LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 10/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 11,1-45. Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was ill. So the sisters sent word to him, saying, "Master, the one you love is ill." When Jesus heard this he said, "This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea." The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in a day? If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." He said this, and then told them, "Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him." So the disciples said to him, "Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved." But Jesus was talking about his death, while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep.
So then Jesus said to them clearly, "Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him." So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go to die with him."When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away. And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. (But) even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you."
Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise." Martha said to him, "I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day."
Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world."When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, "The teacher is here and is asking for you." As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and went to him. For Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still where Martha had met him. So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her, presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Sir, come and see."
And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him." But some of them said, "Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?" So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him, "Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me." And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, "Untie him and let him go." Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
In the Name of the Palestinian Cause. By: Mshari Al-Zaydi -Asharq Alawsat 09/03/08
A partnership of equals. By: By Zvi Bar'el. Haaretz 09/03/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for March 09/08-Naharnet
Very Important Document by March 14 -Naharnet
Iran Seeking to Prolong Lebanon Crisis until 2009-Naharnet
Syrian Delegation in Riyadh to Deliver Summit Invitation-Naharnet
Fatfat: Lebanon May Elect President on March 25-Naharnet
Muallem, Mottaki Discuss Lebanon-Naharnet
Fears Run High that Lebanon Crisis Could Drag on until 2009-Naharnet
Summit invite to Beirut-Gulf Daily News
Assad never promised to facilitate Lebanon elections-Ya Libnan
Syrian, Iranian FMs hold talks on regional affairs-Xinhua
Abbas: Peace is Only Way despite Israeli Attacks-Naharnet
Hezbollah Says It Is Prepared for War-Guardian
An Israeli Bewilderment and an American Failure-Voltaire Network
Hezbollah denied involvement in the Palestinian shooting spree at ...Jewish Telegraphic Agency
UAE president to attend Arab summit-AFP
Palestinians celebrate mass murder, and the U.N. fails yet again. FrontPage Magazine
Iran, Gulf foreign ministers meet in Damascus-Reuters
Egypt official: Gaza conflict serves Syrian interests-Ha'aretz
Syria Is Playing Poker With Middle East Peace-Infolive.tv
North Korean Nuclear Engineers In Syria-Anorak.co.uk
Israel's Test.By: Arlene Kushner. Front Page Magazine
Hamas Hails Massacre at Jerusalem Seminary.By: Associated Press
Symposium: The Fictional Muhammad? Frontpagemag.com

Iran Seeking to Prolong Lebanon Crisis until 2009
Naharnet/Iran on Sunday was reportedly seeking to prolong the Lebanon crisis until parliamentary elections scheduled for next year.
The daily al Hayat said Arab diplomatic sources feared that the political crisis in Lebanon could drag on until the 2009 parliamentary elections based on reports that Iran is inclined toward "standstill along with calm" in Lebanon. The sources said Iran has informed several Arab bodies of its inclination toward the "equation of standstill together with calm" in Lebanon during the next phase, pending progress of the regional situation and until the path of the Iranian-U.S. relationship becomes clear. They said Arab officials were also informed by Iran that Tehran does not expect an end to the presidential crisis in Lebanon. The impasse in Lebanon was raised in talks during a visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Iraq last week, the sources said. The Iranian president informed his Iraqi counterpart that Lebanon is heading toward recession. The sources said Iran's interests at present are focused on issues "other than the Lebanon crisis." They said contacts are underway between Tehran from one side and several Western powers and the U.S. from the other side. Meanwhile, Sports and Youth Minister Ahmad Fatfat said that he believes presidential elections will take place on March 25. The daily An Nahar, however, said Sunday chances were slim that Lebanon will have a president ahead of the Damascus summit. Beirut, 09 Mar 08, 08:31

Syrian Delegation in Riyadh to Deliver Summit Invitation
Naharnet/A Syrian delegation is in Saudi Arabia to invite the regional powerhouse to an Arab summit in Damascus at the end of the month, the Syrian ambassador said on Sunday. The delegation plans to deliver the invitation to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, Ahmed Neetham al-Din told AFP without giving further details. Syria has been slow to invite Saudi Arabia to the March 29-30 summit amid strained ties over the deep political crisis in Lebanon. Syria and its ally Iran back Hizbullah. Saudi Arabia, along with its Western allies, backs the rump cabinet of Prime Minister Fouad Saniora which has been unable to push through any of its legislative program since November 2006 when six pro-Syrian ministers quit. The government accuses Damascus of blocking efforts to elect a new president in Lebanon, which was under Syrian military domination for 29 years until Damascus withdrew its troops in April 2005.(AFP) Beirut, 09 Mar 08, 14:27

