LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
June 22/12

Bible Quotation for today/Be Ready for the Lord's Coming
01 Thessalonians 05/01-11: "There is no need to write you, friends, about the times and occasions when these things will happen. For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come as a thief comes at night. When people say, Everything is quiet and safe, then suddenly destruction will hit them! It will come as suddenly as the pains that come upon a woman in labor, and people will not escape. But you, friends, are not in the darkness, and the Day should not take you by surprise like a thief. All of you are people who belong to the light, who belong to the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, we should not be sleeping like the others; we should be awake and sober. It is at night when people sleep; it is at night when they get drunk. But we belong to the day, and we should be sober. We must wear faith and love as a breastplate, and our hope of salvation as a helmet. God did not choose us to suffer his anger, but to possess salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us in order that we might live together with him, whether we are alive or dead when he comes. And so encourage one another and help one another, just as you are now doing.

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
A dark future for peace/By: Ana Maria Luca/Now Lebanon/June 21/12
Other responsibilities/By: Hazem Saghiyeh/Now Lebanon/June 21/12
Fikra Forum Interviews New Head of Syrian National Council/Fikra Forum/Washington Institute/June 20/12
Egypt: Islamists vs. Copts/By: Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/June 21/12
The fabrication of civil war in Syria/By: Hanin Ghaddar/Now Lebanon/June 21/12

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for June 21/12
Family feud leads to armed clashes in Hezbollah's Beirut MiniState
Jordan grants asylum to defecting Syrian pilot
Pope warns full-blown conflict in Syria would affect region
SNC chief: Hezbollah should get ready for post-Assad period
Two Families Clash in Beirut’s Southern Suburbs
Lavrov Says Any Syria Plan Calling for Assad Exit 'Infeasible'
Jumblat Holds FPM Directly Responsible for Energy Crisis in Lebanon
Lebanese-Palestinian Committee Voices Support to Army, Demands Facilitating its Mission
Protesters Block Roads around al-Nour Square Demanding Release of Islamists
Khoury Says Poor Border Demarcation Reason behind Syrian Incursions
Mustaqbal Warns Palestinians against Syrian Schemes to Drag Refugee Camps into Conflict in Lebanon
Dr. Abou Hamad: Death of Rita Zoughaib Not Medical Error
Four RPGs from Syria Land in Hermel Village
Syria Conflict Puts Hezbollah Ally in Delicate Position
Deputy Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem: Policies not directed toward resisting Israel help it
Kataeb bloc MP Eli Marouni retorts to Qassem on defense strategy issue
Syria Becomes Hezbollah Headache
Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad blames past governments for electricity crisis
Geagea: Electricity issue turned into ‘catastrophe’
Future bloc MP Nabil De Freige : March 8 ‘lying’ about Future Movement tenure at Finance Ministry
Kahwaji discusses military cooperation with US official
March 14: Deterioration of security should hasten cabinet resignation
EU foreign ministers to focus on Syria in Lebanon and Iraq
Siniora: Hezbollah’s weapons ‘breeding’ in Tripoli
Actress Angelina Jolie donates $100,000 to Syrian refugees
Egypt Presidential Election Results Delayed
Russia Confirms Cargo Ship Carrying Syria Helicopter
Israel Wants World Action in Syria to Stop Conflict Spread

Family feud leads to armed clashes in Beirut’s suburb
June 21, 2012/A family dispute in Mousharafieh in the southern suburbs of Beirut degenerated into armed clashes, the National News Agency (NNA) reported on Thursday. The report also said that the clashes between the Moqdad and the Karaki family injured two people, identified as Najib and Issa Karaki. It added that Najib was lightly injured while Issa was severely wounded and that the two victims were admitted to Al-Sahel Hospital in addition to two other victims, a woman and a child. However, the reason behind the dispute was not clear. The Lebanese army later intervened to contain the incident, according to the NNA. -NOW Lebanon
 

