LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 19/2012

Bible Quotation for today/The Healing Miracle of the Paralytic
Gospel of Saint Mark( 2/1-12): "The Healing Miracle of the Paralytic": "When he entered again into Capernaum after some days, it was heard that he was in the house. Immediately many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even around the door; and he spoke the word to them. Four people came, carrying a paralytic to him. When they could not come near to him for the crowd, they removed the roof where he was. When they had broken it up, they let down the mat that the paralytic was lying on. Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” But there were some of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak blasphemies like that? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you reason these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to tell the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven;’ or to say, ‘Arise, and take up your bed, and walk?’ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”— He said to the paralytic— “I tell you, arise, take up your mat, and go to your house.” He arose, and immediately took up the mat, and went out in front of them all; so that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Assad-Leaks/By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat/March 18/12
The dangers of the situation in Gaza/By Emad El Din Adeeb/Asharq Alawsat/March 18/12
Israel’s great deception/By: Eitan Haber /Ynetnews/March 18/12

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for March 18/12
Ahmadinejad: Israel a cancerous tumor
Lieberman: War with Iran a global nightmare
Obama in 2004: Military strikes might be needed to stop Iran's nuclear program
Israel Finance Minister: SWIFT decision may cause collapse of Iran's economy
Iraq approves Hormuz oil exports contingency plan
A tale of success and darkness in Iran
US freezes Hezbollah, Hamas accounts
Iran threatens Hormuz and world oil supply after trade links cutoff
Iran parliament speaker: Israel a barking dog
Iran FM: Israeli strike would lead to its demise
India issues warrant for another Iranian over blast
Iranian presidential aide Ali Akbar Javanfekr: Martyrs will prevail over Zionist enemy'
Azzam Brigades Denies Link to Takfiri Network
Aridi Calls for Law that Sets Limit of Govt. Spending
Miqati: No Side Will Benefit from Government Collapse
Jumblat Says Laying Rebel Flag on Father's Tomb Freed Him from 'Big Prison
Muslim lesbian couple fight Canada deportation to Israel
Car bomb hits Aleppo; police crush Damascus march
Syria opposition to rally to mark year of struggle
Syria training Hezbollah to use antiaircraft guns
Egypt's Coptic Pope Shenuda III dies
Iran rebukes Azeri envoy over terror plot
Hezbollah MP says Syria heading toward “war
Two killed in Palestinian camp blast: Syria
Syria opposition to rally to mark year of struggle
Red Cross chief heads to Moscow for talks on Syria crisis
Copts in Lebanon mourn spiritual leader's death, condolences extended
French and Lebanese naval forces conduct joint exercises
Outrage in Ain al-Hilweh over Geagea remarks
Libya, France, ICC want to try Gadhafi spy chief

Ahmadinejad: Israel a cancerous tumor
Dudi Cohen, AFP/Ynetnews
Iranian president meets participants of Global March to Jerusalem which is scheduled to be held on Land Day, says 'enemies will be destroyed'
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday that Israel is a cancerous tumor that is being paid by the West to "continue the criminal occupation of Palestinian territories. " Meanwhile, head of Iran's parliamentary foreign policy commission said Sunday that the West will suffer if it fails to accept the reality of Iran's nuclear abilities. Ahmadinejad made the statements during a meeting with participants of the Global March to Jerusalem which is scheduled to take place at the end of the month on the occasion of Land Day. "The Zionist regime is like a malignant cancerous cell, and even one or two cells are enough to infect the whole body," Ahmadinejad said. Activists from Indonesia, India and Pakistan visited Iran and are slated to go on to Turkey and from there to Lebanon and then Israel where a rally will be held on March 30. Participants will also include activists from Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and the Palestinian Authority. The march is being organized by non-governmental organizations and is being backed by Iran and Hamas. Ahmadinejad said it was no longer legitimate for Israel to occupy any part of Palestine. "The Palestinians should be running the field and God willing that will happen soon."
He added, "Some may think that not much can be done against the Zionist regime with 500 marchers but great things in history began with determined people. No matter how strong the enemies are they will be destroyed and we must prepare for the great day that arrogance will be wiped from the face of the earth.""Each year Europe and the US pay the Zionists billions of dollars to continue the criminal occupation of Palestinian territories. They forget all the human rights, democracy and justice slogans when it comes to Palestine."
Warning to the West
Iran will make absolutely no concessions on its nuclear program, a key lawmaker declared on Sunday amid high geopolitical tensions and ahead of mooted talks with world powers.
"The parliament will never allow the government to go back even one step in its nuclear policy," Aladin Borujerdi, the head of Iran's parliamentary foreign policy commission, told the official IRNA news agency. Iran's recent announcements that it is stepping up uranium enrichment and made its own 20-per cent enriched nuclear fuel showed the country "totally masters nuclear science," he said. "If the P5+1 countries don't accept the reality of Iran's nuclear abilities, they will suffer from that," Borujerdi was quoted as saying.
His comments precede expected talks agreed to by Iran and the P5+1 group of powers - the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany. Iran has formally requested a date and venue for the negotiations, the previous round of which collapsed in Istanbul in January last year.Borujerdi told IRNA that the United States and its allies have seen in recent months that Iran's scientists have managed to make nuclear fuel enriched to 20 percent, among other achievements. "Lawmakers expect the (Iranian) nuclear negotiating team to change the situation, to obtain a cancellation of (UN) resolutions (on Iran) and that the Iranian nuclear issue is taken from the Security Council and put back before the governors' board of the International Atomic Energy Agency," he said.
The remarks suggested Iran was taking a defiant negotiating position for the talks with the P5+1 - one as hardball as the stance adopted by the United States and some of its allies, notably France and Britain.
The Western sanctions are taking a toll on Iran's vital oil exports, though to what extent is unclear amid competing declarations from Tehran and from Western agencies.
While shipments have certainly been curtailed to several markets, the tensions over the showdown have driven global oil prices higher, giving the Islamic state higher revenue per barrel of oil it manages to sell.