'Very Important Document' by March 14
Naharnet/The pro-government March 14 coalition was expected to announce a "very important political document" on Friday that will lay out the alliance's strategy at all levels. Press reports Sunday said March 14 will lay out Lebanon's position on a range of internal, regional and international issues, particularly on Christian-Muslim coexistence. They said the coalition was also to hold a press conference at 10:30 am Monday at Beirut's Bristol Hotel to announce activities it plans to carry out on the occasion of the historic demonstration of March 14 which led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. Beirut, 09 Mar 08, 10:44

Muallem, Mottaki Discuss Lebanon
Naharnet/Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem and his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki discussed the situation in Lebanon at Damascus airport on Saturday, the official SANA news agency reported. The two officials mainly discussed "the situation in Lebanon and in the Palestinian territories," the agency said.
The Iranian minister was transiting through the Syrian capital, said SANA. Mottaki and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal held brief talks in Cairo Wednesday on the Lebanese crisis and the Arab summit to be held in Syria later this month. The Saudi FM was leaving Egypt at the end of the Arab foreign ministers meeting while Mottaki was on a stopover in the Egyptian capital. Media reports said Muallem, Mottaki, Oman's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Youssef Bin Alawi and Qatar's PM and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jaber held an announced meeting in Damascus Saturday.
The reports said the officials met a restaurant near Damascus airport. They said the Iranian and Qatari ministers left the Syrian capital immediately after the meeting.
Beirut, 09 Mar 08, 05:44

Fatfat: Lebanon May Elect President on March 25
Naharnet/Youths and Sports Minister Ahmed Fatfat said Saturday he is hopeful Lebanon could elect a president on March 25, but failed to back his prediction.
"There is a possibility to elect a president on the 25th of this month. A miracle could occur that day," Fatfat said in a radio interview. "Let's wait for what would be issued by parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in the next couple of days. If he postpones the forthcoming session to after the 25th it means that I am wrong in my expectation," he added. Fatfat denied reports of a split within Premier Fouad Saniora's Cabinet. "My relations with the cabinet and the premier are more than excellent … as for the relation with the Mustaqbal Movement I do not see myself in the political spectrum outside the Mustaqbal Movement," Fatfat added. He expressed concern that Israel "might be preparing for a major (war) thing, and our only option to confront it is by consolidating our domestic front and electing a president." He criticized the "American style" in declaring the mission of the USS Cole off the Lebanon coast as "useless political stupidity."
Fatfat said Arab foreign ministers have "acknowledged the Lebanese-Syrian problem … this is new." He said Lebanon should not be represented at the forthcoming summit in Damascus unless it managed to elect a president prior to the March 29 schedule. "Our absence (at the summit) wouldn't be a wise policy and our participation without a president is risky," Fatfat said. He said the Arabs "want to help Lebanon because they realize that its collapse means that Iran would have a base in the Mediterranean and because they have no interest in Syria's dominance over Lebanon." Beirut, 08 Mar 08, 14:18

