LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
September 28 /12

Bible Quotation for today/Teaching about Anger
Matthew 05/21-26: "You have heard that people were told in the past, Do not commit murder; anyone who does will be brought to trial. But now I tell you: if you are angry] with your brother you will be brought to trial, if you call your brother You good-for-nothing! you will be brought before the Council, and if you call your brother a worthless fool you will be in danger of going to the fire of hell. So if you are about to offer your gift to God at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God. If someone brings a lawsuit against you and takes you to court, settle the dispute while there is time, before you get to court. Once you are there, you will be turned over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, and you will be put in jail. There you will stay, I tell you, until you pay the last penny of your fine.

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
How 'Religious Defamation' Laws Would Ban Islam/by Raymond Ibrahim/FrontPage Magazine/September 27/12
Syria…the last 40 days/By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat/September 27/12
The clash between Nasrallah and Siniora/By Emad El Din Adeeb/Asharq Alawsat/ September 27/12

Ahmadinejad: Iran threatened by 'uncivilized Zionists'
Reuters Published: 09.26.12/Ynetnews
Addressing UN General Assembly, Iranian leader says Israel's 'threat to resort to military action a bitter example of intimidation by nuclear weapons.' Adds: New world order needed
Iran is under threat of military action from "uncivilized Zionists," a clear reference to Israel, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday, saying that such threats from big powers are designed to force nations into submission.
"Continued threat by the uncivilized Zionists to resort to military action against our great nation is a clear example of this bitter reality," Ahmadinejad said in a 33-minute speech before the UN General Assembly.
Israel and the United States have refused to rule out the possibility of an armed strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, which the West suspects are intended to produce nuclear bombs but which Tehran says are for solely peaceful purposes.
Taking place on the Jewish day of atonement Yom Kippur, one of the holiest days on the Jewish calendar, it was the Iranian president's eighth appearance before the 193-nation assembly and his last before his second and final term ends next year.
His speech touched on issues he has raised in previous UN appearances, such as suggesting there should be an "independent fact-finding team" established to discover the "truth" behind the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and complaining about the "hegemonic policies and actions of world Zionism."
Earlier this week, Ahmadinejad said that Israel would eventually be "eliminated." That statement, which he did not repeat on Wednesday, outraged Israel and the United States.
The US mission to the United Nations said its delegation did not attend the Iranian president's speech. Ahmadinejad was speaking a day after US President Barack Obama told the General Assembly that Washington will do what it takes to prevent Tehran from getting nuclear arms.
Ahmadinejad also criticized the "present oppressive world order" in which "poverty is imposed on nations, and powers' ambitions and goals are pursued either through deceits or resort to force."
"The current abysmal situation of the world and the bitter incidents of history are due mainly to the wrong management of the world and the self-proclaimed centers of power who have entrusted themselves to the devil," he said.
In what appeared to be a call for a new world order based on justice and not domination by big powers, he said the world was founded on materialism and lacking in moral values.
"There is no doubt that the world is in need of a new order and a fresh way of thinking," Ahmadinejad said, adding that this should be "a just and fair order in which everybody is equal before the law and in which there is no double standard."He said authority should be used as a sacred gift "not a chance to amass power and wealth." While Ahmadinejad was speaking, thousands of people, including Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, gathered near the UN building to protest against the regime in Tehran.

Canada’s Seat Sits Empty as Iran’s Ahmadinejad Prattles
September 26, 2012 - New York City - Canada’s seat sits empty as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses the United Nations General Assembly, in New York City on September 26, 2012.
We will not sit silently in our chairs and listen to Iran’s hateful, anti-Western, anti-Semitic views. If anything, today’s address only reinforces our decision earlier this month to suspend diplomatic relations with Iran. Iranian rhetoric on the world stage does nothing to address the real and pressing concerns of the Iranian people; Iran’s actions only heighten regional and global instability.
Iran’s leaders regularly demonstrate flagrant disregard for human rights, including the rights to freedom of religion and speech. Iran is increasingly isolated from the international community in this regard.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird have made it clear that Canada views Iran as the greatest threat to global peace and security.
Our government will continue to champion freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law on the world stage.

Netanyahu pledges fitting response to Ahmadinejad speech
By HERB KEINON 09/26/2012/ Prime minister pens open letter to Israeli public before departing for New York, writes that history shows Jews persevere while those who try to destroy them fail; PM to meet Clinton, Ban, Harper and Ashton during brief visit. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu left hours after the end of Yom Kippur Wednesday night for New York to address the United Nations where he pledged to give a fitting response to Iran's desire to "sentence us to death." In an unusual letter to the Israeli public before leaving for the US, Netanyahu wrote that history showed that those who desired to wipe the Jewish people "off the map" failed, while the Jewish people persevered and overcame all obstacles.
Related: •Obama: Iran isn't a challenge to be contained•Analysis: Was Obama strong enough on Iran at the UN?Netanyahu – referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech to the UN on Wednesday – said that while "we prayed to be inscribed in the Book of Life, a platform was given to a dictatorial regime in Iran that strives, at every opportunity, to sentence us to death."