A tale of success and darkness in Iran
By Gideon Levy/Haaretz
Even the strongest supporters of an attack - whose numbers, scarily, are increasing - admit there is no chance that Iran will sit idly by, and that an Israeli attack will be countered by a ferocious response.
Let's not dwell on the possibility of failure. If an attack fails to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities, Israel will receive a Yom Kippur War-like blow. Its deterrence will be compromised and it will be revealed as a paper tiger. Iranian revenge will then be particularly painful.
Let's hope everything will go well. The planes will drop their bombs, all the reactors and the facilities will be razed to their foundations. Even then, there is a danger that some planes will be shot down, God forbid, and then we'll have another Ron Arad affair (the navigator was lost over Lebanon in 1986 ). But there's no arguing with (historic ) success: the price is worth it. Even the strongest supporters of an attack - whose numbers, scarily, are increasing - admit there is no chance that Iran will sit idly by, and that an Israeli attack will be countered by a ferocious response. Missiles from the east, the north and perhaps also the south, including against Tel Aviv, will paralyze the country. It could go on for a long time.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak promised a maximum of 500 dead. Perhaps he underestimated, perhaps not, but it is unlikely that Israel is hardened enough to take such a number of casualties in a short time. Blood, bereavement and a stalled economy, all at once. Israelis will be killed, tourists will stay away, the national mood will be one of despair and fear.
But even that is not enough. The Iranians, a people with the memory of Methuselah, will neither forgive nor forget. An Israeli success will be perceived, of course, as much more serious than all the "Satanic Verses" furor. If Salman Rushdie has been living in fear of Iran for almost 25 years, the terror of the fatwah it will issue against Israelis will be greater and persist for much longer. Once again, Hebrew will not be heard beyond the threshold of Ben-Gurion International Airport. Careful, the Iranian avengers are everywhere.
An Iran that has been bombarded and defeated will be a vengeful Iran, and its revenge will be served both hot and cold. First will come the missiles on Israel, then years of terror attacks worldwide. All of that, we recall, is if Israel scores a dizzying success. A global rise in oil prices, also an immediate and unavoidable outcome of success, will bring one of two things to the White House: a furious Democratic president; or an ignorant, right-wing Republican president, neither of which is good for Israel. Europe will also be angry, as will - it almost goes without saying - Russia and China.
But back to Iran. It will redevelop its nuclear potential quickly. It will need about two years to do so, according to even the most ardent supporters of an attack. Its know-how can never be bombed and its motivation will soar, stronger than death, greater than it is now. The Iranian people will unite even more around its leadership, and its hatred for Israel will burn ever brighter.
Still, we gained two years; two hard years for Israel. And what would happen after that? Another bombardment? Another success? Meanwhile, there will be a few small comforts: "Many things will be destroyed and many will weep, but the demagogues will be silenced," the poet Aharon Shabtai wrote in an article in the Hebrew edition of Haaretz (March 16 ). Shabtai was referring to the possibility of failure, but also to the one case of true success - the assumption that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak will not survive politically.
Prime ministers and defense ministers do not usually survive mass casualties. That was the case after the failed Yom Kippur War and the successful first Lebanon war. People will not forget the damage of success when it comes to those two, and they will be forced off the stage, even if they are drunk with victory at first.
Perhaps Israeli megalomania will also be reined in. Having learned from the experience of the Six-Day War, maybe more Israelis will understand that even military success can end in tears, weeping that will last for generations. Having learned from wars about which we had a choice, wars that were intended to achieve regional control, perhaps more Israelis will understand that the way to strengthen Israel's standing in the region is not through bombardment. "And we will sober up, once again be human beings who wield pencils," as Shabtai put it. Our only comfort then, in the imagined success that could soon be upon us, is that it will be only slightly less arduous than its horrific opposite.
* A personal note: In my article "Living in Bamba Land" (March 15 ), I stated that MK Zahava Gal-On made no mention on her Facebook page of events in the south and in Gaza. I was not aware that Gal-On was in mourning last week following the death of her mother. I extend my condolences and an apology to Gal-On.

Outrage in Ain al-Hilweh over Geagea remarks
March 18, 2012/ By Mohammed Zaatari The Daily Star /SIDON, Lebanon: Approaching checkpoints and throwing stones at the army, around 200 Palestinian youths in Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp demonstrated against Samir Geagea following remarks he made calling for the removal of arms from all Palestinian camps and suggesting that the Lebanese Army enter Ain al-Hilweh to root out extremist elements. On Thursday, the Lebanese Forces leader told Voice of Lebanon, “If we are forced to wage a battle similar to the one at Nahr al-Bared, then so be it.”He added, “The army should enter the Ain al-Hilweh camp and arrest the head of the takfiri network.”Geagea was commenting on the recent unraveling of a “fundamentalist terrorist” group in Lebanon headed by Abu Mohammad Tawfik Taha at the southern Lebanon refugee camp.He also called on the Cabinet to confiscate Palestinian weapons. “If we are forced into another [battle similar] to that of Nahr al-Bared, [then let the army] enter Ain al-Hilweh and arrest [Taha]. If the government [heads] in that direction, the opposition will support entering Ain al-Hilweh and all other camps to rid them of arms,” Geagea was quoted by Ya Libnan as saying.
Two hours after the demonstration began, the Popular Committees and the various Palestinian political factions of the camp succeeded in convincing the protestors to return to the camp and cease confronting the Lebanese army.The protestors in turn extracted a promise from the Palestinian leadership to examine their situation and contact the Lebanese army in a bid to loosen security measures taken at the camp's entrances.

Iran threatens Hormuz and world oil supply after trade links cutoff
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report March 18, 2012, Former Intelligence Minister Ali Falahian, Iran’s senior spokesman on sanctions, said Sunday, March 18, that if the US and Europe think they can ignore international law to promote their interests, they should know that Iran will respond in kind everywhere it can. “I suggest that the West take seriously our threat to close the Strait of Hormuz,” he said in Tehran’s first response to the SWIFT decision to sever ties with Iranian banks to enforce European sanctions on its nuclear program.A large fleet of 4 US and French nuclear aircraft carriers and a dozen or more minesweepers and mine-hunting helicopters have piled up on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 17 percent of the world’s daily oil supply passes, and Israeli naval vessels have deployed in the Red Sea.debkafile’s military and intelligence sources estimate Tehran may make good on its threats by trying to drop sea mines in the strategic strait and/or the approaches to the huge Saudi Ras Tanura oil export terminal. A small explosion by an unknown hand hit a major Saudi pipeline between Awamiya and Safwa on March 1. The damage was not great because the saboteurs used a small quantity of explosive but it appeared to be the work of professionals.
While Saudi officials denied the incident, photos of a large fire appeared on the Internet. Gulf oil sources suspect that it was a warning from Tehran of the hazards facing the world’s largest oil exporter.
The SWIFT cutoff of ties with Iranian banks has gone a long way toward isolating Iran from global commerce. It will affect Iranian oil sales to its biggest customers in the Far East, China and Japan, as well as India. The economic noose tightening around its neck is bound to produce a response from Iran, it is estimated in Washington and European capitals. The US-led European sanctions on Iranian oil world trade were boosted in recent weeks by the United Arab Emirates which stopped handling Iranian rials, further reducing its ability to trade and obtain hard currency.
After its foremost ally, Bashar Assad, proved his ability to survive - largely with abundant Iranian help - Tehran is unlikely to let this achievement be marred by a US and European economic stranglehold. The ordinary Iranian may care about his government’s international standing but he cares a lot more about the fast depreciating value of the money in his pocket and his financial assets.
Anticipating that Iran may kick back hard against the tough penalties building up against its nuclear program, three US aircraft carriers are standing by in the Persian Gulf – The USS Abraham Lincoln, the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Enterprise together with the French Charles de Gaulle and their strike groups.
Thursday, US Navy Chief Adm. Jonathan Greenert said he was doubling the American minesweeping fleet in the Persian Gulf by adding another four vessels as well as mine-hunting helicopters to bolster Persian Gulf security and keep the Strait of Hormuz open to international traffic.
France, Britain, Holland and Germany have also deployed minesweepers in these strategic Gulf waters.
Tuesday, March 13, two Israeli missile corvettes, the INS Lahav and INS Yafo, crossed the Suez Canal on their way to the Red Sea accompanied by the French Imidisi supply ship.
The vast naval buildup of powerful warships confirms that the United States, Europe and Israel are braced for harsh Iranian retaliation across more than one part of the Middle East for the crippling sanctions now taking hold

Syria opposition to rally to mark year of struggle
BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian opposition groups are calling for protests Sunday in the capital Damascus and elsewhere to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the first nationwide demonstrations of the country's uprising.Many activists consider March 18, 2011, the start of the uprising against authoritarian President Bashar Assad. On that day, thousands took to the streets in cities across Syria, and security forces killed marchers in the southern city of Daraa.Since then protests have spread and many in the opposition have taken up arms to defend themselves and attack government forces as the conflict has grown more militarized. The U.N. says more than 8,000 people have been killed. It is unclear if demonstrations will go ahead Sunday in Damascus, an Assad stronghold. Tens of thousand rallied there in support of the president last week.On Saturday, three suicide bombings there killed 27 people. The government blamed them on the opposition, which is says is made up of "terrorist" groups acting out a foreign conspiracy. Some opposition leaders accused the regime of complicity in the attacks to tarnish the uprising. No group has claimed responsibility.
International diplomacy has failed to stop the bloodshed.The U.S. and many Arab and European countries have called on Assad to step down, but Russia and China have protected Syria from censure by the U.N. Security Council. They warn against foreign intervention and fear that an anti-regime resolution could open the door to an international military campaign, as happened against Moammar Gadhafi in Libya last year.Joint U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan is sending a team to Damascus Monday for meetings with the regime.In recent talks with Assad in Syria, Annan pushed for an immediate cease-fire to allow for dialogue among all parties on a political solution. Syria responded to Annan in a letter seen by The Associated Press on Friday that it is "keen to end violence" but insisted that rebels give up their weapons first. The Syrian response falls short of U.S. and European demands that regime forces stop fighting first — and even Russia's insistence that both sides stop fighting simultaneously.
Most leaders in Syria's disorganized opposition reject talks with the regime, saying it has killed too many people for dialogue to be an option.

The dangers of the situation in Gaza
By Emad El Din Adeeb/Asharq Alawsat
Amidst our preoccupation with the situations in Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Tunisia, the danger of the situation in Gaza seems to have slipped from our memory, even though the current scenario forewarns that a military explosion is likely to start in Gaza and end in southern Lebanon. Without getting into the traditional maze as to who is responsible for the current escalation - Is it the Israeli occupation army against our unarmed people in Gaza? Or is it the Islamic Jihad troops that launched missiles at the Israeli settlements and cities? - it is certain that we are facing a highly volatile situation.
Because the situation is more dangerous than it appears on the surface, we must consider the following elements:
First, the reliable information that Israel is especially concerned about the Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza being in possession of Iranian-produced "Fajr 5" missiles, with a range of 110 kilometers, capable of reaching Tell Aviv. This can be seen as an extremely important military advancement for the resistance forces.
Second, the Israeli military intelligence service considers these missiles to represent some kind of proxy Iranian war against Israel, through its ally the Islamic Jihad movement. Such a confrontation is taking place at a time when Israel is seriously considering a military strike against selected Iranian targets to destroy its nuclear capabilities.
Third, Washington will not object to an Israeli strike against Hamas or Islamic Jihad targets provided that the range of the strike does not extend beyond what is required; meaning that the strike must not spread outside the desired range and provoke Iranian reactions in Iraq or Lebanon.
Fourth, Israel is deeply concerned about the recent meeting between Mousa Abu-Marzook, Deputy Commander of the Hamas movement, and Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary-General of Hezbollah, and also the visit which Mahmoud al-Zahar, a prominent leader of Hamas, paid to Tehran and the statements he made about the continuation of armed resistance against Israel.
All these factors are occurring at a time when the region is preoccupied with the Arab Spring states, and similarly, the West is preoccupied with its deplorable economies, presidential elections in France and Germany are imminent, and likewise Washington is absorbed in presidential election campaigning. Experts believe that the current timing is highly favorable for a large-scale military operation.
What is going on in the mind of Netanyahu, his army and intelligence service? This is what the Israeli actions will reveal in the weeks to come.

Assad-Leaks”
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
Along the lines of the US diplomatic cables leaked by WikiLeaks, which struck a blow to international diplomacy it is yet to recover from, whilst also revealing a rare window into the thinking of some countries and their politicians, as well as what is said behind closed doors; we now have the leaked emails of Bashar al-Assad and those closest to him. These emails also represent a rare window into aspects of the thinking and private life of al-Assad, and of course, the manner in which he is running his operations against the Syrian revolution.
I am naming the story of Bashar al-Assad’s leaked private emails “Assad-Leaks” because this will have the same impact as WikiLeaks, whether in Syria or Lebanon or even Britain and the US. This is because some of these e-mails reveal who is in al-Assad’s inner circle, some of whom are present in the geographic regions mentioned above. This has led some British newspapers to call for the need of getting rid of what they describe as the al-Assad regime’s “fifth column” in London. We can also expect the “Assad-Leaks” to reveal other issues, and it is clear that there is another collection of these e-mails that has yet to be revealed, particularly as there are a huge total number of these leaked e-mails, which have been divided into several groupings, pertaining to family, scandals and politics, as well as more complex issues such as how to avoid the economic sanctions that have been imposed on Syria, even on an individual level.
The “Assad-Leaks” reminds us of a strange but important irony, namely that it seems that every tyrant will see their scandals exposed before their rule comes to an end, as they lose the false prestige that was previously afforded to them by the public. This is due to these tyrants losing touch with reality and believing that they are more clever than all those around them. Here we see the al-Assad regime, on all levels, witnessing its unexpected secrets and scandals being revealed. Prior to this, who, in Syria, for example, would have dared to think about the personal life of the ruler of Damascus? This is something that also previously happened to Saddam Hussein, as he saw US soldiers sitting in his throne at the presidential palace, whilst Muammar Gaddafi also saw – with his own eyes – images of Libyan rebels swimming in the pool at one of his children’s palaces, whilst we now have the “Assad-Leaks” story, which is following the same pattern, although it may be even more exciting!
Of course, what concerns us with regards to the “Assad-Leaks” is the political aspect. After the US warned Baghdad of allowing Iran to provide assistance to the tyrant of Damascus via Iraq, one of al-Assad’s leaked e-mails reveals a report that talks about a meeting that was held in Damascus between al-Assad regime officials, and Iranian and Iraqi officials. This meeting was to discuss ways of providing Iranian assistance – via Iraq – to the al-Assad regime, and aiding it to overcome the economic sanctions that have been imposed against it. One of the proposals was for Iranian companies to urgently proceed in paving a road network between Iraq and Syria, in order to facilitate the delivery of Iranian aid to the al-Assad regime. What is astonishing is that this e-mail reveals that his tripartite Iraqi – Syrian – Iranian meeting took place at the same time that Iraqi Prime Minister [Nuri al-Maliki] was visiting Washington late last year, during which he even met with US President Obama!
Therefore, it seems that the “Assad-Leaks” will provide us with many scandals which will allow us to see who is truly conspiring against the Syrian people!

Israel’s great deception?
Eitan Haber /Ynetnews
Op-ed: Are Bibi’s and Barak’s plans for Iran strike only meant to elicit global cooperation against Iran?
It’s still hard to believe (although everything is possible around here) that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak will be ordering our Air Force jets to take off and head to Iran without America’s blessing. For every good reason to hit the road, there are five good reasons why not to do it. Netanyahu and Barak, separately and together, must therefore come up with a worthy substitute for a strike that would eliminate Iran’s nuclear option. For the time being, the State of Israel can of course settle for a global boycott on Iran and/or a strike by America’s great army. Both options would be good for us. In order to prompt the world to impose a boycott and/or to prompt America to strike, political leaders must create a situation whereby “Israel is crazy” and “Israel is going to strike.” This is what Bibi and Barak have been doing, apparently, in the last few years. They embarked on real preparations for an Iran strike that were spotted by those who need to know among Western and Arab intelligence agencies. Israel’s “hold me back” approach, with a real option for an Israeli strike, went up a notch this weekend, with the banking boycott going into effect and Iran being disconnected from the SWIFT global payment system. The Iranians will indeed do everything to circumvent it in order to mitigate their situation, yet it will likely become worse. The world is indeed imposing tough sanctions on them. The second outcome of the strategic deception show is as follows: US President Barack Obama, who did not want to hear about another war on top of Iraq and Afghanistan, is apparently mulling the option of utilizing US aircraft to strike Iran’s nuclear sites. This possibility is also an achievement for Israel’s “hold me back” approach. Best show in town?Only Bibi and Barak know whether they intended to or are still seriously planning to strike Iran using Israel’s Air Force, or whether they put on “the best show in town.” If this is indeed a show, then, first of all, this is completely legitimate in politics, and second of all, they should be careful not to fall in love with this play. We should hope that nobody accept for Netanyahu and Barak knows the truth, and hence, everyone – both in Israel and abroad – is sticking to guessing thus far. Should Iran collapse economically (an almost unthinkable possibility) or be attacked by the Americans, Bibi and Barak will enter the annals of history as the parties responsible for one of the greatest strategic deceptions ever, just like Sadat’s and Assad’s great deception in the Yom Kippur War. On the other hand, if this isn’t a successful show, but rather, genuine preparation for an Israeli strike, Bibi and Barak still deserve much praise for prompting the world to cooperate with us. All that would be left then is to pray for great success. And what if the undersigned is also being fooled by Bibi and Barak’s show? Firstly, it could certainly happen. Secondly, at least I shall be in good company, with Obama, Sarkozy, Ahmadinejad and the entire world. And when that world goes up in flames, who would even remember the words printed here today?

Muslim lesbian couple fight Canada deportation to Israel
Ynetnews/Muslim lesbian couple who claim they will be killed if deported to Israel due to their sexuality is being given second chance to remain in Canada
An Israeli Muslim lesbian couple who claim they will be killed if deported to Israel due to their sexuality is being given a second chance to remain in Canada.According to the Toronto Sun newspaper, Iman Musa and Majida Mugrabi who are currently living in Toronto, arrived in Canada from Tel Aviv in 2007 and filed unsuccessful refugee claims that were appealed to the Federal Court of Canada.
Judge Roger Hughes on March 8 granted the couple another hearing by an Immigration and Refugee Board based on new information that shows one of Mugrabi’s cousins confessed to the “honor killing” of his sister 12-years ago. The couple in an emotional letter presented to the courts claimed they would be killed if forced to return to Israel for being a same-sex Muslim couple. “We have a same sex relationship, which is forbidden back home,” the couple wrote. “We have dishonored our families by running away to try and start a life with each other." The couple, through their lawyer, Daniel Kingwell, said they were pleased by the court’s decision but still fear for their lives. “As Muslim women, we don’t have any rights in our families,” the couple wrote. “The fact that we are lesbians does not help."
Real threat The letter claimed Mugrabi’s grandfather is a Muslim sheikh, who “repeatedly threatened to kill her.” Musa's brother, from Ramleh, has "threatened to kill her if she does not leave her lesbian relationship and marry a male,” the women alleged. “There are several police complaints regarding the threats of her brother." “Same sex relationships are not permitted or accepted in all Arabic countries,” they said. “There are many stories about honor killings and we are victims of this." There are several police complaints regarding the threats of her brother." Kingwell said the women will be killed if deported to Israel. “The situation is not the greatest for gays or lesbians in some Arab countries,” Kingwell said on Saturday, adding many “honour killings” occur from family members who slay their same-sex or gay relatives. “This couple face a real threat from Muslims in a Conservative country," Kingwell said. No date has been set for a new hearing. While Israel is known as a country highly tolerant of its thriving LGBT community, it is a well known fact that the Arab communities in Israel still hold an extremely conservative outlook and condemn the LGBT lifestyle.

Egypt's Coptic Pope Shenuda III dies
March 17, 2012
Egypt's Coptic Pope Shenuda III, spiritual leader of the Middle East's largest Christian minority, died on Saturday at the age of 88, state media and cathedral sources said.
He had suffered health problems for years and recently stopped receiving treatment for liver failure and tumors or swelling in his lungs because he was too feeble, the Coptic Church said.
"The last days were the hardest in the Pope's life, as he was unable to walk," said the statement carried by the official MENA news agency.
The official MENA news agency said Shenuda suffered from several diseases, including liver problems and pulmonary problems.
He was forced to cancel a weekly sermon last week over health concerns.
Named Coptic pope of Alexandria in 1971, Shenuda led the Copts, estimated at 10 percent of Egypt's population of 80 million, for the best part of a generation that saw Egypt hit by a wave of Islamic militancy from which he sought to protect his people. News of Shenuda's death was certain to cause dismay among Egypt's beleaguered Coptic population, many of whom looked up to him as a spiritual guide. He was placed under house arrest by former president Anwar Sadat for his outspoken criticism of Sadat's courting of Islamists.
But Shenuda was supportive of Sadat's successor Hosni Mubarak, who was overthrown by a popular uprising more than a year ago which led to an Islamist-dominated parliament - the first in the country's history.Shenuda, immediately recognizable by his long white beard, was believed to have viewed the widely despised Mubarak as a bulwark against Islamists, who believe non-Muslims should not be allowed to rule the country.He was also seen as a check on more radical Copts who urged more forceful reactions to sectarian attacks that have plagued their community, especially after Mubarak's ouster.
Theologically, Shenuda was conservative, slamming a court decision calling on his church to allow divorce.
Shenuda's community is one of the Oriental Orthodox churches that are not in communion either with the Roman Catholic Church or the Eastern Orthodox churches because of a 5th century disagreement over the nature of Jesus.However, the pope maintained a keen interest in promoting church unity.
He served as head of both the World Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches, and founded churches in several African countries.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon

Iranian presidential aide Ali Akbar Javanfekr: Martyrs will prevail over Zionist enemy'
Roi Kais/Ynetnews
Iranian presidential aide Ali Akbar Javanfekr says while touring southern Lebanon that Israel's intention to build security fence along border indicates that Jewish state is worried, Hezbollah TV reports; 'No fence will save Israel,' he says A delegation led by top Iranian presidential aide Ali Akbar Javanfekr has arrived in Lebanon on Friday, where it toured Lebanon's southern border fence.
"No fence – be it concrete or iron – will save Israel," Javanfekr, who serves as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad media advisor, was quoted as saying by Hezbollah's TV network Al-Manar.Speaking to journalists on the border, the Iranian official said that "the fence that Israel wants to construct here proves that it is worried. Our visit in the area is meant to renew our promise to the shahids (martyrs) that fell on this holy land."Javanfekr, who is considered to be one of the Iranian president's close confidantes and serves as the editor in chief of IRNA, the Islamic Republic's official news agency, met with senior Lebanese officials and members of Hezbollah's leadership. "The pure blood was not spilled in vain and will eventually achieve victory against the exploitive Zionist enemy," said Javanfekr while visiting the gravesite of senior Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh. Addressing Israel's threats to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, Javanfekr said "Israel has crazy senior officials – and others who are sensible. The latter must restrain the crazy ones because they are too insignificant to carry out their threats." Javanfekr claimed that the United States "Understands the extent of the risk involved in attacking Iran, and I do not believe they will allow (Israel) to do it – they know what the consequences will beWhile touring the town of Maroun al-Ras, the official also visited a kindergarten that was renovated by an Iranian organization committed to rebuilding facilities damaged during the Second Lebanon War. The Iranian president's aide listened to battle stories from the 2006 war, and said he was "proud to stand on the land of resistance."Javanfekr said that his delegation's visit was meant to expand cooperation between Iran and Lebanon. He professed willingness to solve Lebanon's energy crisis, saying that "Iran can build a power station immediately." Official Iranian visits to Lebanon's border with Israel have turned routine in recent years. Ahmadinejad famously traveled to the region in October 2010, when he promised to "free Palestine by force."

Syria training Hezbollah to use antiaircraft guns
By Gili Cohen/Haaretz
IDF officers believe that Hezbollah use of advanced antiaircraft missiles could jeopardize Israeli aerial supremacy.
Syria has been arming and training Hezbollah fighters in the use of advanced antiaircraft weapons in recent months, Israel Defense Forces sources have told Haaretz. A senior officer in the Northern Command says hundreds of fighters were taught to use surface-to-air missiles in Syria and Iran.
IDF officers are worried by two developments involving Syria and Hezbollah that could change the balance of power in the region. The first is the transfer of huge quantities of surface-to-air missiles; the second, the transfer of chemical and biological weapons. IDF officers believe that Hezbollah use of advanced antiaircraft missiles could jeopardize Israeli aerial supremacy. "The potential of escalation in Lebanon is huge, and Hezbollah continues to strengthen with regard to long-range weaponry and potential 'surprises' on the battlefield," the senior officer said. "We will have to find answers to the transfer of antiaircraft weaponry, and chemical and biological weapons. It could be a cause to change Israel's retaliation policy," he added.
According to past, unverified, reports, Israel has considered on several occasions attacking convoys of weaponry from Syria to Lebanon. The senior officer says the Iranian involvement in Lebanon has transformed from a "fingerprint" to "a huge handprint."
The IDF points to a "regular transfer" of weapons from Syria to Hezbollah that began even before the rebellion against President Bashar Assad's government. Still, since Assad lost complete control, the weapon transfers have increased, and include drones and shore-to-ship missiles. "The more Assad loses his grip, the transfers will increase," the officer explained. "We're troubled by the transfer of strategic components from Syria to Lebanon, and if that happens, it might be cause for a more active response," he added.
According to IDF estimates, three Syrian battalions are in charge of operating SA-17s - relatively long-range advanced Russian antiaircraft missiles. The Air Force has already altered part of its activity on the northern border for fear of surface-to-air missiles. Syria also has a huge arsenal of long-range surface-to-surface missiles. The IDF is certain that Hezbollah, too, has hundreds of long-range missiles, including, among others, M600 missiles and Scud missiles. Two months ago, Haaretz published the defense officials' fear that chemical weapons have reached Hezbollah. A senior officer in the General Staff estimated that Assad's regime would fall by the end of the year, and that these weapons would be kept by the regime until its fall, or be transferred to Hezbollah. Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel, head of plans and policy directorate, and the designated commander of the Air Force, has already said: "Our main worry is huge caches of chemical and biological weapons, and strategic abilities that still arrive in Syria, mostly from Eastern Europe."

Iran parliament speaker: Israel a barking dog
Associated Press/Ynetnews
Ali Larijani compares Israel to barking dog that won't dare attack Islamic Republic . 'Israel won’t make the mistake of attacking Iran because it's not prepared to play with its own destiny,' he says
Iran's parliament speaker on Saturday compared Israel to a barking dog that won't dare attack the Islamic republic over its controversial nuclear program. "They make a lot of fuss about it but don't dare to attack Iran," Ali Larijani said of Israel. His comments were posted on the parliament's website. "They are like dogs that keep barking but are not for attacks."
Israel won't make the mistake of attacking Iran because it's not prepared to play with its own destiny," said Larijani. Larijani is Iran's former top nuclear negotiator and intensely loyal to the country's cleric-led regime. His barbed comments are sure to ratchet up tension over Iran's nuclear program. Israel and the US have threatened that all options remain open, including military action, if Iran continues with uranium enrichment, a program that can be used to produce nuclear fuel or fissile material for an atomic bomb.
Israeli officials have increased their verbal threats against Iran in recent months, saying a window of opportunity is closing to militarily halt or delay Iran's nuclear program because Tehran is moving more of its nuclear installations underground.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this month that a strike on Iran "is not a matter of days or weeks, but it's also not a matter of years."Israel considers Iran an existential threat because of its nuclear and missile programs and repeated references by Iranian leaders to Israel's destruction. President Barack Obama warned Iran this week that the window for dealing with its nuclear program through diplomatic channels is "shrinking."Israelis opposed to strike Recent polls in Israel have suggested that a majority of Israelis oppose an Israeli strike on Iran if carried out without US cooperation. Iran has scattered its nuclear facilities across the vast country and moved key portions underground to protect them from possible attacks.Tehran has already warned that it would respond to an attack against it by barraging Israel with missiles and taking control of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, a key passageway where a sixth of the world oil passes through.
A new version of Iran's Shahab-3 missile has a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) and is armed with a 1-ton conventional warhead. That would put Israel, Turkey, the Arabian Peninsula, Afghanistan and Pakistan within striking distance. Iran has warned that oil prices will dramatically increase should it be attacked and believes that its threat of choking off the Hormuz strait will be one of the factors deterring Israel and the US from taking military action.

Iran rebukes Azeri envoy over terror plot
Dudi Cohen/Ynetnews /Azeri ambassador summoned to Iranian Foreign Ministry following arrest of 22 suspects allegedly connected to Revolutionary Guards: 'Zionist agents attempt to incriminate Iran' Azeri Ambassador to Iran Avanshir Akhundov was summoned to Iranian Foreign Ministry offices on Saturday for a reprimand over the Azeris' arrest of 22 people allegedly hired by Iran to carry out terrorist attacks against US and Israeli embassies. The suspects were trained in Iran by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, an Azeri announcement said. According to a report by Iran's IRNA news agency, it was suggested in the meeting that agents of the Zionist regime were trying to incriminate Iranians. "It was regretted that Azerbaijan is taking part in this affair," the report stated.
Azeri authorities announced this week that 22 Azeri citizens, trained in Iran and suspected of plotting to attack Israeli and US embassies and companies had been arrested. It was suggested the suspects had links with Iran's Revolutionary Guards. According to the Azeri National Security Ministry, the suspects were recruited in 1999 and trained in military bases near Tehran. "They trained with weapons and explosives, and learned methods of infiltrating secured buildings," the statement said. According to the allegations, the suspects provided Iran with specific addresses of embassies and foreign organizations in Azerbaijan. The ministry also revealed that at the time of their arrest, they were caught with weapons, ammunition, explosives and spy equipment. Azerbaijan, a Shiite Muslim state with strong ties with Israel, was marked in the past as a prominent location for Iran and Hezbollah attempts to hit Israeli targets. A plot to assassinate the Israeli ambassador Michael Lotem and other Israeli targets was foiled in January. During his visit to Tehran last week, Azeri Defense Minister Safar Abiyev promised his country will not allow an attack on Iran from its territory.The Azeri ambassador noted that his country wants to strengthen ties with Iran, and promised to pass Iran's reservation to his government, according to reports.

India issues warrant for another Iranian over blast
AFP/Ynetnews
Delhi police chief says arrest warrants to be issued soon against three suspects in last month's bombing, all believed to be in Iran  An Indian court issued on Saturday an arrest warrant against another Iranian suspect in an attack last month on an Israeli diplomat in New Delhi, a report said. India has held back from blaming traditional ally Teheran although the Indian police’s probe appears to be focused on Iranian nationals and those with ties to the Islamic Republic. Delhi Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vinod Yadav issued the warrant against Masoud Sedaghatzadeh, an Iranian who has been detained in Malaysia, after police alleged he was also involved in the Delhi blast conspiracy, the Press Trust of India said. "You (police) are hereby directed to arrest him," Yadav was quoted by the news agency as saying. The warrant was issued a day after Indian police said arrest warrants were being drawn up for three men of Iranian origin identified as suspects in the New Delhi attack that severely injured the Israeli diplomat. Delhi police commissioner Brijesh Kumar Gupta also said Friday investigations had established a clear link between the February 13 attack and a similar alleged plot targeting Israeli diplomats in Bangkok. Gupta said the arrest warrants would be issued soon against the three suspects named as Houshang Ashfar Irani, Sayed Ali Sadr Mehdian and Abolghasemi Mohammad Reza. They are all now believed to be in Iran, police said.In the Delhi attack, a hitman on a motorbike attached a magnetic bomb to the back of an Israeli embassy car carrying the 42-year-old diplomat, who was also the wife of the defense attaché at the embassy.Last week, a veteran Indian freelance journalist called Syed Mohammed Kazmi who worked part-time for Iran’s news agency IRNA became the first person to be arrested in connection with the attack.Gupta said interrogation of Kazmi, who denies involvement, had led to the "unraveling of the conspiracy."New Delhi, Bangkok attacks linked? The Delhi bombing came on the same day as another attempted attack on an Israeli embassy car in Georgia. Thai police have arrested two Iranian men in Bangkok who are suspected of planning the separate attack on Israeli diplomats.
Delhi police commissioner Gupta said one of the three named in the Delhi attack, Irani, had been in touch with Sedaghatzadeh, "thus establishing his links with the terror module in Bangkok."
Malaysian authorities have taken steps to extradite Sedaghatzadeh to face trial in connection with the alleged foiled Bangkok plot.

Hezbollah MP says Syria heading toward “war of attrition”
March 17, 2012 /Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Walid Succariyeh said on Saturday that Western countries “will not agree on a political solution [for the Syrian crisis] and the situation will head toward a war of attrition in Syria.” The Hezbollah MP told Al-Manar television station that the Syrian opposition “is multi-colored and not united. There are fundamentalist groups among the opposition [in Syria] that are being manipulated by [foreign forces].” The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that the unrest in Syria has left over 9,000 people killed since protests erupted in the strife-stricken country in mid-March 2011.Succariyeh said that Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt “has placed a bet on the collapse of the Syrian regime and he believes that the Syrian opposition is avenging [the murder] of his father—who according to Jumblatt was assassinated by the Syrian regime.” Jumblatt placed the flag of the Syrian revolution on his father, former PSP leader Kamal Jumblatt’s, grave on Friday.
-NOW Lebanon

Abboud comments on rotten meat issue
March 17, 2012 /Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud commented Saturday on the issue of rotten meat that was recently seized by authorities. “Most touristic institutions have 100% [clean food],” Abboud told OTV.He also said that the issue of rotten meat had a “catastrophic effect on the touristic season,” adding that he visited many Lebanese restaurants that told him they lost 90% of their customers.
Abboud added that he will not allow the “destruction of the touristic season.” On Wednesday, An-Nahar newspaper reported that two Syrian nationals were arrested for stocking and distributing rotten meat to local markets.NOW Lebanon

Every Syrian is a Simon Wiesenthal In-Waiting
Farid Ghadry Blog/Two large suicide explosions rocked Damascus yesterday morning causing extensive physical damage to two Air Force Intelligence centers. The Air Force Intelligence is the darling of the Assads; it has been heavily invested in to strike the most fear. It is a known fact that few survive its dungeons and torture chambers.Of course, the Akhras family, the Jaafaris, Hadeel al-Ali, the mysterious woman who is in love with Assad and sends him naked pictures of herself, and many other figures who correspond with Assad on his email address sam@alshahba.com have advised him to call those who attacked these centers terrorists.How could this be terror if those centers have been affiliated, over the last 42 years, in torture and the killing of innocent Syrians? How could demolishing the very symbols that stifle your liberty be called terrorism? How could people defending themselves from tanks and heavy artillery be called terrorists? The media seems to go along with these descriptive epithets without any consideration for the full picture, for cause and effect. There are many terrorists in Syria but they all operate under one umbrella called the Ba'ath Party and under one regime that of the Assads. Everyone else either qualify as criminal accomplices, innocent bystanders, or freedom fighters. The picture emerging from Syria is worst than bizarre. I wrote an Op-Ed for the Israeli Ynet in December of 2009 in which I called Assad "The Tuxedoed Pirate" for his terror. The world is starting to see what's behind Assad's veil of lies and deceptions and you must concur with the Syrian claims laid for tens of years: It ain't pretty.
His and his wife are shopping at the same time his snipers and security men are killing at will and his attention span is centered on an email of a naked mysterious woman at the same time his men of terror kill aggrieved next of kin at funerals, the closest thing to fishing in a barrel. What kind of men and women are running Syria today? Who are these senseless people with aides willing to ignore the horrors of his deeds the way Eichmann and Goering ignored Hitler's deeds? They really should seek international council because the Syrian people will, sooner or later, pursue them the way Simon Wiesenthal hunted Nazi war criminals.We have their records before even we free Syria.

Jumblat Says Laying Rebel Flag on Father's Tomb Freed Him from 'Big Prison'
by Naharnet /Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat said Sunday that by placing the Syrian rebel flag on his father’s tomb he had “exited the big prison of the Syrian regime.”
“I believe that when I placed the flag of the Syrian revolution on the grave of Kamal Jumblat -- who was assassinated by the Syrian regime and the bunch manipulating Syria’s fate – I believe that that had cleared my conscience and that I have exited the big prison the Syrian regime, or the pro-Assad bunch, had put us in for decades,” Jumblat said in a phone interview with Al-Arabiya television.
“The issue is not about minorities, the theory of (scaring the religious) minorities has collapsed … The Syrian regime has tried to use the theory of minorities, but the Syrian people are united in the face of tyranny and oppression,” the Druze leader added. On Friday, Jumblat placed the Syrian rebels’ flag on the grave of his father in al-Mukhtara to mark the 35th anniversary of the assassination of the PSP’s founder. "After 35 years, this is the day to tell the truth, to myself and to others ... Long live free Syria!" he said after placing the flag.
Jumblat stressed during the interview that “all the Syrian people -- from Jabal al-Arab to the mountains of Saleh al-Ali, and from al-Raqqa and Deir Ezzor to all other regions, to Homs, Hama and Damascus – all of them have one demand: ending oppression for the sake of dignity, freedom and decent living.”The Druze leader said that he will do everything he can to back “every free Syrian citizen, wherever he is.” “In Syria, there are (social) majorities that have not joined (the uprising) for objective reasons: the circumstances of fear. We must understand their circumstances. All the Syrian people will rebel soon,” he added. Jumblat stressed that the embattled Syrian regime “has ended.” “I send a message to the friends of this regime: to Russia which is still backing this regime with equipment, arms and U.N. vetos. It’s about time for Russia to acknowledge that the Syrian people want freedom and dignity and to stop supplying this regime with the tools of repression, murder and tyranny. It’s about time for Russia to exit its isolation and heed the will of the Syrian people and the Arab peoples,” Jumblat added. Jumblat has become one of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s fiercest critics in Lebanon by continuously slamming the Syrian regime’s deadly crackdown on dissent.