MP Elie Aoun on Sunday pointed an accusing finger at either Ousama Bin Laden's al-Qaida or Iran in connection with the Damascus car bombing. Aoun, a member of Druze leader Walid Jumblat's bloc in parliament, said in a radio interview that "it wouldn't be impossible for whoever carried the Sept. 11 attack to carry out such an act." "Syria is at a crossroads. Syrian-Israeli talks are serious and achieving progress and we could soon hear that the negotiations have developed into the stage of direct talks. Syria's relation with Iran is in the middle. Syria would have to choose between its pan-Arab belonging and the relation with Iran," Aoun added. "We denounce this act … We are against any terrorist acts, anywhere," he declared. Beirut, 28 Sep 08, 12:33

Geagea for Intra-Christian Reconciliation Sponsored by Bkirki
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Sunday said he backs any intra-Christian reconciliation sponsored by Bkirki.
Geagea, in a television interview, also urged "every eligible citizen to vote" in the 2009 general elections, the result of which would "determine the nation's path."
Geagea said Hizbullah's image was negatively affected by the series of activities it has launched since Dec. 1, 2006, when the party launched its Tent City protest in downtown Beirut. "These activities did cost Hizbullah a lot," Geagea noted. Beirut, 28 Sep 08, 14:07

Hizbullah Denounces Damascus Blast, Doesn't Blame Israel
Naharnet/Hizbullah on Sunday denounced the car bomb explosion that killed 17 people near Damascus and declared sympathy with the Syrian command, but did not blame the attack on Israel. "Hizbullah denounces the criminal blast …expresses its sympathy with the brethren in Syria … in confronting the flagrant aggression that serves only the nation's enemies and targets stability in the region," the statement said. The statement was released one day after the car bomb explosion that also wounded 14 people in southern Damascus. Beirut, 28 Sep 08, 11:58

Salloukh Denies Leaking the Suleiman-Bush Discussion
Naharnet/Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh denied leaking information to the media related to President Michel Suleiman's talks with his U.S. counterpart George Bush at the White House. Salloukh was denying a report that the daily An-Nahar published on Saturday quoting an unnamed U.S. administration official criticizing the foreign minister for allegedly leaking the Suleiman-Bush discussion to Naharnet. "It is no secret that Lebanese officials, during all their meetings with foreign officials, emphasize on the fact that Lebanon's interest is in defusing Middle East tension," Salloukh said. "The (An-Nahar) report … does not reflect the success that the presidential visit to Washington has achieved … by directly expressing the truth to the friendly peoples" of Lebanon and the United States, added Salloukh.
He also doubted attribution of the An-Nahar Washington-datelined report to a U.S. administration official. Beirut, 28 Sep 08, 09:03

Najjar: Lebanon, Syria, Saudi in Danger
Naharnet/Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar on Saturday said Syria should have made public the outcome of its investigation into the killing of Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh in February. Najjar made the remark in a radio interview in answering a question about his assessment of the car bomb blast that killed 17 people and wounded 14 in southern Damascus earlier in the day. "Had they made public the outcome of the investigation people would have been able to know who is targeting Syria," Najjar said. He said Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia are "in danger.""One of the sides that oppose peace and stability in the region is behind these threats," Najjar added without elaboration. He criticized Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun for describing Premier Fouad Saniora as "the treasury thief."
Beirut, 27 Sep 08, 14:17