Pope warns full-blown conflict in Syria would affect region
June 21, 2012 /Syria risks descending into a full-blown conflict which would affect the entire region, Pope Benedict XVI said Thursday as he called on the international community to act.
"There should not be any effort spared, by the international community as well, in getting Syria out of the current situation of violence and crisis, which has already gone on for a long time," he said.
The unrest "risks becoming a widespread conflict which would have very negative consequences for the country and whole region," he added.
The 15-month conflict in Syria is spiraling to new heights, and last week the Vatican's ambassador to the Middle East country said the country has "started its descent into hell."
In his address, Benedict repeated an appeal he made in April for an end to bloodshed, and urgent humanitarian assistance for those in need.
"I send out an urgent and concerned appeal that the necessary humanitarian assistance be given to a population in extreme need, as well as those who have been forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in nearby countries," he said. The pontiff offered prayers for those living their darkest moments and said he hoped God's knowledge would enlighten the hearts of those committing atrocities "to bring an end to all bloodshed and violence."According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, violence has killed more than 15,000 people in Syria since a revolt erupted last year against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.United Nations officials say they fear a full-blown civil war in Syria. While the European Union has imposed sanctions on the conflict-struck country, refugees have said they are angry the West has not backed a military intervention.-AFP/NOW Lebanon

 

Lavrov Says Any Syria Plan Calling for Assad Exit 'Infeasible'
إNaharnet/21 June 2012/Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that any peace plan for Syria that calls on President Bashar al-Assad to leave power and go into exile was not workable because he would not quit."A scheme according to which President Assad should leave somewhere before something happens in terms of a cessation of violence and a political process, this scheme does not work simply from the very start," the Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying. "It is infeasible because he will not leave."

Four RPGs from Syria Land in Hermel Village
Naharnet/ 21 June 2012/Four rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) fired from Syrian territory landed in a village in the Bekaa region of Hermel. The rockets landed in the village of al-Msharrafeh and were fired during a clash in the Syrian town of Qusayr. No one was harmed in the incident, but material damage has been reported. On Monday, four RPGs hit the northern town of Bqaiaa, Akkar during clashes inside Syrian territory.

Four RPGs from Syria Land in Hermel Village
Naharnet/ 21 June 2012/Four rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) fired from Syrian territory landed in a village in the Bekaa region of Hermel.The rockets landed in the village of al-Msharrafeh and were fired during a clash in the Syrian town of Qusayr.No one was harmed in the incident, but material damage has been reported.On Monday, four RPGs hit the northern town of Bqaiaa, Akkar during clashes inside Syrian territory.

Dr. Abou Hamad: Death of Rita Zoughaib Not Medical Error
إaharnet/21 June 2012/Doctor Moussa Abou Hamad, who was allegedly responsible for the death of 8-month pregnant woman, stressed on Thursday that he didn’t commit any medical error in dealing with his patient Rita Jebrail Zoughaib. “If I did any medical error I wouldn’t have so many doctors supporting me, and the report of the Doctors Syndicate was clear,” Abou Hamad told reporters during a press conference at the headquarters of the Doctors’ Syndicate.He offered his condolences to the family of the patient, noting that his relation with Rita was based on mutual respect and trust. “I ran all the necessary tests, no negligence occurred,” Abou Hamad pointed out. He voiced his trust in the judiciary system. For his part, Doctors Syndicate Chief Dr. Sharaf Abou Sharaf slammed the detention of Abou Hamad as he was inquired illegally and judged by some media outlets since day one. He thanked the judiciary as “without it there would be no Lebanon.” Abou Sharaf noted that the Syndicate will hold any doctor legally responsible for any medical error. “The only side authorized to rule if there was any medical error is the investigation committee and the consultative committee at the Doctors Syndicate,” he stated.Abou Sharaf told reporters that there was a strong campaign targeting the syndicate, saying: “Some of the criticism was valid and we’re working on rectifying the mistakes On May 13, Rita died 36 hours of being submitted to Sayyedat Lebnan hospital in Jounieh after suffering from a sudden deterioration in her health. The woman’s family held Abou Hamad responsible for the death of Rita and her unborn child. Abou Hamad was released on Wednesday on bail set at LL50 million. According to the autopsy report, Rita suffered from Amniotic Fluid Embolism is a rare obstetric emergency, which is one of the most dangerous complications of pregnancy.