In the Name of the Palestinian Cause
Mshari Al-Zaydi -Asharq Alawsat
08/03/2008
Question: Who is currently in control of Gaza, or rather who has been in control of Gaza until the recent Israeli raids took place?
The answer: Hamas. Next question: Who is in charge of the decision making process within Hamas, its funding and its foreign affairs?
The answer: Khalid Mishal, head of the Hamas politburo and he is located in Damascus.
One last question: What or who is the major influence upon Mishal?
The answer: the Syrian regime that hosts Mishal in the Syrian capital as well as Iran from which it receives all kinds of support.
It is Hamas that controls the Gaza Strip and it is responsible for the security decisions that are made and the fate of its people ever since it chose to take over governance. Would we be adding anything new if we said that Palestine’s archenemy is Israel? This is self-evident and does not require repetition or emphasis since Israel has been Palestine’s historical enemy for almost a complete century now. Do we need to state that Israel is depending upon deterrence, terrorization and military repression? These are facts that have been well known to the entire world since decades before 1948 and until today.
What is new however is the grief that any human being, let alone Arabs or Muslims, would feel about the distress that is caused to women and families as a result of the Israeli oppression in Gaza. The majority of those people are innocents: children, women and elders, who are killed in the streets because, as Israel claims, it is in pursuit of Hamas activists somewhere or other. It is despicable and a seriously distressing reality.
The other new aspect, other than underling the brutality of Israel, is the issue of who set Gaza ablaze in this manner. We know that it was Israel but who invoked the beast in this way and at this time and continues to do so as if with the intention of bringing about such destruction and reaction from Israel? Who continues to fire “anti-tank” rockets towards Israel so that it may fire back using the most advanced missiles, airplanes and bombs?
It is odd since Islam ─ and Hamas claims to be an Islamic movement ─ teaches that there should be evaluation of interest and harm. There is a verse in the Quran that states upon refraining from self-destruction; another Quranic verse states upon the necessity for the correct “preparation” for battle.
Hamas is equally to blame with Israel for this catastrophe. It controls Gaza whereas Mishal is controlled by the Syrian and Iranian regimes.
It is incorrect to give in to this reprehensible game that plays with people’s lives in the name of the Palestinian cause and for the sake of increasing the gains and the positions of another political party.
What is sad and yet funny at the same time is that Hamas declared victory in Gaza! How did that happen and where are the figures that support such claim? There are no answers; it simply claims victory [on no grounds]. This brings to mind Hezbollah’s “divine victory” in Lebanon. The entire southern region was destroyed and the suburb was razed to the ground whilst tens of thousands of people fled their homes; yet it claims that it achieved a divine victory simply because its divine leader is still alive and its fighters have not been annihilated…but what about the victims? What about the destruction? What about the economic ruin that has been overlooked such as the devastation of tourism revenue and the transformation of Lebanon into a ravaged country? What about the major internal division? All of these issues amount to nothing in comparison to the divine victory. Those who are deluded remind us that the Vinograd report acknowledged this victory and that truth has been admitted even by the enemies. They completely disregarded that this report ─ if only they were to view it through human eyes rather than the eyes of Hezbollah ─ was meant to trigger concern rather than rapture since it simply evaluates the first round of the battle with Hezbollah that constantly asserts that it is empowered with eliminating Israel. However, there was no similar report presented on the war from the other perspective. There was no “Lebanese Vinograd” and there never will be.
Hamas is almost identical to Hezbollah though there are some non-influential differences regarding sectarian affiliation. The political and ideological nature is one and the same, the supporting parties are also the same and the political methods and tricks also do not differ significantly such as the seizure of land from the state or the governing authority and the establishment of a small security and military statelet.
In Lebanon, this approach has been adopted by Hezbollah in the suburbs, the south and in Bekaa Valley. Whilst in Palestine, Hamas followed the same example in the Gaza Strip. Another factor that unites the two parties is the milking of political gains out of “honor” of confronting Israel even if this means using “anti-tank” missiles and forcing the people of Gaza or the deluded Hezbollah fighters to pay the price.
It is time to be frank; Syria and Iran are engulfing the Palestinian cause under the pretence of battling Israel. Both states understand the level of hatred that the Arab public bears for the Israeli occupier. Therefore, they invest in this factor, not to help the Palestinian people but rather for the sake of mobilizing the Arab public and to embarrass their Arab opponents in front of their own people. It is a game that lacks morality and unashamedly symbolizes the trading of blood and tears of the people of Gaza and South Lebanon.
If those who support the Syrian regime are not discussing the crises of the Damascus Summit then they are talking about Gaza being more important than Lebanon. Furthermore, they say that if some Arabs refuse to attend the summit because of their stance towards Syria then why do they not attend the summit for the sake of Gaza? Gaza is the main concern; Palestine was ravished and Israel is the devilish murderer. So why won’t the Arabs attend the summit…they ask with a cunning smile.
This is what Walid al Muallem said and this is why the media storm had taken place. Furthermore, the Lebanese Akhbar newspaper that is affiliated to Syria and Iran published in bold headlines, “The Blood of Gaza is the Responsibility of Arabs.” It is the responsibility of those very Arabs who Mishal and his supporters had refused to listen to or accept advice from in the interest of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people. It is those same Arabs to whom Mishal had broken his promises that he made in the summits that were held in Mecca and Cairo in order to save Palestinian lives (let us not forget the bloodshed between Hamas and Fatah) and to unite the Palestinians. And now it is the Arabs that are responsible for the brutal [Israeli] response to Hamas “anti-tank” rockets!
This means that Hamas, Damascus and Tehran are dumping their rubbish and the Arabs are obliged to clean it up and are prohibited from complaining, discussing or even hesitating to do so or else they are all traitors…and this is all in the name of the holy cause!
To hold Israel accountable for these crimes is pointless since we have been doing so for the past few decades [to no avail]. It executes real crimes against the Palestinian people. But what about those who trade in the name of the Palestinian cause for the sake of achieving other gains?
If Damascus is respondent to the Palestinian cause on such a level and in support of Hamas and Hezbollah that justified the kidnapping of the two soldiers last summer, which triggered the July war, which in turn was justified as an attempt to assist Gaza and Hamas, then why doesn’t Syria undertake the mission itself rather than assigning it to various branches, especially considering that Syrian land, namely the Golan Heights, is still under Israeli occupation? In this case, Syria would receive the blessings of the entire Arab nation, not because it supported Hamas and Hezbollah but because it would have launched real Syrian resistance in the occupied Golan Heights. Moreover it would have liberated its lands instead of [partaking in] this humiliating negotiation.
Perhaps the reason it is not undertaking this role is because, if the news is correct, it is negotiating with Israel under the table via Turkey.
It is shameful that Hamas is depending on Syrian and Iranian accounts and is transforming the Palestinian cause into a bank for political objectives that are transferred to those two parties. The price: the blood of innocent victims that is shed for the sake of oiling the political wheel that corroded in Damascus and Tehran.
It is absolutely disgraceful. How many more crimes will be committed in the name of the Palestinian cause?