Egyptian sheik's outburst against Shiites roils Mideast
Sunni cleric Yusuf Qaradawi calls Shiites heretics trying to invade Sunni nations, tapping into anti-Iran anxieties. Shiites express dismay at the remarks amid Iraq war and efforts to forge unity.
By Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 27, 2008
CAIRO -- A popular Sunni Muslim cleric with a television show and a website that churns out religious edicts and dieting tips agitated centuries-old animosities in the Islamic world recently by referring to Shiite Muslims as heretics seeking to invade Sunni societies.
The bitter, often bloody, divide between the two main branches of Islam has been an undercurrent since the 7th century, but Sheik Yusuf Qaradawi's vitriol comes at a fragile time, when Sunni countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt are wary that the predominantly Shiite nations of Iraq and Iran could destabilize the region.
With populist fervor, Qaradawi's comments intertwined religious mistrust with political suspicion. Iran's nuclear program and influence with the Shiite-led government in Iraq and the radical group Hezbollah in Lebanon have agitated Sunni governments. Fighting between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq, which left tens of thousands dead since the U.S. invasion of 2003, has calmed, but the Sunni Arab minority worries about its future.
"Shiites are Muslims but they are heretics and their danger comes from their attempts to invade Sunni society," said Qaradawi, who was quoted in the Egyptian independent daily Al Masry al Youm. "They are able to do that because their billions of dollars trained cadres of Shiites proselytizing in Sunni countries. . . . We should protect Sunni society from the Shiite invasion."
Those opinions were first published Sept. 6. Since then, Qaradawi, a man with a polished voice and a gray beard who hosts a show on Islamic law on TV channel Al Jazeera, has been chastised by Shiite scholars and writers in what has turned into a war of polemics and personal attacks played out on websites and in newspapers from Doha to Cairo.
Qaradawi's statements are dangerous and may "push the Muslim people in the direction of more division," Ayatollah Mohammed Taskhiri, vice president of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, was quoted as saying in the Iranian press. The Tabnak News Agency, which is close to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Council, condemned the comments as a "calculated conspiracy against Iranian Shiites."
Another leading Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah of Lebanon, said Qaradawi was instigating fitna, or civil strife.
The protests have not fazed Qaradawi; he has appeared more defiant.
"I do not care and I am not shaken by this stir. I made this statement to answer to the dictates of my conscience and religion and responsibility," he said in a second interview with Al Masry al Youm published Thursday. "I am trying to preempt the threat before it gets worse. If we let Shiites penetrate Sunni societies, the outcome won't be praiseworthy. The presence of Shiites in Iraq and Lebanon is the best evidence of instability."
Qaradawi is a prominent moderate cleric, but he has grown skeptical of Shiite intentions. Two years, ago he suggested that Shiites were using the mystical Sufi order of Islam as a cover to penetrate Sunni society. His most recent volleys undercut efforts by Islamic leaders to ease religious tensions, and raise questions about his motivations. Much of the funding for Qaradawi's Qatar-based media enterprises comes from Sunni nations uneasy over Iran's widening influence in the Persian Gulf.
Abul-Fazel Amoee, an Iranian political scientist, said Qaradawi had become an instrument of anti-Shiite propaganda orchestrated by Sunni royals. He said this parallels the "deep rivalry between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the stage of this competition or ideological battle today is the field of Iraq."
Sectarian differences should "not be handled by exchanging outlandish and fanatical statements. I'm talking about both sides -- Qaradawi and the Shiites," said Abdel Moati Bayoumi, a religious scholar and member of Egypt's Islamic Research Academy. He said divisions between Sunnis and Shiites, which began as a fight over succession after the death of the prophet Muhammad in the 7th century, would weaken Muslim states and serve foreign interests.
Qaradawi's attacks on Shiites received both support and derision in cyberspace, where Islam's internal battles and other dilemmas, such as relations with the West, are increasingly debated. The website for Arabic Radio of Iran was buzzing with posts.
"O, Qaradawi, may God guide you to the right path. Your statements, which don't follow any logic, sow the seeds of sectarianism," wrote Ahmed Noaimi, a Shiite from Bahrain. "Sunnis and we are brothers in Bahrain. I don't know why this war against Shiites; we are Muslims at the end. Why are you making such a statement instead of calling for the unity of both sects? Use your brain, respected sir."
Another respondent, Abu Idris, wrote: "May God protect the respected sheik. He was patient toward what the Shiites have been doing until he felt he had to yell in their faces and draw the attention of their rational people to the danger of what they are doing in the Muslim world."
jeffrey.fleishman @latimes.com
Noha El-Hennawy of The Times' Cairo Bureau and special correspondent Ramin Mostaghim in Tehran contributed to this report.

UN, U.S., Arab countries condemn car bombing in Syria
www.chinaview.cn 2008-09-28 12:53:09 Print
BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Political leaders and the international community have rallied to condemn the car bombing which rocked the Syrian capital of Damascus on Saturday morning, killing 17 civilians and injuring 14 others.
In New York, the UN Security Council condemned the attack "in the strongest terms" and called for the "perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors" of the attack to be brought to justice. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also condemned the attack during a meeting in New York on Sunday with Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. "Obviously, any activity by extremists is concerning, "she said.
U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement that the United States "condemns today's terrorist attack in Damascus."
"This attack is particularly abhorrent as it comes during the holy month of Ramadan. We extend our deepest sympathies to the victims and their families," he added.
Gordon Duguid, another spokesman for the State Department, said there was no evidence any U.S. citizens were killed or injured in the incident, or of specific threats against the American community or embassy in Damascus. He said that in view of heightened concern about security at the U.S. embassy in Damascus, the consular section of the mission there would close for all but emergency services for American citizens from Sept. 28 to 30.
Syria's neighbor Lebanon joined other Arab and European countries in condemning the bombing.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, still in New York for the UN General Assembly session, expressed sympathy for the victims of the attack, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said.
Earlier in the day, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak sent a message of condolences to his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad over the victims of the car bomb blast, the official MENA news agency reported. In Amman, Jordan's King Abdullah II on Saturday called the bombing an act of "terrorism," a royal court statement said. In a message of condolences to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, King Abdullah also expressed Jordan's solidarity with Syria in its handling of the bombing.
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said in his condolence message to Bashar that Lebanon supported Syria in its fight against terrorism.
Earlier reports said 17 people were killed and 14 others were injured when a car packed with some 200 kilograms of explosives blew up near a security checkpoint on a road to Damascus airport. The blast occurred on the Mahlaq road in southern Damascus in an area crowded with civilian passers-by, said the official SANA news agency. The bombing site was near the Sayeda Zeinab neighborhood, which is popular with Shiite pilgrims from Iran, Lebanon and Iraq.
Syrian Interior Minister Bassam Abdel Majid described the attack as "a cowardly terrorist act," and said all the victims were civilians.
The blast was the deadliest since 1986 when a series of coordinated attacks in Syria killed at least 144 people and injured another 149. In December 1996, 13 people were killed in a Damascus bus bombing. It was the first explosion in the Syrian capital since February when Hezbollah leader Imad Moughniyah was killed in a car bombing in a residential neighborhood of Damascus.

Iran dismisses draft UN nuclear resolution
Tehran says draft resolution could indicate divisions between world powers
Reuters Published: 09.27.08, 17:25 / Israel News
Iran said on Saturday a draft UN resolution over Tehran's disputed nuclear program was not constructive and could indicate divisions between world powers, state television reported. Six world powers handed the UN Security Council the draft on Friday after the United States, facing stiff Russian opposition, failed to secure agreement for new penalties over work the west believes is aimed at building atomic bombs.
The Council has imposed three rounds of sanctions on Iran since 2006 for failing to heed a call to halt sensitive nuclear work, which Tehran insists is peaceful. Russia and China backed all three sets but only after watering down the sanctions.
"These (resolutions) are not constructive," Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, told state television when asked about the draft resolution.
"What they need to do is to attract the trust of the Iranian nation through constructive cooperation and collective commitment."
He also said the draft either showed world powers had failed to come up with a "logical response" to Iran over its nuclear work "or they have lost internal cohesion as they have acknowledged themselves, and through this action they want to show there is actually cohesion".
The UN watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), reported this month that Iran was not cooperating enough with its inspectors.
Diplomats said members of the 15-nation council would consult their governments and the resolution could come to a vote early next week. Previous resolutions included travel bans and asset freezes on Iranian individuals and companies.
The draft was backed by the five permanent Security Council members - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - plus Germany.

Where did the Saudi Aid to Lebanon Go?
28/09/2008
By: Tariq Alhomayed is the Editor-in-Chief of Asharq
It appears that Mr. Nabih Berri is trying to shine the media spotlight on questions surrounding Saudi aid for the state of Lebanon, particularly the aid Riyadh gave to the Lebanese people after the July 2006 War against Israeli courtesy of Hezbollah.
Mr. Berri claims that Saudi money has been withheld from Southern Lebanon, and instead was distributed in other areas, forcing the Information Office of the Lebanese Prime Minister to respond and correct Mr. Berri by quoting accurate official figures.
Let's be clear, Saudi funds have gone to those who need it most, and not to media agencies engineering propaganda campaigns to humiliate the Lebanese. It's strange that Mr. Berri is so concerned about Saudi aid, especially when you consider the words of his ally Hassan Nasrallah’s during the 2006 war when he stated ‘We do not need your money’ because we have secured ‘pure money’!
Despite all of this, Saudi aid went to villages in Southern Lebanon, as well as other areas that required it; this was explained clearly in a detailed report to the Lebanese government two days ago. There are two issues surrounding Mr. Berri’s claim that deserve to be discussed further. Firstly, it is normal for Saudi aid to Lebanon to be misrepresented in this manner for the simple reason that Saudi money goes to those who need it most, and not, as I said before, to the media, and certainly not on political poster campaigns in Beirut and its suburbs.
Mr. Berri claims that Kingdom withheld funds to Southern Lebanon, but in reality Saudi funds have been used to rebuild 220 villages out of 323 villages in all of Lebanon, and not just the ‘five villages more or less’ which he claims. And not to mention the funds used for building bridges and roads, in addition to Saudi Arabia fulfilling its normal international obligations to the country.
And remember this aid was delivered swiftly and without delay, since it did not have to pass Hassan Nasrallah's "purity" test.
The Saudi aid is sincere, and has been from day one, for the support of all of Lebanon, there are those who believe the propaganda, and this is nothing but a pipe dream, and when we discuss this so-called ‘pure money’ bear in mind that the most that can come of it are buildings no stronger than a spider's web.
The second issue regarding Mr. Nabih Berri’s claim that Saudi aid is being redirected from Southern Lebanon to other areas, which implies that the Lebanese government itself is preventing aid reaching the Shiites in the South, to the benefit of the Sunnis.
This particular conclusion is an attack on the ‘Sunni’ Lebanese government, and portrays Saudi Arabia as helping one sect at the expense of another, instead of helping Lebanon as a whole. This is a fabrication! Since the Taif agreement Riyadh has been even-handed with all sects, treating them equally, even those who, in my opinion, do not deserve it, particularly the Iranian Hezbollah!
When the late Prime Minister Rafik Al Hariri had good relations with Hezbollah before his assassination, Saudi Arabia neither blamed nor boycotted his administration, because it was eager for the unity of all of Lebanon. Of course Riyadh and Mr. Berri find themselves taking different positions on this issue, since Mr. Berri believes the "opposition" has a right to receive external support, and by this of course he means Iran’s support of Hezbollah.
And why not? Nasrallah is proud of his connection to the Iranian Wilayat Al Faqih!
The real wonder in all this are those who are critical of the Lebanese government's distribution of foreign aid, but ignore the adventurers responsible for the death toll of 1200 Lebanese and five billion dollars in damages!