SNC chief: Hezbollah should get ready for post-Assad period
June 21, 2012 /Leader of the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) Abdel Basset Sayda said Thursday that Lebanon’s Shia group Hezbollah should gear up for the post President Bashar al-Assad period in Syria. “[Hezbollah] needs to get ready for the period that follows the departure of this [Syrian] regime,” Sayda told Voice of Lebanon (100.5) radio station.
Asked about Hezbollah’s alleged involvement in the Syrian events, the SNC chief said: “We do not have [evidence] on this issue and we hope that we will not find any.”
Hezbollah is the Syrian regime’s strongest ally in Lebanon and it spearheads the March 8 coalition. As for the SNC’s relation with Lebanon’s Western-backed March 14 alliance, Sayda said it was “good,” but he added that such ties should not be “at the expense of others’ interest.” Sayda also said that the idea of establishing a buffer zone in Lebanon was “unrealistic.”
Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Walid Succariyeh told NBN television station on Wednesday: “Some [groups] want to established a buffer zone [in North Lebanon] and turn it into a base for the Syrian opposition. For this reason, they are insisting on creating problems.”Lebanon’s political scene is split between March 8 supporters of the Syrian regime and the pro-Western March 14 parties.
Furthermore, Sayda told Voice of Lebanon that Christians were “part of our identity and we are proud of them.” “Syria will not be partitioned… [because] the Syrian people will not accept this and will confront [any efforts] seeking to divide Syria.” -NOW Lebanon

Deputy Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem: Policies not directed toward resisting Israel help it
June 20, 2012/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Deputy Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said Tuesday that policies not directed toward resisting Israel are a waste of time and help the Jewish state.
“Every priority other than resistance is a waste of time and a service to Israel, for this reason the people of the region should work to make their policies for Palestine,” Qassem said.
Speaking during the opening of a conference organized by the International Union of NGOs Defending Palestinian Rights in Ghobeiri in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Qassem said that supporting the Palestinian people is a Lebanese duty, and Hezbollah is part of that support.
“Whoever is with Palestine is right and whoever is against it is wrong, even if they read the Quran,” the deputy leader added.
The conference, entitled “Palestine, the Nations’ Awakening,” kicked off under the patronage of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah.
Qassem also said that the liberation of Lebanese territories previously occupied by Israel was not achieved through international resolutions, but rather through Hezbollah’s resistance.
“Without the resistance’s [Hezbollah] arms, Lebanon is a weak resistance, and we believe in Lebanon’s strength and not in its weakness.”

Kataeb bloc MP Eli Marouni retorts to Qassem on defense strategy issue
June 20, 2012 /Kataeb bloc MP Eli Marouni on Wednesday retorted to statements made by Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem that Hezbollah was ready to discuss the national defense strategy at a time when others were shying away. “All groups [participating] in the national dialogue session presented their visions on the defense strategy and [non-state] weapons except for Hezbollah,” Marouni told Akhbar al-Youm news agency. “Hezbollah has stated, during every [national dialogue] session, that everyone should be aware that its arms are holy,” he added.
Marouni also told the news agency that Hezbollah does not want to discuss the issue of non-state arms “at a time when the March 14 [alliance] has joined the dialogue session hoping that Hezbollah would come to realize the importance of tackling this issue.”Qassem said on Tuesday that Hezbollah would not shy away from discussing the national defense strategy, which aims at tackling the issue of non-state arms. The national dialogue committee, chaired by President Michel Sleiman, convened last week at the Baabda Presidential Palace after 18 months of suspension.
The upcoming session scheduled for June 25 is expected to discuss the national-defense strategy.