A partnership of equals
By Zvi Bar'el
Haaretz 9/3/08
"This shows that the Palestinian Authority is not adequately fighting terrorism," said the prime minister in reaction to the Mercaz Harav yeshiva attack. He could just as well have said that "the Shin Bet isn't adequately combating terrorism - indeed, it is failing to do so." Mahmoud Abbas and the PA are not responsible for Israel's security; Israel's own intelligence service is.
But this approach, like Olmert's accusation, does not help in any way, either in the war on terror or in reducing the fear of a new intifada arising. If anything, the prime minister's cliche shows that without the Palestinian Authority as an effective partner, there can be no effective fight against terrorism, and that a Palestinian partnership cannot be based only on air or pats on the back.
Thus, when the prime minister suggests to the members of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to "consider negotiations with Syria," and that very same day Israel decides to launch a political initiative with Egypt, you have to pinch yourself twice to make sure this isn't a hallucination. Has Israel suddenly discovered the Arab states? Wonder of wonders. Once again, by taking the new political intimations seriously, one finds they are insubstantial - the prime minister knows how to do this better than anyone else.
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The prime minister sees, and rightly so, the negotiations with Syria and the initiative with Egypt as a practical move rather than the implementation of a vision or a dream. Syria can stop Hezbollah if it wishes, or at least block the weapons pipeline from Iran and other sources. Syria also has considerable influence on Hamas and Islamic Jihad, whose leaders it hosts on its territory. Making Syria a partner in Israel's war on terror is the only conceivable reasonable step today.
But Israel has the aspirations of a great nation. It is demanding that Syria sever relations with Iran. This is the main fallacy in the prime minister's intimations. Syria, like Turkey, India, Pakistan and dozens of other countries, including moderate Arab states, will not give up relations with Iran, although they are willing to fight terror.
By demanding that Syria cut off relations with Iran, Israel is reducing the chance of effective negotiations that could lead to at least a significant reduction in Hezbollah's activities against it. Hezbollah will not stop its activities completely and order a feasibility test for a Beirut-Afula railway line, but it will understand that its connection to Iran, via Damascus, has a price.
The political initiative with Egypt, aimed at enlisting its cooperation in securing the Gaza Strip border to prevent militants and explosives from passing through, also requires a fresh approach. Egypt's leadership - in contrast to its knee-jerk intellectuals, which like the Israeli radical right see a peace agreement as a historical disaster - agrees with Israel on maintaining a secure border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
But Egypt doesn't want to be the only bad guy in the story. Egypt doesn't want to pay the political price for Israel's brutal closure on the Gaza Strip. Egypt loathes Hamas, but understands that without it, no open passage at Rafah is possible. It respects the Camp David agreements, but will not be able to secure the border effectively without expanding them. It is seething at Al Jazeera, which has slammed it for not protesting Israel's attack on Gaza, but is not prepared to be the victim of the Jewish lobby in Washington, which contributed to stopping some of the American aid.
Israel has to be interested in a practical partnership with Arab states before any new policy vis-a-vis Egypt, Syria or the Palestinian Authority can be fruitful. This must be a partnership of equals, with no "positions of strength" or "positions of weakness," or the uncle who can drag America along. Unless there is some movement toward such a partnership, please don't bother us with more nonsense about "an effective war on terrorism."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/962038.html