LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
December 04/16
Compiled
& Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The
Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
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Bible
Quotations For Today
On the eighth day they came to
circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father.But his mother said, ‘No; he is to be called John
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke
01/57-66/:"Now the time came for
Rejoice, you childless one, you
who bear no children, burst into song and shout, you who endure no birth pangs;
for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous than the children of
the one who is married
Letter to the Galatians 04/21-03-01.05,01/":Tell me, you who
desire to be subject to the law, will you not listen to the law? For it is
written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free
woman. One, the child of the slave, was born according to the flesh; the other,
the child of the free woman, was born through the promise. Now this is an
allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in fact, is Hagar, from
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published on December 03-04/16
"Nothing to do with Islam"/Judith Bergman/Gatestone
Institute/December 03/16
Self-Censorship: Free Society vs. Fear Society/Giulio Meotti//Gatestone
Institute/December 03/16
In defense of the much-maligned US
mainstream media/Hisham Melhem/Al
Arabiya/December 03/16
Trump May Find Nothing More to Offer Putin/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/December
03/16
Don’t Ignore This Jobs Report/Mohamed A. El-Erian/Asharq Al Awsat/December
03/16
Titles For Latest
Lebanese Related News published on December 03-04/16
Canadian Foreign Minister to Meet Senior Lebanese Officials
Aoun Media Office: President Determined to Address
Concerns of All
Report: Cabinet Line-Up Close after President 'Extends Hand' to Political
Parties
Caretaker Minister of Environment, Mohammad Machnouk
representing Salam: Lebanon safeguarded by its unity
Sami Gemayel: Problem lies in approaching the
government like sharing a piece of candy, solution would be through practicing
moderation in demands
Ambassador Bonne launches France Alumni Liban
Army: Syrian referred to justice for belonging to Daesh
LAF: Syrian affiliated with ISIS in hands of Judiciary
Lebanese hospitals reject bodies of two Ethiopians who suffocated to death
Bassil Says Lebanon, Germany Engaged in Fight against
Terrorism
Syrian Detained in Rashaya over Forged Documents
Two Ethiopians Suffocate Due to Coal Heating System
Rahi convenes with Ambassadors of Germany and China
Sleiman: to share responsibilities, duties within
Constitutional authorities
Siniora: without alternatives to Taef
Agreement, Lebanon faces chaos
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 03-04/16
Abadi Rejects Army’s Strategy in Mosul
Syria Army Seizes New Rebel District in Aleppo
EU Says Fall of Aleppo won’t End Syria War as Rebels Lose more Ground
Morocco Police Arrest 8-Member Terrorist Cell
Coalition of Humanitarian Relief in Taiz: 893
Casualties in November
Egypt Drafting U.N. Statement to Denounce ‘Government’ Formation in Sana’a
Trump Sets Stage for Iran Sanctions
Trump Upends US Foreign Policy with Taiwan Call
China Lodges Protest over Trump Taiwan Call
Tehran Says it has ‘Appropriate Response’ to U.S. Sanction Renewal
25 Million Gulf Citizens Benefit from Eased Regional Travel in 2015
Links From Jihad
Watch Site for on December 03-04/16
UK: Police
hunting for veiled woman who stabbed teenager to death.
International
Qur’anic Studies Association scholars: Qur’an only
describes violence, doesn’t command it.
UK:
72-year-old Muslim jailed for grooming, repeatedly raping nine-year-old girl.
UK judge
says woman sexually assaulted by Muslim migrant was “foolish” for drinking too
much.
Netherlands:
Government-funded watchdog says it’s ok for Muslims to send death threats to
gays.
Germany:
Muslim group sets up Islam information stand at Christmas market.
Finland:
Politician fined for criticizing Islam.
UK: Muslima who works for government’s counter-terrorism unit
supports pro-jihad group.
Tunisian
President: “Tunisia is determined to prove that Islam is not incompatible with
democracy”.
European
Commission top dog: “We must distinguish between Islam and terrorism”.
Links From Christian Today Site for on December 03-04/16
Bodies
of Chapecoense Plane Crash Victims Returned To
Grieving Brazilian Home Town.
The
Calais Refugee 'Problem' Has Merely Been Displaced, Not Solved.
Bishop:
Church Too Middle Class, Must Listen To Poor
Communities.
Malaysia
says Myanmar violence against Muslim Rohingya 'ethnic
cleansing'.
South
Koreans march close to presidential Blue House demanding Park
resign.
The
World Is In A Mess. The Common Good Offers A Way Out.
We
Cannot Ignore The Culture Of Sex Abuse We Have Created.
Why
I've Given Up Singing Worship Songs.
After
Trump, What Now For Christians In America? Obama Faith
Advisor Speaks Out.
Latest
Lebanese Related News published on December 03-04/16
Canadian Foreign Minister
to Meet Senior Lebanese Officials
Naharnet/December 03/16/Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion, who arrived in Beirut on Friday is scheduled
to kick start his meetings with senior Lebanese officials, the National News
Agency reported. Dion who is accompanied by two Canadian MPs of Lebanese
origin, Eva Nassif and Marwan
Tabbara, arrived Friday night on a three-day visit.
The Canadian Minister is scheduled to meet with Lebanese President Michel Aoun to congratulate him on his election as a president.
Later he will meet with Speaker Nabih Berri, Caretaker PM Tammam Salam,
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and Caretaker
Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil,
to tackle the current situation in
Aoun Media Office: President Determined to Address
Concerns of All
Naharnet/December 03/16/In light of various media
reports that tackled the position of President Michel Aoun
as for the formation of a cabinet and the distribution of ministerial
portfolios, the office of the presidency issued a statement assuring that the
President is determined to address the concerns of all politicians and invited
them to meet with him at Baabda Palace. “Explaining
the reports published in media outlets over the past days, President Michel Aoun confirms his commitment to the concerns of everyone
and his determination to address them all,” said the statement issued Friday.
It added: “He therefore invites each official or politician to meet with him at
the Presidential Palace to ease his fears. The President is entrusted to
implement the constitution, to achieve just representation in the
constitutional authorities and on the proper implementation in accordance with
the provisions of the constitution as along as the goal is the supreme national
interest.”
Report: Cabinet Line-Up Close after
President 'Extends Hand' to Political Parties
Naharnet/December 03/16/An appeasing statement issued
by the presidential palace came in parallel with indications that political
parties might have reached an agreement over the thorny issue of distribution
of ministerial portfolios, heralding the formation of a new cabinet soon, al-Joumhouria daily reported Saturday. The presidential
message came at a time when the cabinet line-up is almost complete,
sources from Baabda Presidential Palace told the
daily. The presidential statement is supposed to be a road map that leads to
easing some difficulties hampering the formation of a new cabinet. In a
statement released by his media office Friday, President Michel Aoun extended his hand to political parties and expressed
readiness to work with all sides for the benefit of
Caretaker Minister
of Environment, Mohammad Machnouk representing Salam:
Lebanon safeguarded by its unity
Sat 03 Dec 2016/NNA - Caretaker Minister of Environment, Mohammad Machnouk, represented caretaker PM Tammam
Salam on Saturday during a workshop dedicated to fortifying national pact
document and discussing Constitutional loopholes. The conference held in Hilton
Hotel was called upon by former President Michel Sleiman
and attended by top officials. "Experiences have proven that the unity of
Lebanon is the country's sole security against those wishing to tamper with its
system and seeking a federal or confederate regime...while we seek the unity of
citizenry in Lebanon," said the Minister. Machnouk
lauded Sleiman's initiative and hoped it would open
new horizons to bolstering
Sami Gemayel:
Problem lies in approaching the government like sharing a piece of candy,
solution would be through practicing moderation in demands
Sat 03 Dec 2016/NNA - Kataeb Party Head, MP Sami Gemayel, deemed on Saturday that "the prevailing
problem at this stage is in dealing with the new government like sharing a
piece of candy," adding that "the ideal solution would be through
each side decreasing its demands and pre-conditions.""I
hope we can reach an electoral law that secures healthy representation in
Parliament," added Gemayel, expressing regret
that no focus is being given to the work program of the future government
instead of sharing cabinet seats.
However, he considered that "despite the huge difficulties, we are strong
believers, and we shall keep believing and dreaming of a better country."Gemayel's words came during the inaugural
ceremony of the "Christmas Festival" event organized by the
Ambassador Bonne launches
Sat 03 Dec 2016/NNA - French Ambassador to Lebanon Emmanuel Bonne
launched on Saturday the France Alumni Liban's
digital platform, designed to unify, inform and activate a network of Lebanese
who have pursued their studies in
Army: Syrian referred to justice for
belonging to Daesh
Sat 03 Dec 2016/NNA - In an issued statement by the Lebanese Army Command
Orientation Directorate on Saturday, it indicated that: "the Army
Intelligence Directorate has referred to the concerned court the Syrian
national, Ahmed Abdel Razzaq Jassim
al-Mohammad, on charges of belonging to Daesh terrorist
organization and for being involved in the killing of dozens of civilians in
Syria."
LAF: Syrian affiliated with ISIS in hands
of Judiciary
Sat 03 Dec 2016/NNA - The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) Orientation
Directorate issued on Saturday the following statement: "The Intelligence
Directorate referred to the Judiciary Syrian national Ahmad Abdul Razzak Jassem Al Mohammad for
belonging to ISIS and actively participating in the slaughter of tens of Syrian
civilians in
Lebanese hospitals reject bodies of two
Ethiopians who suffocated to death
Sat 03 Dec 2016 /NNA - The bodies of two Ethiopian domestic workers who
perished in an unfortunate accident in their room in Blat
Jbeil locality were denied admission into any
hospital in Jbeil and were returned to the residence
where they were found. The two Ethiopians reportedly suffocated to death due to
a malfunction in a coal heating system. A third woman was also found next to
them in critical condition. The Red Cross rushed the woman to a Jbeil hospital for emergency treatment. The two dead
Ethiopians were taken by the Civil Defence to
Bassil Says Lebanon,
Naharnet/December 03/16/Caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, said that
Syrian Detained in Rashaya
over Forged Documents
Naharnet/December 03/16/General Directorate of State
Security arrested a Syrian national on Saturday suspected of forging documents,
the state-run National News Agency reported. The suspect identified as M.S. was
arrested in the southern town of
Two Ethiopians Suffocate Due to Coal
Heating System
Naharnet/December 03/16/Two Ethiopian female workers
were found dead in an area north of Beirut on Saturday due to suffocation from
a coal heating system, the National News Agency reported. The two females, in
their thirties, were found in a room in the northern neighborhood
of Blat Jbeil, NNA added. A
third female was found in a critical condition. She was transported to a nearby
hospital by the Red Cross rescue team for treatment, added the agency. Police
patrol and a forensic doctor arrived at the scene. With the arrival of
this season's first winter storm two days ago, the Internal Security Forces
called on citizens and refugees to take precautionary measures to prevent cases
of suffocation resulting from gas or coal heating systems, which killed 18
people and injured dozens last year.
Rahi
convenes with Ambassadors of
Sat 03 Dec 2016/NNA - Maronite Patriarch
Cardinal Beshara Rahi
received at Bkikry on Saturday the Ambassador of
Germany Martin Huth. He told the press after the
meeting that
Sleiman: to share responsibilities, duties within
Constitutional authorities
Sat 03 Dec 2016/NNA - "Let's share responsibilities and duties within the
Constitutional authorities and not fight over power," former President
Michel Sleiman said on Saturday during a conference
at Hilton Hotel dedicated to immunizing the Taef
Accord."
"By boosting the Republic's foundations through the immunization of the
National Pact, the enforcement of the Constitution and by relying on the
Declaration of Baabda we remove the need for
Constituent conferences," Sleiman told the
attendees.
Siniora: without alternatives to Taef
Agreement,
Sat 03 Dec 2016/NNA - Former Prime Minister Fouad
Siniora spoke on Saturday at the Hilton Hotel during
the conference on "Immunization of the Taef
Agreement and the discussion of constitutional gaps". He said that
"without alternatives to the Taef Agreement,
Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 03-04/16
Abadi Rejects Army’s Strategy in Mosul
Asharq Al-Awsat/Asharq Al Awsat/December 03/16/Mosul- As Iraqi forces and ISIS fight
in a fierce urban warfare in Mosul, the leaders of Iraq are discussing the
possibility of changing their strategy to help the more than one million
civilians flee the city and give the army a free hand to strike the jihadists.
The proposal, a sign of frustration at slow progress in the six-week campaign
against ISIS in
Syria Army Seizes New Rebel District in
Aleppo
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December
03/16/Karam al-Masri/Syria's army advanced overnight
deeper into east Aleppo where it now controls more than half of the former
rebel stronghold after a fierce assault that has sparked an international
outcry.
Tens of thousands of civilians have fled eastern neighbourhoods of the
battered city since President Bashar al-Assad's
regime began its latest offensive in mid-November.
Overnight, government troops and allied forces seized the district of
Tariq al-Bab where heavy fighting had raged a day
earlier, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Saturday. The government
has now recaptured around 60 percent of eastern parts of the city that the
rebels overran in mid-2012, according to the Britain-based monitor.
The advance opens the road leading from the government-controlled west of
the city to the international airport just outside
And it has prompted more civilians to flee, heading either further south
into remaining rebel-held districts or crossing into government-held territory
or areas under Kurdish control. Assad's forces have made swift gains in east
- 'Over 300 killed' -The government has trumpeted its advances, and state
television on Saturday showed buses full of residents going from west Aleppo
back to their homes in neighbourhoods retaken by the army. More than 300
civilians have been killed in the government's assault on east
The monitor says nearly 65 civilians have been killed in the same period
by rebel fire on government-held west
On Friday, they rolled back some regime gains in the Sheikh Saeed district on
On Friday, as the army advanced in Tariq al-Bab,
an AFP correspondent said residents had emptied out of neighbouring Shaar district, anticipating the arrival of fighting there.
He said just a few rebels could be seen in the district, manning
positions in front of shuttered shops and bakeries. Vegetable stalls that had
been selling the most meagre of supplies after more than four months of
government siege were lying shattered in one street by artillery fire.
On Saturday, the Observatory said three people were killed and at least
10 others wounded in air strikes on Shaar, and that
raids were targeting several other eastern neighbourhoods in the city. The
escalating violence has been met with international outrage, including a UN
warning that east
- 'Race again time' -
He said the UN was coming up with a plan and approval from Syrian
authorities remained essential.
But
"What is critical now is that we provide the immediate and sustained
assistance that these children and their families desperately need,"
UNICEF spokesman Christophe Boulierac said.
"It's a race against time, as winter is here and conditions are
basic."
EU Says Fall of Aleppo won’t End
Syria War as Rebels Lose more Ground
Asharq Al-Awsat English/Asharq Al Awsat/December
03/16/European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini
is convinced the fall of rebel-held areas of the Syrian city of Aleppo to the
regime would not end the war in the country, she said on Saturday. “I’m
convinced the fall of
Asharq Al-Awsat/Asharq Al Awsat/December 03/16/Rabat-
Coalition of Humanitarian Relief in Taiz: 893 Casualties in November
Asharq Al-Awsat/Asharq Al Awsat/December 03/16/Taiz-The Coalition of Humanitarian
Relief in Taiz has revealed in a report that Houthis and Saleh militias
continue to commit more violations in the city, killing and displacing
civilians from their houses and villages. According to the report, there were
893 casualties in November – 172 of them were killed while 721, including men,
women and children, were wounded. “Sixty five houses, facilities, shops,
schools, mosques, government buildings and public services were bombed over the
past month (November) in addition to around 40 houses that were totally and
partially damaged in different neighborhoods of the
city by indiscriminate shelling,” added the report. “Seven educational
facilities and students also were targeted by shelling while one mosque was
bombed and another two were shelled”, the report of the coalition mentioned. At
least “752 families were displaced due to battles and shelling—the displaced
families found no shelter but some schools and other families hosted them in Taiz and other provinces,” it added. The Coalition of
Humanitarian Relief in Taiz warned of “starvation
that might lead to a prominent humanitarian disaster in Taiz
especially that public employees are not being paid their salaries.”In
the same context, Staff Brigadier General Abdulrahman
al-Shamsani said that the Yemeni army is fully ready
to defend Taiz and liberate
Egypt Drafting U.N. Statement to Denounce ‘Government’ Formation in Sana’a
Badr Al-Qahtani/Asharq Al Awsat/December 03/16/London- Two diplomats have revealed to
Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper
that Egypt is drafting a U.N. Security Council statement to denounce the
unilateral steps taken by rebels in Yemen in forming a “government.”Saudi
Ambassador to the U.N. Abdullah al-Mouallimi said in
a phone call that the statement is expected to be issued on Friday or Saturday.
He said there is a Russian objection to the statement, and negotiations with
parties are ongoing. Mouallimi added that the
objection is over certain sentences and paragraphs that need to be amended.
This is a normal thing at the U.N. Yemeni Ambassador to the U.S. Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak said, however, that
Trump Sets Stage for
Heba El Koudsy/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 03/16/Washington-
Trump Upends
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December
03/16/US President-elect Donald Trump broke with decades of foreign policy to
speak with the president of
- 'One
- 'The right way' -The incident comes as Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte said Trump approved of Manila's ongoing deadly drug
war, saying the crackdown in which some 4,800 people have been killed was being
conducted in "the right way".The comments
were made during a phone conversation between the Philippine president and
Trump late Friday. Traditional
- Cabinet posts -Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, urged Trump to speed up his search for a nominee to become secretary
of state and coordinate
Asharq Al-Awsat
English/December 03/16/China lodged a diplomatic protest with the
Tehran Says it has ‘Appropriate Response’
to U.S. Sanction Renewal
Asharq Al-Awsat/December
03/16/London- Iran threatened on Friday to retaliate against a U.S. Senate vote
to extend the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) for 10 years, saying it violated last
year’s deal with six major powers that curbed its nuclear program. “As
repeatedly stated by high-ranking Iranian officials, the recent bill passed by
the House of Representatives and the Senate to renew sanctions against
25 Million Gulf Citizens Benefit from
Eased Regional Travel in 2015
Asharq Al-Awsat/Asharq Al Awsat/December 03/16/Riyadh- Initial statistics published
by the information sector for The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of
the Gulf show that at least 25 million Gulf citizens have travelled within Gulf
States in 2015. Gaining a dashing 89 percent increase compared to the 2006
statistics, which registered 13 million inter-Gulf travelers.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis
& editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 03-04/16
"Nothing to do with
Islam"?
Judith Bergman/Gatestone
Institute/December 03/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9444/nothing-to-do-with-islam
"Until religious leaders stand up and take responsibility for the actions
of those who do things in the name of their religion, we will see no
resolution." — The Archbishop of
"The Islamic State is a byproduct of Al Azhar's programs... Al Azhar says
there must be a caliphate and that it is an obligation for the Muslim world. Al
Azhar teaches the law of apostasy and killing the
apostate. Al Azhar is hostile towards religious
minorities, and teaches things like not building churches... Al Azhar teaches stoning people. So can Al Azhar
denounce itself as un-Islamic?" — Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah Nasr, a scholar
of Islamic law and graduate of
The jihadists who carry out terrorist attacks in the service of ISIS, for
example, are merely following the commands in the Quran, both 9:5, "Fight
and kill the disbelievers wherever you find them..." and Quran 8:39,
"So fight them until there is no more fitna
[strife] and all submit to the religion of Allah."
Archbishop Welby -- and Egypt's extraordinary
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi -- has finally had the
courage to say in public that if one insists on remaining "religiously
illiterate," it is impossible to solve the problem of religiously
motivated violence.
For the first time, a European establishment figure from the Church has spoken
out against an argument exonerating
"requires a move away from the argument that has become increasingly
popular, which is to say that ISIS is 'nothing to do with Islam'... Until
religious leaders stand up and take responsibility for the actions of those who
do things in the name of their religion, we will see no resolution."
Archbishop Welby also said that, "It's very
difficult to understand the things that impel people to some of the dreadful
actions that we have seen over the last few years unless you have some sense of
religious literacy".
"Religious literacy" has indeed been in short supply, especially on
the European continent. Nevertheless, all over the West, people with
little-to-no knowledge of Islam, including political leaders, journalists and
opinion makers, have all suddenly become "experts" on Islam and the
Quran, assuring everybody that ISIS and other similarly genocidal
terrorist groups have nothing to do with the purported "religion of
peace," Islam.
It is therefore striking finally to hear a voice from the establishment,
especially a man of the Church, oppose, however cautiously, this curiously
uniform (and stupefyingly uninformed) view of Islam.
Until now, establishment Churches, despite the atrocities committed against
Christians by Muslims, have been exceedingly busy only with so-called
"inter-faith dialogue." Pope Francis has even castigated Europeans
for not being even more accommodating towards the migrants who have overwhelmed
the continent, asking Europeans:
"What has happened to you, the Europe of humanism, the champion of human
rights, democracy and freedom?... the mother of great men and women who upheld,
and even sacrificed their lives for, the dignity of their brothers and
sisters?"
(Perhaps the Pope, before rhetorically asking Europeans to sacrifice their
lives for their migrant "brothers and sisters" should ask himself
whether many of the Muslim migrants in
A statement on Islam is especially significant coming from the Archbishop of
Canterbury, the senior bishop and principal leader of the Anglican Church and
the symbolic head of the Anglican Communion, which stands at around 85 million
members worldwide, the third-largest communion in the world.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby (left),
recently said that dealing with the religiously-motivated violence in Europe
"requires a move away from the argument that has become increasingly
popular, which is to say that
Only a year ago, commenting on the
Can one expect other Church leaders and political figures to heed Archbishop Welby's words, or will they be conveniently overlooked?
Western leaders have noticeably practiced selective hearing for many years and
ignored truths that did not fit the "narrative" politicians
apparently wished to imagine, especially when spoken by actual experts on
Islam. When, in November 2015, Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah Nasr, a scholar of
Islamic law and graduate of
"The Islamic State is a byproduct of Al Azhar's programs. So can Al Azhar
denounce itself as un-Islamic? Al Azhar says there
must be a caliphate and that it is an obligation for the Muslim world. Al Azhar teaches the law of apostasy and killing the apostate.
Al Azhar is hostile towards religious minorities, and
teaches things like not building churches, etc. Al Azhar
upholds the institution of jizya [extracting tribute
from non-Muslims]. Al Azhar teaches stoning people.
So can Al Azhar denounce itself as un-Islamic?"
Nor did Western leaders listen when The Atlantic, hardly an anti-establishment
periodical, published a study by Graeme Wood, who researched the Islamic State
and its ideology in depth. He spoke to members of the Islamic State and Islamic
State recruiters and concluded:
"The reality is that the Islamic State is Islamic. Very
Islamic. Yes, it has attracted psychopaths and adventure seekers, drawn
largely from the disaffected populations of the Middle East and
In the
In much of American society, Flynn's view that Islam is a political ideology is
considered controversial, despite the fact that the political and military
doctrines of Islam, succinctly summarized in the concept of jihad, are codified
in Islamic law, sharia, as found in the Quran and the
hadiths. The jihadists who carry out terrorist
attacks in the service of ISIS, for example, are merely following the commands
in the Quran, both 9:5, "Fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find
them..." and Quran 8:39, "So fight them until there is no more fitna [strife] and all submit to the religion of
Allah."
The question becomes, then, whether other establishment figures will also
acknowledge what someone like Archbishop Welby -- and
Egypt's extraordinary President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
-- has finally had the courage to say in public: that if one insists on
remaining "religiously illiterate," it is impossible to solve the
problem of religiously motivated violence.
**Judith Bergman is a writer, columnist, lawyer and political analyst.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The
articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of
Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced,
copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone
Institute.
Self-Censorship: Free Society vs. Fear Society
Giulio Meotti//Gatestone
Institute/December 03/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9459/self-censorship
"The drama and the tragedy is that the only ones to win are the jihadists."
— Flemming Rose, who published the Mohammed
cartoons in 2005, as cultural editor of Jyllands-Posten
newspaper.
"Why the f*ck did you say yes to appear on stage with this terrorist
target, are you stupid? Do you have a secret death wish? You have grandchildren
now. Are you completely out of your mind? It's okay if you want to die
yourself, but why are you taking the company though all this?" — The managers of Jyllands-Posten,
to Flemming Rose.
"We are also aware that we therefore bow to violence and intimidation."
— Editorial, Jyllands-Posten.
"I do not blame them that they care about the safety of employees.
I have bodyguards 24 hours a day. However, I believe that we must stand firm.
If Flemming shuts his mouth, democracy will be
lost." — Naser Khader,
a liberal Muslim of Syrian origin who lives in
In the summer of 2005, the Danish artist Kåre Bluitgen, when he met a journalist from the Ritzaus Bureau news agency, said he was unable to find
anyone willing to illustrate his book on Mohammed, the prophet of Islam. Three
illustrators he contacted, Bluitgen said, were too
scared. A few months later, Bluitgen reported that he
had found someone willing to illustrate his book, but only on the condition of
anonymity.
Like most Danish newspapers, Jyllands-Posten decided
to publish an article about Bluitgen's case. To test
the state of freedom of expression, Flemming Rose, Jyllands-Posten's cultural editor at the time, called
twelve cartoonists, and offered them $160 each to draw a caricature of
Mohammed. What then happened is a well-known, chilling story.
In the wave of Islamist violence against the cartoons, at least two hundred
people were killed. Danish products vanished from shelves in
An Islamic fatwa also forever changed Flemming Rose's
life. In an Islamic caricature, his head was put on a pike. The Taliban offered
a bounty to anyone who would kill him. Rose's office at the newspaper was
repeatedly evacuated for bomb threats. And Rose's name and face entered
Less known is the "white fatwa" that the journalistic class imposed
on Rose. This brave Danish journalist reveals it in a recently published book,
"De Besatte" ("The Obsessed").
"It is the story of how fear devours souls, friendships and the
professional community," says Rose. The book reveals how his own newspaper forced Rose to surrender.
"The drama and the tragedy is that the only ones to win are the
jihadists," Flemming Rose told the Danish
newspaper Weekendavisen.
The CEO of Jyllands-Posten, Jørgen
Ejbøl, summoned Rose to his office, and asked,
"You have grandchildren, do not you think about
them?"
The company that publishes his newspaper, JP/Politikens
Hus, said: "It's not about Rose, but the safety of two thousand
employees."
Jorn Mikkelsen, Rose's
former director, and the newspaper's business heads, obliged him to sign a
nine-point diktat, in which the Danish journalist accepted, among other
demands, "not participating in radio and television programs",
"not attending conferences", "not commenting on religious
issues", "not writing about the Organization of the Islamic Conference"
and "not commenting on the cartoons".
Rose signed this letter of surrender during the harshest time for the
newspaper, when, in 2010-2011, there were countless attempts on his life by
terrorists, and also attempts on the life of Kurt Westergaard,
illustrator of a cartoon (Mohammed with a bomb in his turban) that was burned
in public squares across the Arab world. Westergaard
was then placed on "indefinite leave" by Jyllands-Posten
"for security reasons."
Is democracy lost? Eleven years after Jyllands-Posten
published the Mohammed cartoons, the newspaper has a barbed-wire fence two
meters high and one kilometer long. Kurt Westergaard, the illustrator who drew one of the cartoons
(left), lives in hiding in a fortress, and Flemming
Rose (right), the editor who commissioned the cartoons, has fled to the United
States.
In his book, Rose also reveals that two articles were censored by his
newspaper, along with an outburst from the CEO of the company, Lars Munch:
"You have to stop, you're obsessed, on the fourth floor there are people
who ask 'can't he stop?'".
Rose then drew more wrath from his managers when he
agreed to participate in a conference with the equally targeted Dutch
parliamentarian, Geert Wilders, who at this moment is
on trial in the
He starts yelling at me, "Why the f*ck did you say yes to appear on stage
with this terrorist target, are you stupid? Do you have a secret death wish?
You have grandchildren now. Are you completely out of your mind? It's okay if
you want to die yourself, but why are you taking the company though all
this?"
Jyllands-Posten also pressured Rose when he decided
to write a book about the cartoons, "Hymne til Friheden" ("Hymn to
Freedom"). His editor told him that the newspaper would "curb the
harmful effects" of the book by keeping its publication as low-key as
possible. Rose was then threatened with dismissal if he did not cancel two
debates for the tenth anniversary of the Mohammed cartoons (Rose, in fact, did
not show up that day at a conference in
After the 2015 massacre at Charlie Hebdo, Rose, no
longer willing to abide by the "diktat" he was ordered to sign,
resigned as the head of the foreign desk of Jyllands-Posten,
and now works in the U.S. for the Cato Institute think-tank. The former editor
of Jyllands-Posten, Carsten
Juste, who was also blacklisted by
Rose writes in the conclusion of his book: "I'm not obsessed with
anything. The fanatics are those who want to attack us, and the possessed are
my former bosses at Jyllands-Posten."
Rose's revelations confirm another familiar story: Jyllands-Posten's
surrender to fear. Since 2006, each time its editors and publishers were asked
if they still would have published the drawings of Mohammed, the answer has
always been "no." This response means that the editors had
effectively tasked Rose with writing the newspaper for fanatics and terrorists
thousands of kilometers away. Even after the January
7, 2015 massacre at the weekly Charlie Hebdo in
Paris, targeted precisely because it had republished the Danish cartoons, Jyllands-Posten announced that, out of fear, it would not
republish the cartoons:
"We have lived with the fear of a terrorist attack for nine years, and
yes, that is the explanation why we do not reprint the cartoons, whether it be
our own or Charlie Hebdo's. We are also aware that we
therefore bow to violence and intimidation."
A Danish comedian, Anders Matthesen, said that the
newspaper and the cartoons were to blame for the Islamist violence -- the same
official position as the entire European political and journalistic mainstream.
A year ago, for the 10th anniversary of the affair, instead of the cartoons, Jyllands-Posten came out with twelve white spaces. These
white spaces represent what Rose, in his previous book, called "Tavshedens tiranni"
("The Tyranny of Silence"). Naser Khader, a liberal Muslim of Syrian origin who lives in
"I do not blame them that they care about the safety of employees. I have
bodyguards 24 hours a day. However, I believe that we must stand firm. If Flemming shuts his mouth, democracy will be lost."
Is democracy lost? The headquarters of Jyllands-Posten
today has a barbed-wire fence two meters high and one kilometer
long, a door with double lock (as in banks), and employees can only enter one
at a time by typing in a personal code (a measure that did not protect Charlie Hebdo). Meanwhile, the former editor, Carsten
Juste, has withdrawn from journalism; Kurt Westergaard lives in hiding in a fortress, and Flemming Rose, like Ayaan Hirsi Ali, fled to the
Much, certainly, looks lost. "We are not living in a 'free society'
anymore, but in a 'fear society'", Rose has said.
**Giulio Meotti, Cultural
Editor for Il Foglio, is an Italian journalist and
author.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The
articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of
Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced,
copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone
Institute.
In defense of
the much-maligned US mainstream media
Hisham Melhem/Al Arabiya/December 03/16
In recent years the mainstream media in the
‘Corporate media’ has become an epithet. The digital revolution, the immense
proliferation and influence of social media and the limitless space of the
blogosphere were supposed to be the great equalizers, thus empowering
individuals and small entities to provide the alternative media to the stale
profit-driven corporate media. The blogosphere, the social media and the iPhone have opened up new vistas of human possibilities,
and their liberating aspects, particularly in autocratic societies are
undeniable. But this seemingly brave new world is also rife with pitfalls,
where sharing of information and facts, go hand in hand with spreading of
myths, deceptive stories, fake news, cyber aggression, and the spreading of
manufactured realities.
The rise of cable television, talk radio and online media in general heralded
the era of explicitly opinionated journalism, further blurring the lines
between the traditional fact-based journalism and loud political advocacy
directed at niche constituencies. But while it is true that the media landscape
has been irrevocably changed, it is evidently clear that old claims that the
mainstream media has lost its relevance are patently false.
Most of the major stories and serious investigative journalism in recent years
have been the result of painstaking traditional reporting and not the work of
the new media. And while it is true that the mainstream media in the run-up to
the invasion of
Trump’s outrageous lies, his ceaseless dabbling with conspiracy theories and
his brazen deceptions, have forced journalists and fact-checkers to hold him
accountable.
It was The New Yorker magazine and CBS television that uncovered the
abomination called Abu Ghraib. It was the Washington
Post that uncovered the secret system of Black Sites, which were detention
facilities around the world controlled by the CIA where alleged enemy
combatants were harshly interrogated and some were allegedly tortured. It was
The New York Times that first uncovered that the Bush Administration had
secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans to
search for evidence of terrorist activities, without the court-approved
warrants that are required for domestic spying. In the current war on the
so-called ‘Islamic State’ ISIS, publications like the Atlantic Monthly, The
Washington Post, The New York Times and television networks and the National
Public Radio have published and aired excellent investigative reports. The war
in
Over the years I have heard numerous complaints from Middle Easterners and
Europeans about what they see as the American mainstream media’s problematic
coverage of things Arab and Muslim. They cite information, statistics and
findings to buttress their arguments, unaware of the irony that the sources of
their information are the same mainstream media. I check some Arab publications
for editorials and the opinions of very few columnists, but not for news
reports, since there is at best a dearth of original reporting. The mainstream
American media print and television remains my primary source of news and
information from the Arab countries.
A two-pronged attack
The mainstream media in 2016 was subjected to a two-pronged attack, first by
Donald Trump who sought to punish and boycott Journalists and their networks
and publications if he deemed that they were too critical of him and the second
by Russia using paid human ‘trolls’, websites, social media, and
Russian-financed television stations to spread fake news, and misleading
information to alter the course of the campaign, and to improve Trump’s chances
of winning the race.
Russian trolls, according to US intelligence agencies, hacked the site of the
Democratic National Committee, and
Watts told CNN that,
American presidents and candidates seeking the highest office in the land have
had problematic and at times tense relations with the media, particularly in
times of conflicts or domestic scandals. But Trump is not simply engaging the
media in hot debates, he is waging an unprecedented
war on the very legitimacy of the American mainstream media, and more
dangerously on the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights which guarantee
freedom of expression. The man who was democratically elected, wants to
exercise autocratic powers that the very constitution that he will put his hand
on and take the oath to protect and defend come next January the 20th, does now
allow him to do
Trump is fond of talking repeatedly about the Second Amendment, which states
“the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
But Trump rarely if ever spoke publicly or approvingly of the much more
important First Amendment which guarantee the rights of the free exercise of
religion, the freedom of speech, and the freedom of the press.
Trump was very clear when he said few months ago that one of his goals is to
change the legal system so that he could hound the media unencumbered: “I am going
to open up our libel laws,” he added “so when they write purposely negative and
horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money”.
In fact, Mr. Trump ran two parallel campaigns, one against his competitors and
adversaries, and the second a vendetta against the “crooked media” or the
“rigged media” where on many occasions he would double down on his two bête
noire media outlets, The New York Times and CNN. Trump, diabolically exploited
the existing American distrust of the media in general, to chip away
incessantly on its legitimacy. In what was billed as his “thank you” tour,
Trump was unabashedly triumphalist; he boasted
endlessly about his victories, while insulting the “dishonest” politicians, and
gloating about defeating Hillary Clinton. But he reserved his most potent venom
for the “extremely dishonest press,” eliciting loud boos of approval, before he
lashed out against a female television anchor who he claimed cried on the air
when he won the presidency.
No American president before Trump has dared to obliquely attack the First
Amendment by attacking the media. In his rallies, Trump would single out
reporters, labeling them as “terrible”, “scum” and
“illegitimate”, and he used to revel in the sight of his supporters hurling
insults against the reporters. These are indeed perilous times for the American
media.
Trump’s war on the media, is ultimately a war on the constitution. Trump is
fond of talking repeatedly about the Second Amendment, which states “the right
of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." But Trump
rarely if ever spoke publicly or approvingly of the much more important First
Amendment which guarantee the rights of the free exercise of religion, the
freedom of speech, and the freedom of the press…Just as he does not discuss or
defend Human Rights overseas.
Trump’s outrageous lies, his ceaseless dabbling with conspiracy theories and
his brazen deceptions, have forced journalists and fact-checkers to hold him
accountable, something he deeply resents.
He may have been required to read the Constitution in high school, but it is
doubtful that he had read this most American of all American political
documents in recent years. Thomas Jefferson, a very complex and immensely
intelligent man harboring conflicting visions of
human possibilities and potentials, had also a radical and prescient streak.
For
Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al Awsat/December
03/16
Closed negotiations held between Syrian rebels and
Russians have recently been made public, especially concerning discussions on
The Syrian opposition has relentlessly fought to oust regime authoritarian Bashar Al-Assad, a close ally to
Not only that, Russian intermediation has been handed over the OPEC production
cut agreement, as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump also publicly reiterated
his great agreement concerning the Syria crisis with Russia’s ‘strong leader,’
a label Trump often uses to refer to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Iranians, unenthusiastically and cautiously, strike mutual interest alliances
with
Connecting the dots, a question on
Obama’s strategies based, on leading from behind, viewed harmful reluctance for
the region—added to his hasty pullout from
If the assumption on the United States taking an inactive regional approach due
to the current transition between its presidencies-which believed to extend
into the first few months of a Trump presidency’s installation- was true, then
why is the U.S. congress still moving towards escalation with Iran, with a
majority vote at the Senate pushing for the extension of Iran sanctions for
another decade?
The inactiveness during transition shown by the astonishing fact that the
Congress moving towards escalation with
Intensifying events occurring in
The current balance shows several support points scattered across the region
for a Russian rise to power, however the same strength points would overturn
breaking the balance should
It is not mere wishful thinking, but the deepened reading into facts shows that
Russian exceptionalism shines best at playing on the
chords of disagreement and not stability and resolution.
‘Logic’ is not a label found in Russian policies in each of
What Russians do to the region is simply turning it into a ticking bomb, ready
to detonate at any given moment, as soon as Washington shows again on the
platform, or even reviews the Iran deal.
Opinion: Trump May Find Nothing More to
Offer Putin
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/December
03/16
During the United States’ recent presidential campaign, one charge levelled
against the Republican nominee Donald Trump was that he may be a sort of
“Manchurian candidate” for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, pulling the strings
from the Kremlin. The Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton even dropped hints that
This comical version of the sinister McCarthyism of the 1950s was largely based
on a brief boast by Trump that, being a master in the art of negotiation, he
would “get along fine with Vladimir Putin.”
We don’t know how Trump might “get along” with Putin and on what terms. What we
know is that he has not yet offered the family silver to the master of Kremlin.
What we know is that part of Putin’s recent rogue behavior
may well be due to President Barack Obama’s appeasement-plus approach to the
Obama’s appeasement-plus approach encouraged the mullahs of
The same approach persuaded
But it was precisely Putin who exploited Obama’s appeasement-plus policy with
greater determination. When Obama entered the White House,
One of Obama’s first moves was to shut down that process as a show of goodwill
to
As if those two concessions were not enough, Obama soon offered Moscow a third
gift by scrapping a US plan to install defensive missile sites in the Czech
Republic and Poland, something the Russians had vehemently opposed during the
Bush era with no success.
In her memoirs, Hilary Clinton’s then Obama’s Secretary of State, recalls how
the president insisted that the
So, the next present to
At the same time, the
When
With a string of political and military provocations and concrete moves, Putin
tested possible American reactions to his step-by-step plan against
Obama’s appeasement-plus policy reached a new low of cynicism when
Putin lost no time to interpret that as carte blanche for Russian military
intervention including the systematic killing of Syrian civilians in air
attacks on half a dozen cities, notably
Obama’s Defense Intelligence Agency chief General
Michael Flynn even resigned in protest to the president’s appeasement-plus
policy. Seen from the point of view of US national interests and
Don’t Ignore This Jobs Report
Mohamed A. El-Erian/Asharq Al Awsat/December
03/16
The monthly
Instead, the data are likely to validate what fixed-income markets have already
priced in when it comes to short-term interest rates.
The report, however, could contain insights that help shed light on the
subsequent path of policy interest rates.
Since the FOMC last met in early November, the balance of risks to the
It is not surprising then that markets have taken the probability of a December
rate hike to a virtual certainty, despite the cloud associated with the Dec. 4
Italian referendum. Indeed, short of a huge European dislocation, the November
employment snapshot would have to be truly awful to dissuade the Fed from
hiking for the second time in 10 years.
By “awful” I mean some combination of low monthly job creation (50,000 or
less), large downward revisions to the employment data of previous months, a
deceleration in annual wage growth to below 2 percent, and a participation rate
that, by increasing by 0.3 percentage points or more, signals significant
remaining slack in the labor market.
That combination is very unlikely, particularly given the information about the
economy from other recently released indicators, including this week’s data on
consumer sentiment, third-quarter gross domestic product, the Chicago
Purchasing Managers’ Index and the ADP numbers). What’s much more likely is a
jobs report that validates strong and widespread expectations that the Fed will
move on rates in a couple of weeks.
This does not mean, however, that the monthly jobs report has lost its ability
to influence policy and market prices. Although the timing of the next rate
hike holds little mystery, what comes after remains uncertain.
Despite the recent widening in yields, markets continue to expect a path of
higher rates that is slower than the pace implied by the Fed’s “blue dots,”
which represent the expectations of individual members of the Open Market
Committee. Whether convergence occurs (as well as when and at what level) will
be determined by inflationary expectations. And these will be heavily
influenced by the tightness of the labor market,
particularly when it comes to wage growth.
At least for now, some of the anticipation and excitement has been taken away
from the highly watched data release on the first Friday of the month. Don’t
let that fool you. The employment report remains an important input for
assessing the future of monetary policy.