Syria Conflict Puts Hezbollah Ally in Delicate Position
Scott Bobb June 19th 2012 /VOA
The conflict in Syria is having a spillover effect on many of its neighbors and placing some allies of the Syrian government in a delicate position. Violence is affecting Lebanon's Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah.
The kidnapping in Syria last month of 11 Lebanese Shi'ite pilgrims returning from Iran has highlighted the delicate links between Syria's conflict and various sectarian groups in neighboring Lebanon. The main Syrian opposition alliance has denied responsibility for the kidnappings. But a previously unknown Syrian rebel group says it is holding the pilgrims until the Syrian government stops attacking innocent civilians. The kidnappers say five of the pilgrims are members of Hezbollah which they accuse of supporting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Hezbollah is a long-standing ally of the Syrian government, which has supplied the group with arms, training and money to fight Israel. But lately, Hezbollah leaders have criticized the violence in Syria and have expressed support for democratic reform there. The head of the International Affairs Institute of the American University of Beirut, Rami Khouri, says Hezbollah is in a difficult situation.
“The Syrian government is important for them for logistical and political reasons. And therefore they don't want to be opposing the Syrian government. What Syria is doing is awkward for them so they've found this middle ground where they talk about the need to reform and solve the political issues in Syria peacefully but it's not very convincing," Khouri stated. "People are very clear [understand] that Hezbollah would like the regime to stay."
Nevertheless, the Syrian government has been angered by Hezbollah's position and relations have cooled. An editor for the Al Akhbar newspaper that is close to Hezbollah, Omar Nashabe, says Hezbollah's relations with the Syrian government have fluctuated over time. "The nature of the relationship is pragmatic," he said. "It is a relationship that is related to capacity. Hezbollah is a party that is very reasonable when it comes to its role and its function."
Hezbollah's leaders say their main goals are to strengthen political Islam and combat what they call the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. Yet, the leaders of Hezbollah, like those of its rival Lebanese Shi'ite political group - Amal - have called on Lebanese to remain calm following a series of sectarian clashes in Lebanon sparked by the Syrian conflict.
American University of Beirut professor Hillal Khashem says this is because the two groups have made substantial political gains since the end of the Lebanese civil war two decades ago. "Neither Hezbollah nor Amal are interested in creating an atmosphere of tension and putting at risk the achievements that accrued to the Shi'ite community over the past 20 years. Therefore they have a vested interest in maintaining a semblance of quiet in the country," Khashem stated.
Nashabe notes that Hezbollah has condemned the violence by the Syrian military and its allied militias against civilians. But he says it should be remembered that a significant portion of the Syrian population still supports the Assad government. "Hezbollah believes that it should be up to the Syrian people to decide what their fate is. But Hezbollah agrees with the Chinese position and with the Russian position that there is a proportion of the Syrian people who support Assad," he said.
He criticizes Western and Arab governments that say the Assad regime has lost all legitimacy and must relinquish power. "This insistence on the removal of President Assad by all possible means is contrary to the spirit of U.N. charter. It is contrary to any reasonable initiative to find a peaceful solution [because the situation is going to lead to suffering]," Nashabe added.
Nashabe says the only solution is for all sides to stop fighting and engage in dialogue. But that has not happened. And the Syrian opposition, which has seen thousands of its supporters killed in what began as peaceful demonstrations, says it will no longer accept any solution other than the departure of the Assad regime.
**Scott Bobb writes for VOA, from were this article is adapted.

Syria Becomes Hezbollah Headache
June 19, 2012 /Analysts say Hezbollah has found itself in a ticklish situation as the rebellion in Syria drags on. Syria and the militant anti-Israeli group based in neighboring Lebanon have been longtime friends and allies, but Hezbollah has also been urging Damascus to tone down the violence and consider peaceful political reforms. "The Syrian government is important for them for logistical and political reasons. They don't want to be opposing the Syrian government," said Rami Khouri, head of the International Affairs Institute at American University in Beirut. "They have found this middle ground where they talk about the need to reform and solve the political issues in Syria peacefully but it's not very convincing," Khouri told Voice of America. Hezbollah's public statements, however, have been enough to irk the Syrian government, VOA said. While the predominantly Shiite Hezbollah may want President Bashar Assad to hang on to power, its biggest concern may be the conflict spilling into Lebanon in the form of violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, the report said. It is a concern shared by Amal, Lebanon's other Shiite political group, said American University of Beirut professor Hillal Khashem
"Neither Hezbollah nor Amal are interested in creating an atmosphere of tension and putting at risk the achievements that accrued to the Shiite community over the past 20 years," Khashem told VOA. "Therefore they have a vested interest in maintaining a semblance of quiet in the country." Source: Copyright United Press International 2012

Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad blames past governments for electricity crisis
June 20, 2012 /Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad said that past governments were responsible for the deepening electricity crisis in Lebanon, the National News Agency reported on Wednesday.
“The successive past governments are all greatly responsible for the deterioration of the electricity sector,” Raad said, adding that these governments were guilty of “not adopting a serious attitude with regard to the strategic solutions” to the crisis affecting electricity supply. The MP also said that the protests, whereby residents undertake the act of blocking main roads with burning tires, “will not contribute to the resolution [of the crisis] but will rather further complicate people’s [problems].” Raad also voiced support for Energy Minister Gebran Bassil saying that the latter was “fulfilling his duties according to his constitutional rights.”Lebanon has recently been affected by an acute power crisis leading citizens to take to the streets to express their anger over the lack of power supply.-NOW Lebanon

Future bloc MP Nabil De Freige : March 8 ‘lying’ about Future Movement tenure at Finance Ministry
June 20, 2012 /Future bloc MP Nabil De Freige said Wednesday that some officials affiliated with the March 8 alliance were not telling the truth about Future Movement’s previous tenure at the Finance Ministry. “The other group is lying about the actions of the Future Movement during its tenure at the Ministry of Finance for fear that we [the Future Movement] might win the [2013 parliamentary] elections,” the lawmaker told Future News television station. He added that the head of the Parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee, Ibrahim Kanaan, and the General Director of the Finance Ministry Alain Bifani “are trying to justifying [mistakes]” pertaining to the issue of extra-budgetary expenses made by previous governments. De Freige is affiliated with the Future bloc and Kanaan with the Change and Reform bloc. The Future bloc is associated with the March 14 alliance while its rival, the Change and Reform bloc, is linked to the March 8 coalition. -NOW Lebanon

Other responsibilities
Hazem Saghiyeh, June 19, 2012 /Now Lebanon
The primary responsibility with regard to the kidnapping of the Lebanese nationals in Syria, as in any similar kidnapping anywhere on Earth, undoubtedly befalls the kidnappers themselves. They have committed an act of terrorism, and that’s that. However, this does not cancel out other indirect or invisible responsibilities, even as it does absolutely not provide any justification of the kidnappers’.
Whoever has travelled across Syria these days – which, in principle, is a natural right for anyone – may be a viewer of Al-Manar TV and similar Lebanese TV stations. S/he may thus have concluded that all is for the best in Syria and that the Syrian regime is going on with its successful campaign in order to settle the score with limited groups of “plotters” and “hired hands.” S/he may have believed Michel Aoun and other pro-Assad figures in Lebanon, according to whom “things are over” in Syria and that the ruling power has resolved the situation. Furthermore, this simple citizen may have been showered with a constant stream of major illusions, which would make it impossible for him/her to believe the likelihood of being kidnapped in Syria. Ever since the 2006 July War, the victory propaganda by Hezbollah and its allies is still speaking of a “divine victory”, of the end of “the time of defeats” and of the dawn of “the time of victories.” Based on such words, those who hear – and especially those who believe – them are not prepared for bleak probabilities. The awareness spread by such ecstatic propaganda gives the illusion that “our unanimous stance” in favor of the Resistance means that our only problem is with Israel. And since we have beaten Israel in no uncertain terms, we are free to roam this broad land, which knows no contradictions or divisions. While it is true that a few collaborators are still present here and there (even though the acts of rejoicing in the release of “collaborators” allude that these people have a widespread presence among us), the extremely easy victory achieved at their expense in Beirut in May 2008 leaves no cause for worry or hesitation. Therefore, we shall have nothing but glorious days full of serenity, but then came the kidnapping. Someone is truly colluding with the kidnapping and the crime through lies, dullness or any other gawky “habit.” This article is a translation of the original, which was published on the NOW Arabic site on Monday June 18, 2012.