"This is a bad day for those who chose to stay in the hall and listen to these words of slander," Netanyahu said of Ahmadinejad's speech to the UN Wednesday. Only the Israeli, Canadian and US delegations absented themselves from the hall during his speech. Israel's delegation was not present in any event at the UN meeting Wednesday because of Yom Kippur.
Netanyahu wrote that on the day before Yom Kippur, Ahmadinejad – in comments to the US media – said Israel would be eliminated.
"As the Prime Minister of Israel, the state of the Jewish People, I am working in every way so that Iran will not have nuclear weapons," he wrote, one of the few times he has penned an open letter to the public. The themes Netanyahu touched upon in his letter are expected to be woven into his speech which, according to sources in his office, will focus mainly on Iran, even though Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will deliver his speech to the UN's General Assembly some 15 minutes prior to Netanyahu and is expected to call for the UN to admit "Palestine" as a non-member observer state in the General Assembly.
While Netanyahu, who is known to change his speeches up to the last minute, is likely to make reference to the Palestinians, his address will be dominated by the threat of a nuclear Iran.
Netanyahu has been working on the speech over the last few days with his senior advisor Ron Dermer. According to one official in the Prime Minister's Office, Netanyahu is expected to go further than he has in the past in spelling out dangers posed by Iran and what needs to be done to stop the Islamic Republic, including stepping up sanctions and drawing red lines.
He is also expected to express "outrage over the lack of outrage" when countries listen quietly and politely to Ahmadinejad's anti-Semitic rants.
Netanyahu is expected to arrive in New York Thursday at 8 a.m., and give his speech at the UN five hours later. This will be his third address to the UN since becoming prime minister for the second time in 2009. His speech to the world body that year also was dominated by the Iranian threat and Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial. His address last year focused on the Palestinian bid for statehood recognition in the UN. Since Netanyahu will be leaving New York immediately after Shabbat on Saturday night to get back to Israel in time for Succot that begins Sunday evening, he will only have about 24-working hours during the trip. In addition to addressing the world body, he is also scheduled to meet US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. The Prime Minister will also be giving a number of television interviews to US networks.
Netanyahu will be accompanied on the trip by Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, who will be staying on longer in New York to hold meetings.
Liberman has scheduled a long line of meetings, including with the prime minister of Ethiopia and numerous foreign ministers, including his counterparts from France, Russia, Spain, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Argentina, Panama, South Sudan and Kenya.

Syrian rebels bomb security building in Damascus
By Erika Solomon and Oliver Holmes | Reuters
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian insurgents detonated bombs at a building occupied by pro-government militias in Damascus on Tuesday and France called for U.N. protection of rebel-held areas to help end Syria's bloodshed and rights abuses.Activists say that more than 27,000 people have been killed in the 18-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad but jostling for regional advantage by world powers has thwarted effective U.N. Security Council action to defuse the conflict.
The United States, European allies, Turkey and Gulf Arab states have sided with the Syrian opposition while Iran, Russia and China have backed Assad, whose family and minority Alawite sect have dominated the major Arab state for 42 years.
With no foreseeable prospect of foreign intervention and peace diplomacy stuck, outgunned rebels have relied increasingly on attacks with home-made bombs, striving to level the playing field against a state using fighter jets, artillery and tanks. "At exactly 9:35 a.m., seven improvised devices were set off in two explosions to target a school used for weekly planning meetings between shabbiha militia and security officers," said Abu Moaz, a leader of Ansar al-Islam, one of the rebel groups in the 18-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.
Rebels said they hoped their attack would kill top-level security officials - as they did with a major Damascus bombing in July - but gave no casualty figure. State media said at least seven people were wounded, with minor damage to buildings.
At the annual U.N. General Assembly in New York, French President Francois Hollande sought to shake up international inertia over Syria's crisis by demanding credible U.N. protection of areas now in insurgent hands. "The Syrian regime ... has no future among us," Hollande said in a speech. "Without any delay, I call upon the United Nations to provide immediately to the Syrian people all the support it asks of us and to protect liberated zones."
Protection for "liberated" areas would require no-fly zones enforced by foreign aircraft, which could stop deadly air raids by Assad's forces on populated areas. But there is little chance of securing a Security Council mandate for such action given the continuing opposition of veto-wielding members Russia and China.
"How long can we accept the paralysis at the U.N.?" Hollande said from the U.N. podium. France in August started funneling aid to rebel-held parts of Syria so that they could administer themselves and help staunch an outflow of refugees.
But Western powers have shied from supplying military aid to the rebels to an extent that could turn the tide of the conflict, in part out of fear of arming Islamist militants who have joined the anti-Assad revolt.
In another speech to the General Assembly, Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani said Arab nations should intervene in Syria given the Security Council's failure to stop the civil war.
Qatar, which backs the rebels, earlier called on big powers to prepare a "Plan B" within weeks and set up a no-fly zone to provide a safe haven inside Syria in case international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi fails to make headway. The Qatari emir said he believed Arab and European countries would be ready to take part, despite their public wariness of committing the forces needed for such a mission.
Addressing the General Assembly, U.S. President Barack Obama accused Iran of helping keep a dictatorship in power in Syria.
"Just as it restricts the rights of its own people, the Iranian government props up a dictator in Damascus and supports terrorist groups abroad," Obama said in a reference to Assad.
"We again declare that the regime of Bashar al-Assad must come to an end so that the suffering of the Syrian people can stop, and a new dawn can begin."
"BAD AND GETTING WORSE"
Syria's conflict, once a peaceful protest movement, has evolved into a civil war that the U.N. special envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said was "extremely bad and getting worse." He said that the stalemate in the country could soon "find an opening", without elaborating.
Even the capital Damascus has become a battleground between Assad's forces and opposition fighters.
Last week, the army bombarded rebel strongholds there to flush them out of the capital, once seen as Assad's untouchable seat of power but now a scene of daily fighting.
In Tuesday's Damascus bombing, the state news channel Syria TV quoted a government official as saying two improvised explosives planted by "terrorists" blew up near the "Sons of Martyrs" school.
Residents said smoke was billowing from the area in southeastern Damascus and ambulances were rushing to the scene. Some said they believed two people had died in the attack but could not name the victims. Damascus residents also reported heavy clashes for two hours on Baghdad Street in a central district of the capital, just to the north of the ancient Old City.
ABUSED CHILDREN
The British-based charity Save the Children released a harrowing report about abuse of Syrian refugee children. Khalid, 15, said he was hung by his arms from the ceiling of his own school building and beaten senseless. Wael said he saw a 6-year-old starved and beaten to death, "tortured more than anyone else in the room. "He was beaten regularly. I watched him die," Wael was quoted as saying. "He only survived for three days and then he simply died." U.N. investigators say Syrian government forces have committed human rights violations "on an alarming scale", but have also listed multiple killings and kidnappings by armed rebels trying to oust Assad after 12 years in power. The children that Save the Children spoke to in refugee camps in neighboring countries said they had witnessed massacres and seen family members killed during the conflict. Humanitarian conditions are worsening as the violence drags on. The president of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, which has been the only relief group on the ground the entire 18 months of conflict, said it was in dire need of supplies. "We need to concentrate mostly on health and shelter because there are 1.5 million displaced people," Abdul Rahman Attar told Reuters during a visit to Oslo. "We need more of everything." "We need help with shelter, medical equipment in medicine," he said. "There's still killing and that's most critical, we must stop the killings first." (Additional reporting by Balazs Koranyi in Oslo; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Gadhafi's Captor Tortured and Killed
By Alexander Marquardt | ABC News
One of the men who pulled former Libyan leader Colonel Moammar Gadhafi from a drainpipe last year has been buried after he was kidnapped by Gadhafi supporters and tortured, later dying of his injuries.
Omran Ben Shaaban's body was flown back to Libya by private jet on Tuesday from France, where he'd been receiving medical attention.
Video posted online showed thousands of mourners at a Misrata sports stadium Tuesday night. The Libyan government said it would give the 22-year-old a funeral fit for a hero. A photo was also posted of Shaaban in wooden casket, his face visible through a glass window. Shaaban and three friends were attacked and kidnapped by Gadhafi loyalists in July near the southern town of Bani Walid, where many Gadhafi supporters still live. Relatives told the Associated Press Shaaban was shot twice and paralyzed from the waist down. When Libya's president Mohammed el-Megarif managed to get Shaaban and two of his friends released this month, Shaaban was "skin and bones.""It was clear he was beaten a lot," his brother Abdullah Shaaban told the AP. "His entire chest was sliced with razors. His face had changed. It wasn't my brother that I knew." Shaaban was then flown to France for treatment, but he died on Tuesday. The fall of Gadhafi has resulted in the rise of independent militias and widespread lawlessness, highlighted by the deaths two weeks ago American Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans during an attack on the consulate in Benghazi.
The AP reports that Shaaban belonged to a coalition of militias called Libya Shield, sanctioned and supported by the Defense Ministry. He reportedly never received the $800,000 reward for capturing Gadhafi last October, but his brother said Shaaban considered it his duty. Gadhafi was found hiding in a drainage pipe near his birthplace Sirte. He was dragged out and violently carried away during which time he was killed. Video posted by the aggregator Storyful appears to show Shaaban carrying a pistol while a bloodied Gadhafi pleads for his life. Libya's congress has vowed to track down Shaaban's kidnappers. A militia commander said they would take matters into their own hands if the authorities fail. "We will take revenge militarily but legitimately," Walid Ben Shaaban told Agence France-Presse. "We will give the authorities an opportunity to tackle the issue but if they fail to act, we know how to make our move."

Bill Clinton speaks out against nuclear Iran
Yitzhak Benhorin Published: 09.26.12/Ynetnews
Former US president tells CNN nuclear Iran is 'too dangerous,' but sees no reason to prevent Israel from developing nukes as 'it does not support terrorism'
Former US President Bill Clinton said that Iran must be stopped from obtaining nuclear weapon. In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Clinton argued that there was no reason to prevent Israel from developing nuclear weapon, seeing as "Israel is not supporting Hezbollah. Israel doesn't send terrorists to cross Syria to train in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. No one thinks that Israel is about to drop a bomb on Tehran." Clinton told CNN's Piers Morgan that Iran "is a government with a record of supporting terror and if they had nuclear weapon, it would be (too dangerous), even if you believe they never use it." The former president added that even if Iran's use of a nuclear weapon would eventually lead to its own destruction, there would still be dire ramifications to a nuclear Iran.
"A lot of their neighbors will get bombed," he stated, "and the more of these weapons you have hanging around, the more fissile material you've got, the more they're vulnerable to being stolen or sold or just simply transferred to terrorists," he said.
Clinton added that "Iran has all these extensive contacts with terrorist groups and even if the government didn't directly sanction it, it wouldn't be that much trouble to be – to get a Girl Scout cookie's worth of fissile material, which, if put in the same fertilizer bomb Timothy McVeigh used in Oklahoma City, is enough to take out 20 to 25 percent of Washington, DC Just that little bit.""So the prospect of spreading, in a way, dirty nuclear bombs with smaller payloads that could wreak havoc and do untold damage, goes up exponentially every time some new country gets this capacity. And you don't have any control over what happens to the fissile material," he added. Against the backdrop of diplomatic tension between Israel and the US on the issue of a nuclear Iran, Clinton clarified that in his opinion, "the smart thing for us to do is to maintain constant (contact) with the Israeli intelligence services and the Arab intelligence services, who also don't want Iran to have a nuclear weapon. The Gulf states don't want to have to decide to acquire a nuclear weapon. They don't want an arms race in the Middle East." Clinton also urged the international community to force Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to allow impartial inspectors to corroborate his claims that his country's nuclear program "has peaceful intentions." "What they're really saying is in spite of the fact that we deny the Holocaust, that we threaten Israel and we demonize the United States, we want you to trust us. In spite of the fact that we won't cooperate with the international regime set up to avoid an arms race in the Middle East and set up to avoid nuclear proliferation, we want you to trust us," Clinton asserted. "They don't have a tenable position".
When asked what America's response should be in case Israel was to launch a preemptive strike, Clinton responded: "I shouldn't answer that question because of my wife's position and that's the president and the security team's decision to make. But I generally have confidence with what they said and how they tried to explain it to the American people."
In regards to the 'red line' issue, which is at the core of the dispute between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama, Clinton said that "Ahmadinejad certainly knows that we have not picked this fight. We have not gone out of our way to get into a military confrontation, but we have made some very clear red lines there."
Obama, who gave his speech at the UN General Assembly earlier on Tuesday, said that the US would do what it must in order to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear power. "America wants to resolve this issue through diplomacy, and we believe that there is still time and space to do so. But that time is not unlimited, Obama said. "We respect the right of nations to access peaceful nuclear power, but make no mistake: A nuclear-armed Iran is not a challenge that can be contained." Obama's speech also did not include any ultimatums for Iran, despite the fact that Netanyahu demanded that 'red lines' be established. But the White House made it clear that no such move would be made. In a recent CBS interview, Obama described the Israeli pressure to draw a "red line" for Iran as "noise" he was trying to block out. He remarked that as far as US national security was concerned, "any pressure that I feel is simply to do what's right for the American people. And I am going to block out any noise that's out there."

Time bomb under Israel's nose
Yaron Friedman Published: 09.26.12/Ynetnews
Op-ed: Economic riots signal arrival of 'Arab Spring' train in Palestinian territories
"The Palestinian street was incited to riot not by Hamas, but by the people sitting here (members of Fatah and PFLP)…The diplomatic horizons have been blocked for three years now, since Netanyahu took power in Israel…The economic siege of the Palestinian Authority is applied first and foremost by the United States. I am willing to resign immediately and cancel the Oslo Accords" / President Mahmoud Abbas after Palestinians burned photos of himself and of PM Fayyad during social protests across the West Bank, September 15, 2012.
About two weeks ago Palestinian newspapers in the West Bank reported that Fayyad's government has decided to cut fuel prices and VAT. Gasoline will now cost NIS 7.98 per liter ($2.04), but before you hurry to fill up your tank in the territories, know that the West Bank is a time bomb and that the reduced fuel prices cannot stop the "Arab Spring" train, which has already arrived in the PA.
Internal Threat
The riots in the West Bank against the high cost of living include attempts at self-immolation, emulating Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi, who sparked the "Arab Spring" when he set himself on fire in December 2010 after a policewoman confiscated his unlicensed vegetable cart and its goods.
Since the PA split into two entities in 2007 – Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in the West Bank – we've grown accustomed to hearing about the huge economic gap between the West Bank Palestinians and their brethren in the coastal enclave. The West Bank's economy is experiencing growth, while Gaza's economy is stuck in quicksand. So why did the riots erupt in the West Bank?
From the Arab world's perspective, the economic prosperity in the West Bank was nothing more than an intentional illusion meant to show the population in Gaza that wherever a pragmatic, pro-Western regime exists the residents prosper, while people living under Islamic rule are poor and oppressed.
But the reality is that the PA, headed by Abbas, is entirely dependent on external elements: Israel controls the territory, collects taxes and then transfers the money to the Authority; most revenues come from donations made by the US, EU, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Since tens of thousands of Palestinians work in Israel, the West Bank's economy is heavily influenced by economic trends in Israel. The difference is that the average salary in the Palestinian territories is much lower than the average salary in Israel.
The financial crisis, which led to unprecedented price hikes in the West Bank, is the result of the slowdown in Israel, the PA's credit crisis and its mounting debts, the increase in the price of fuel around the world, a drop in donations coming in from wealthy Arab countries, rampant tax evasion and more. Moreover, the PA's attempt to outdo Hamas vis-à-vis support for the families of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel and the families of "shahids (martyrs)" is also costing it a lot of money. The unemployment rate in the territories has reached nearly 17% over the past year (in Gaza the unemployment rate is twice as high). The Palestinians are mimicking the patterns of the "Arab Spring" according to the Jordanian model, which they are influenced by.
In Jordan residents called out against the monarchy in light of the economic crisis, and in the West Bank protesters called to overthrow Abbas' regime. Fatah officials have accused Hamas of fanning the flames in the West Bank, and a recent report in Al-Hayat claimed Hamas was offering money to the families of anyone who commits self-immolation.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum accused the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank of promoting a policy that led to "political-economic bankruptcy." He said the crisis has exposed the 'Israeli trap' the PA has fallen into since the Oslo Accords. Hamas, like other Muslim Brotherhood offshoots in the Arab world, has accused the PA of corruption and says it ignores the people's suffering. About two weeks ago a Palestinian newspaper turned the public's attention to Abbas' designer shoes, a symbol of the leadership's wasteful spending.
However, Hamas' focus on the economic hardships in the West Bank may prove to be a double-edged sword. The economic crisis in Gaza is far more severe and the aid it receives, apparently from Iran and the Gulf States, is limited. It was recently reported that a Gaza resident also tried to set himself on fire.
Elements in the PA, as well as opposition groups in Gaza (particularly the PFLP) accuse Hamas of corruption and claim the Islamist group terrorizes the Strip's population. Egypt's campaign against terror organizations in Sinai is also hurting Gaza's economy. Last week dozens of Palestinians demonstrated near the Egyptian border against the closure of border crossings and accused Cairo of "suffocating the Strip." The crisis in Gaza may spin out of control without significant outside intervention. The PA's collapse would lead to a third intifada with Hamas' backing. In case the riots in the West Bank spread to Gaza, the Hamas regime will also be threatened. In Gaza there are terrorist elements, such as al-Qaeda and the Salafis, who are waiting for Hamas' fall to intensify their anti-Israel activity.
**Dr. Yaron Friedman is a graduate of the Sorbonne. He teaches Arabic and lectures about Islam at the Technion, at Beit Hagefen and at the Galilee Academic College. His book, the Nusayri Alawis: An Introduction to the Religion, History and Identity of the Leading Minority in Syria, was published in 2010 by Brill-Leiden

Time reporter accused of arms smuggling to Syria released on bail
September 26, 2012/The Daily Star/ BEIRUT: A Lebanese Army officer and a Palestinian correspondent for Time magazine, both of whom are accused of planning to smuggle arms into Syria, were released on bail Wednesday. Judicial sources told The Daily Star that Maj. Wissam Abdel-Khaleq and his brother-in-law Rami Aysha, who works for Time and several other foreign news agencies in Lebanon, were freed on LL600,000 bail each. The sources said Abdel-Khaleq, who hails from the Bekaa village of Majdal Anjar, was taken to a hospital upon his release for treatment for a fracture to his jaw.
They said the two were apprehended by Hezbollah agents in Beirut’s southern suburbs late in August while Abu Aysha, accompanied by the Army officer, was ostensibly researching an article on arms smuggling. On that day, Abdel-Khaleq, with LL50 million in a briefcase, was preparing to buy arms to smuggle them to the rebel Free Syrian Army, the sources went on to say.
They said a third person who acted as a mediator between the arms dealer and Abu Aysha apparently tipped off Hezbollah about the rendezvous.
When Hezbollah handed the two men to judicial authorities a day after they were picked up, they had already been badly beaten, the sources said.
In remarks to The Daily Star, Aysha's lawyer Saliba al-Hajj insisted his client had nothing to do with the attempted arms purchase.

The clash between Nasrallah and Siniora
By Emad El Din Adeeb/Asharq Alawsat
The political debate currently taking place in Lebanon between Fouad Siniora, the former Lebanese Prime Minister and leader of the Future Movement, and Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of Hezbollah and controversial senior political figure, is worthy of analysis. Hassan Nasrallah is putting forth his hardline political discourse based on the following pillars:
1- The situation in Syria is not a civil war but rather part of a regional conspiracy under international Zionist auspices, seeking to undermine the forces of opposition and resistance.
2- As a result, the responsibility for resistance now lies with Hezbollah, in order to prepare to confront "the conspiracies" surrounding the region.
3- The anti-Islam film with its defamatory references to the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) is an integral part of this conspiracy, and all Arab and Muslim nations must express their outrage against all American and Western interests.
4- The Israeli project to launch a military strike against Iran is also a direct threat against Hezbollah, which will not sit by and watch because it considers a strike on Iran to be a strike against the "powers backing resistance in Lebanon and Palestine."
5- As for Naeem al-Qasem, the Deputy Secretary General of Hezbollah, he is currently calling upon Arabs and Muslims to boycott Israel and the US, on the grounds of their conspiracy.
On the other hand, Fouad Siniora’s discourse is different in both style and political orientation, and is based on the following:
1- Any reactions to the anti-Islam film must not tarnish the image of the Muslims and the Arabs.
2- The reaction to this film must be centered around diplomacy, and in particular Siniora stresses that Lebanon's address before the UN General Assembly must include a call to combat religious defamation.
3- Lebanese decision-makers alone must determine the country’s political orientation, and they must not be steered by others towards a different location or a particular reaction.
4- Siniora also demands Hezbollah to declare the "Lebanonization of its weapons", meaning that Hezbollah's weapons must be used to serve the legitimacy and interests of Lebanon, not any other country.
5- Hezbollah must also issue an explicit statement confirming that its weaponry will be used to serve Lebanese interests and not for regional purposes, nor will they be used against the Lebanese will.
These two discourses confirm that the country is divided both intellectually and politically, to the extent that we are witnessing the emergence of "two Lebanons".
Hasan Nasrallah's discourse is heated and full of escalatory rhetoric, whereas Fouad Siniora’s is practical and pragmatic, and is in touch with reality.
Both discourses reflect a set of domestic, regional and international alliances that are diametrically opposed to those on the other side.
With great fear and concern, I can confirm that Lebanon, as has been the case historically, will be one of the key tools and victims of the upcoming regional clash.

Syria…the last 40 days
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
Those under no illusion about potential international solutions to the Syrian crisis, whether military intervention, increased military support for the rebels, or even the mobilization of the Turkish army, should also not expect much from the meeting of the UN General Assembly, currently being held in New York. Indeed, we should not entertain any illusions for another 40 days.
Why? The answer is simple. In 40 days it is the US presidential election, and then everyone will know which way the political compass is pointing. Whether the current President Barack Obama is re-elected or the winner is the Republican Mitt Romney, the result will have many implications. Of course, then it will no longer be a question of will al-Assad survive or not, but rather it will be a question of how the Americans choose to deal with him, at all levels. The tyrant of Damascus is aware of this matter himself, and therefore he allowed the recent internal opposition conference to take place, and his foreign affairs spokesman has begun to talk about the difficulty of the situation, stressing that dialogue is the solution. For the same reason, we find that the pace of the al-Assad regime’s violence and lies has also increased, for al-Assad is racing against time, specifically the remaining 40 days until the US elections.
This is the reality today, and nothing will change unless the rebels make a breakthrough on the ground to alter the current equation, or the al-Assad regime commits an act that truly shakes the international community. Yet the international community has so far been unmoved by the alarming crimes already committed against the Syrians. Things could also change if there is a new development in Israel and Iran’s current game of action and reaction, but other than that no one is willing, or able, to act now towards the Syrian issue. Despite all the French attempts to resolve the situation, diplomatically and militarily, the French and sometimes Turkish proposals are constantly being ignored by the Americans, for no one in Washington wants to embark on any sort of venture now at this stage in the race for the White House. As I mentioned above, Bashar al-Assad and his allies, specifically the Iranians, are acutely aware of this, as are the Russians. However, they are also aware that if Barack Obama is re-elected for a second term the price on al-Assad’s head will be far lower than it is at present, because then, i.e. after the US elections have been resolved, all options will be on the table. President Obama will no longer need to worry about timing and will not want to repeat the al-Assad experience again.
Despite all this, all the friends of Syria cannot simply stop and wait for a period of 40 days. They must continue to support the Syrian rebels with money and weapons, for the simple reason that the al-Assad regime will not stop using further violence, just as Iran will not cease its financial and military support, and therefore the Syrian rebels’ position on the ground must be strengthened. We cannot allow the rebels’ to deteriorate even for one moment, especially as al-Assad is trying desperately to regain control of Syrian territory.
There are 40 days left, and no doubt it will be like 40 years for the Syrians. Yet this is the reality, regardless of what comes out of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, and regardless of what Lakhdar Brahimi says!

Dr Musa Abu-Marzuq most likely to head Hamas - Sources
By Saleh al-Naami/ Asharq Al-Awsat
Gaza, Asharq Al-Awsat- with Hamas officially announcing that Khalid Mishal, head of its Political Bureau, will not run again for a new term, sources in the Movement said that they expect to a large extent that his successor would be from the leaders abroad.
In a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, the sources ruled out the possibility of electing Ismail Haniyah, head of the sacked government in Gaza, or any of the Movement's leaders in the Gaza Strip for this post due to national political reasons and other considerations related to the freedom of movement that should be available to the head of the Political Bureau. The sources, which requested anonymity, added that the fact that the vast majority of the Palestinian people is outside the homeland necessitates that a leading figure from outside be the head of the Movement's Political Bureau.
The sources pointed out that the head of the Political Bureau should have a great ability of political and diplomatic movement in a way that ensures the consolidation of the Movement's relations with the Arab and Islamic nations, particularly in the stage after the Arab spring. They explained that there is a great importance for the presence of the head of the Political Bureau outside to be able to carry out all the contacts that ensure the financial support for the Movement.
The sources expects Dr Musa Abu-Marzuq to be elected as new head of the Political Bureau, noting that he held that post 16 years ago and was relieved of this post after he was arrested in New York on the charge of leading a terrorist movement. He was freed after a deal was concluded according to which he gave up his American nationality. Mishal assumed the post of the head of the Political Bureau since then. The sources explained that though there is no one who is more appropriate for the post than Abu-Marzuq who currently lives in Cairo, he maintains "warmer" relations with the Movement's leaders in Gaza. The sources emphasized that thus far, no date has been set for holding the election of a new leader for the Movement, pointing out that the recent meeting held by the Political Bureau held in Cairo discussed this issue.
Hamas has officially announced that Mishal will not be nominated for the post of the head of the Political Bureau for the next session. Izzat al-Rishq, member of the Political Bureau of the Movement who is close to Mishal, said on his Facebook page two days ago that Mishal has emphasized his stand during the recent meeting of the Political Bureau, which was attended by the Movement's leaders inside and outside in Cairo on the occasion of the approaching elections of the Movement's leadership. Al-Rishq explained that Mishal has emphasized his keenness "to provide the chance for renewing the blood of the Movement's leadership and to be in line with the spirit of the Arab spring." Al-Rishq, however, said: "Brother Abu-al-Walid (Mishal) has emphasized that by the end of the current organizational term, he will leave the post without leaving the role, since he will continue the work, the effort, and the role in service of our people, our cause, and our blessed Movement and its project for liberation and return," as he put it. Al-Rishq pointed out that although "the leaders and figures of the Movement have called on Brother Abu-al-Walid to continue in his post, he insisted on his stand and expressed appreciation and gratitude for the Movement's leaders and cadres who showed their deep appreciation, love, and confidence in brother Abu-al-Walid." He added: "More than 16 years have passed since Brother Abu-al-Walid began to lead the Movement in the most difficult circumstances and in face of the strongest challenges during which the Movement made its most important achievements to the point that became the leading movement of our people and the representative of their ambitions and aspirations." Al- Rishq pointed out that "Brother Abu-al-Walid, the living martyr, is setting an example for the leaders and officials by his unwillingness to have posts and responsibilities and his ability to leave the posts while he is on top of his success and achievements although the chance was still there for him to head the Political Bureau of the Movement for a new term." Al-Rishq concluded his talk by saying: "Certainly, Brother Abu-al-Walid will leave a significant vacuum, and our trust in God remains that He will preserve the Movement and its resistance project."

Egypt refers man who tore Bible to trial
CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian prosecutors referred to trial Tuesday a well-known radical Islamist who tore up an English copy of the Bible during a protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo against an anti-Islam film produced in the United States. The case against Ahmed Mohammed Abdullah is a rare example of Egypt's blasphemy laws — often condemned by rights groups as restrictive of freedom— used against someone who allegedly insulted a religion other than Islam. Abdullah, also known as Abu Islam, was filmed during a protest outside the embassy two weeks ago as he stood before the crowd and ripped up the holy book. "Next time I will urinate on it," he says in another video. Both videos were posted online. The subject of the protest, the film "Innocence of Muslims," has enraged many Muslims for its portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad as a fraud, a womanizer and a child molester. At least 51 people, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, have been killed in violence linked to protests over the film, which also has renewed debate over freedom of expression in the Middle East, U.S. and in Europe.
Contempt towards "heavenly" religions — a term usually taken to include Christianity, Islam, and Judaism — is punishable by up to five years in Egypt. But lawyers and rights groups say the definition of contempt of religion is vague and has been used frequently against critics of Islam only, not other faiths.
In the wake of the anti-Islam video, many clerics and politicians in Egypt have called for an international law criminalizing contempt for religion. Egypt's new government, headed by Islamist President Mohammed Mursi, may be under pressure to show that it is applying Egypt's contempt law even-handedly.
Critics say the recent moves are a retreat from freedoms gained during the uprising against Mursi's predecessor, Hosni Mubarak. The contempt of religion laws were also used under Mubarak.
A prosecution official said Abdullah's son and a journalist who interviewed him afterward were also referred to trial. The official spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Abdullah is known for having put together a new Islamic TV channel that is run primarily by women veiled from head to toe, with only their eyes showing. He is a frequent guest on other television channels.
He told The Associated Press he is not guilty of contempt to religion because he targeted the book of a specific group of Christians who have offended Islam.
"I had always wished to go to court to explain to the world that there is no such thing as the Bible. Every church in the West has its own holy book," he said.
He said his trial begins Sept. 30. The other two defendants could not immediately be reached for comment.
Another Egyptian, a Coptic Christian who had questioned both Islam and Christianity on his social networking pages, has also been referred to trial, which begins Wednesday, on charges of contempt to religion. Alber Saber was originally arrested in the wake of the anger of the offensive film, and accused of sharing it online.
The prosecutors didn't find the film on his web pages, but still prosecuted him for contempt. Another Coptic Christian was sentenced to six years in prison last week for insulting Islam and the president on his Facebook page.
"There seems to be a direction toward restricting freedoms," said Ahmed Ezzat, a human rights lawyer who is defending Saber.

How 'Religious Defamation' Laws Would Ban Islam
by Raymond Ibrahim/FrontPage Magazine
September 26, 2012
http://www.raymondibrahim.com/12330/how-religious-defamation-laws-would-ban-islam
As the Islamic world, in the guise of the 57-member state Organization of Islamic Cooperation, continues to push for the enforcement of "religious defamation" laws in the international arena—theoretically developed to protect all religions from insult, but in reality made for Islam—one great irony is lost, especially on Muslims: if such laws would ban movies and cartoons that defame Islam, they would also, by logical extension, have to ban the religion of Islam itself—the only religion whose core texts actively defame other religions.
If films and cartoons defame Islam, the Quran itself defames other religions.
To understand this, consider what "defamation" means. Typical dictionary-definitions include "to blacken another's reputation" and "false or unjustified injury of the good reputation of another, as by slander or libel." In Muslim usage, defamation simply means anything that insults or offends Islamic sensibilities.
However, to gain traction among the international community, the OIC maintains that such laws should protect all religions from defamation, not just Islam. Accordingly, the OIC is agreeing that any expression that "slanders" the religious sentiments of others should be banned.
What, then, do we do with Islam's core religious texts—beginning with the Quran itself, which slanders, denigrates and blackens the reputation of other religions? Consider Christianity alone: Quran 5:73 declares that "Infidels are they who say Allah is one of three," a reference to the Christian Trinity; Quran 5:73 says "Infidels are they who say Allah is the Christ, [Jesus] son of Mary"; and Quran 9:30 complains that "the Christians say the Christ is the son of Allah … may Allah's curse be upon them!"
Considering that the word "infidel" (or kafir) is one of Islam's most derogatory terms, what if a Christian book or Western movie appeared declaring that "Infidels are they who say Muhammad is the prophet of God—may God's curse be upon them"? If Muslims would consider that a great defamation against Islam—and they would, with the attendant rioting, murders, etc.—then by the same standard it must be admitted that the Quran defames Christians and Christianity.
Similarly, consider how the Christian Cross, venerated among millions, is depicted—is defamed—in Islam: according to canonical hadiths, when he returns, Jesus supposedly will destroy all crosses; and Muhammad, who never allowed the cross in his presence, ordered someone wearing a cross to "take off that piece of idolatry."
What if Christian books or Western movies declared that the sacred things of Islam—say the Black Stone in the Ka'ba of Mecca—are "idolatry" and that Muhammad himself will return and destroy them? If Muslims would consider that defamation against Islam—and they would, with all the attendant rioting, murders, etc.—then by the same standard it must be admitted that the hadith defames the Christian Cross.
Here is a particularly odious form of defamation against Christian sentiment, especially to the millions of Catholic and Orthodox Christians. According to Islam's most authoritative Quranic exegetes, including the revered Ibn Kathir, Muhammad is in paradise married to and having sex with the Virgin Mary.
What if a Christian book or Western movie portrayed, say, Muhammad's wife, Aisha the "Mother of Believers," as being married to and having sex with a false prophet in heaven? If Muslims would consider that a great defamation against Islam—and they would, with all the attendant rioting, murders, etc.—then by the same standard it must be admitted that Islam's most authoritative Quranic exegetes defame the Virgin Mary.
Nor does such defamation of Christianity occur in Islam's ancient texts only; modern day Muslim scholars and sheikhs agree that it is permissible to defame Christianity. Qatar-based "Islam Web" even issued a fatwa that legitimizes insulting Christianity.
Now consider the wording used by Muslim leaders calling on the U.N. to enforce religious defamation laws in response to the Muhammad film on YouTube, and how these expressions can easily be used against Islam:
The OIC "deplored… an offensive and derogatory film on the life of Prophet Muhammad" and "called on the producers to show respect to the religious sentiments held sacred by Muslims and those of other faiths."
But what about the "offensive and derogatory" depictions of Christianity in Islam's core texts? Are Muslims willing to expunge these from the Quran and hadith, "to show respect to the religious sentiments held sacred … by those of other faiths," in this case, Christians?
Turkish Prime Minister Erodgan said the film "insults religions" (note the inclusive plural) and called for "international legal regulations against attacks on what people [not just Muslims] deem sacred."
Well, what about the fact that Islam "insults religions"—including Judaism and all polytheistic faiths? Should the West call for "international legal regulations against attacks on what people deem sacred," in the case of Christianity, regulations against Islam's teachings which attack the sanctity of Christ's divinity, the Cross, and Virgin Mary?
Even Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti—who a few months ago called for the destruction of all Christian churches in the Arabian Peninsula (first reported here)—is calling for a "global ban on insults targeting all" religious figures, while the Grand Imam of Egypt's Al Azhar is calling for "a U.N. resolution outlawing 'insulting symbols and sanctities of Islam' and other religions." Again, they, too, claim to be interested in banning insults to all religions, while ignoring the fact that their own religion is built atop insulting all other religions.
And surely this is the grandest irony of all: the "defamation" that Muslims complain about—and that prompts great violence and bloodshed around the world—revolves around things like movies and cartoons, which are made by individuals who represent only themselves; on the other hand, Islam itself, through its holiest and most authoritative texts, denigrates and condemns—in a word, defames—all other religions, not to mention calls for violence against them (e.g., Quran 9:29).
It is this issue, Islam's perceived "divine" right to defame and destroy, that the international community should be addressing—not silly cartoons and films