A dark future for peace
Ana Maria Luca, June 20, 2012 /Now Lebanon UN observers in the Syrian town of Haffa, where a mob prevented them from entering the region affected by fighting. (AFP Photo)
An angry crowd attacked United Nations observers near the Syrian town of Haffa on June 12 with stones, metal rods and gunfire. The observers, who were sent to the country by the international community to report on the uprising there, could not tell the source of the gunfire, and it was unclear on whose side the mob was on – Bashar al-Assad’s regime or the opposition. As usual, the pro-democracy activists blamed the regime loyalists and vice-versa, and the official delegation members did not know who to believe.
According to Major General Robert Mood, head of the observer mission in Syria, said in his brief to the Security Council Tuesday that the mission was not paused because of this particular incident, but because of many other similar situations when the monitors’ safety was at risk and they were prevented from reaching areas where continuous fighting between regime loyalists and the opposition took place.
However, Mood stressed that the mission did not come to an end, but he was waiting for “a decrease in violence and a commitment from both the Syrian government and the opposition to ‘freedom of movement’ for the UN observers” before they restart their trips. Mood’s decisions to stop the mission not only raised questions about whether any of the sides can commit to a ceasefire, but also over the viability of the entire peace plan that UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan came up with at the beginning of the year. Many opposition voices say they were never consulted and that they don’t trust either the plan being implemented or the observers’ ability to reflect the truth, due to lack of access on the ground and manipulation of the facts by Damascus. The government in Damascus did not say much on the topic, but Syria’s UN Ambassador, Bashar Jaafari, said that Mood’s briefing was “well-balanced,” and called on all interested parties to push for the resumption of the mission. So did Russian officials. However, Mood pointed out at a meeting with reporters that while the Syrian government had given him assurances in the past few days that the observers would be safe when they returned, “I have not yet seen the same clear statement from the opposition.”
Opposition members, however, say that assurances did not come because of disappointment with the observer mission and the Annan plan, but also because of the division between opposition groups.
Syrian National Council member and Muslim Brotherhood representative Bassel Haffar called the observer mission as well as the Annan plan “disappointments.” He told NOW that the observer mission was slow and it failed to reach the most affected regions, while lack of access made the reports on the crackdown quite mild. “The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the important members of the opposition, withdrew their support for the [Annan] plan,” he said. “[The Brotherhood] was not consulted at all when the plan was first set in place, and they had no high hopes, even after confirming that they would give a chance to Annan’s plan.”
“Today everyone [in the opposition] agrees that Annan’s initiative failed on the practical level. Some thought that the observers’ presence might be helpful, that they would reflect reality to the outside. But the truth is that even this mission did not reflect the entire truth, because the observers did not see the truth,” he added. Independent Syrian activist Ghassan Yassin also told NOW that it was clear from the beginning that the Annan plan would never work. “It only gave the regime more time to suppress the uprising and brought no sign of a ceasefire,” he said. “As we all know, the opposition is already divided. Parts of the opposition supported the UN initiative, while other groups were more skeptical after the mission did not show any real results and more massacres happened,” he added. Yassin says there is only one solution to end the stalemate in Syria. “To avoid any more meetings where Russia can veto everything, the opposition must invite the Friends of Syria nations to move unilaterally, because everyone is desperate now.” Michael Weiss, analyst at the Henry Jackson Society in London, also believes there is no other way to end the Syrian conflict than foreign intervention. “[The peace plan] was dead from the start. I don’t think that anybody seriously had high confidence in its chances of success,” he told NOW. But he also says that the West in general and the United States in particular, are doing everything possible to avoid intervention in a Middle Eastern war. “I would say nothing of substance will happen in Syria before the elections in the US this fall, which are five months away,” he noted. “In the meantime, we are going to see an escalation in violence. The rebels have become more organized; they even have their own legal system. Meanwhile, the Syrian army deals with more defections.”
According to Weiss, the only thing that would force the West to intervene before the US elections is another major massacre, like that that occurred in Houla last month. “This would force the West to act,” Weiss said.
**Luna Safwan contributed translating to this article.

Actress Angelina Jolie donates $100,000 to Syrian refugees
June 20, 2012
Hollywood star Angelina Jolie has donated $100,000 to aid Syrian refugees, the United Nations refugee agency said on Wednesday.
The Oscar-winning actress is a special envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and made the donation on World Refugee Day.
In a statement marking the occasion Jolie said the solutions to the world's growing number of displaced people were political as well as humanitarian.
"The international community should rededicate itself to preventing conflict, addressing it when it erupts, and solving it more quickly," she said.
"For that is the only way to create durable solutions for the refugees whose strength inspires us on this World Refugee Day."
Tens of thousands of Syrians have fled their country amid a bloody crackdown on dissent by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, with most going to Turkey and Lebanon.
Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the agency since 2001, was promoted to special envoy earlier this year.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon

Egypt: Islamists vs. Copts
An Animosity That Seeks Any Excuse to Attack
by Raymond Ibrahim
Gatestone Institute
June 20, 2012
http://www.meforum.org/3268/egypt-islamists-vs-copts

As Egypt's presidential elections come to a close, with the Brotherhood claiming presidential victory, the future of Egypt's indigenous Christians, the Copts, looks bleak.
Earlier, after the first presidential elections of May 23-24, any number of Islamists denounced them, bemoaning that it was the Copts who were responsible for the secularist candidate Ahmed Shafiq's good showing.
Even though Shafiq is a "remnant" of the Mubarak regime, which Copts suffered under, he is widely seen as the much lesser of two evils. As one Copt put it: "What did they want us to do? Whoever says that supporting Shafiq is a crime against the 25 January Revolution, we ask him to advise us whom to vote for? The sea is in front of us and the Islamists are behind us."
Regardless, Abu Ismail, the Salafi presidential candidate who was disqualified, expressed "great disappointment" in "our Coptic brethren," saying that "I do not understand why the Copts so adamantly voted for Ahmed Shafiq," portraying it as some sort of conspiracy between the Copts, the old regime, and even Israel: "Exactly what relationship and benefit do the Copts have with the old regime?"
Tarek al-Zomor, a prominent figure of the Gama'a al-Islamiyya—the terrorist organization that slaughtered some 60 European tourists during the Luxor Massacre—"demanded an apology from the Copts" for voting for Shafiq, threatening that "this was a fatal error."
To an extent, of course, Islamist attacks on Copts were due less to Coptic votes for Shafiq, and had more to do with the usual animosity for Christians—an animosity that seems to seek any excuse to attack them. By virtue of their greater numbers, many more Muslims did in fact vote for Shafiq than did Christians; even the Islamic Sufi Council of Egypt expressed its support for Shafiq instead of for the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate who advocates Islamic Sharia law.
Realizing that threats—with which Copts are well acquainted—would not prevent Christians from voting for the secular candidate, in a campaign that borders on the comical if not absurd, Islamists began imploring the Copts to vote for the Brotherhood's Morsi—who some say vows to return the Copts to bondage. Islamist kingpin Yusuf al-Qaradawi himself called on politically-active Muslims to go and meet with the Copts and "explain to them" how they have nothing to fear from an Islamist president, and convincing them that "Shafiq will be of no use to you."
Most adamant was popular TV personality Muhammad Hassan, a cleric who appeared several times assuring Copts that they have "nothing to fear from the application of Sharia," which he portrayed as the best guarantor for their safety and freedom. A day before the elections, Hassan implored the Copts "to elect Sharia and vote for Dr. Muhammad Morsi, promising them peace and security, and that they would live in prosperity under Sharia law."
Sheikh Muhammad Hassan is, incidentally, the same cleric who says Islam forbids Muslims from smiling to infidels—except whenever Muslims need to win them over. One week before he began beseeching Copts to vote for Sharia, he was in Saudi Arabia making disparaging comments about "those who say Allah has a son," the Koran's condemnatory language for Christians.
What does all this mean? For long, the various Egyptian regimes and Islamist organizations have downplayed the numbers and significance of the nation's Christians, the Copts, sometimes saying they amount to as few as 5% of the total population—a statistic which many Western resources quote without hesitation. Others, however—some pointing to the Coptic Orthodox Church's birth and death registry—say Egypt's Copts amount to up to 20% of the total population. Based on the Islamist response to the first presidential elections, such a figure may not be so farfetched.
Either way, Copts constitute the largest Christian bloc in the Middle East—a circumstance that has other implications. As seen during the presidential elections, large numbers of Christians may help stave off, or balance out, the Islamization of Egypt.
But if Egypt's government does go Islamist—and early presidential elections indicate it is—fears of persecution on a grand scale become legitimate precisely because of the Copts' large numbers, which will work against them under an Islamist regime : millions of powerless Christians will be seen as troublesome and unwelcome infidel enemies, now not just by "extremists," but by the government as well—which, as history teaches (e.g., millions of Christian Armenians under Muslim Turks) is often the first step to genocide.
*Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum.