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Bible Quotation For Today/There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance
Luke/01/01-07: "All the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him.And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’So he told them this parable: ‘Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost." Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance."

Bible Quotation For Today/All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them.
First Letter of John 03/23-24/04,01-06: "This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world. Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."

LCCC Latest analysis, editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 23-24/15
Lebanon’s Michel Aoun: a legacy of change, a failure of reform/Daily Star/August 23/15
Lebanon… what a load of rubbish/Faisal J. Abbas/Al Arabiya/August 23/15
Lebanon’s ‘You Stink’ protests: Uprooting the political garbage/Joyce Karam/Al Arabiya/August 23/15
The smiling faces of the Iranian government/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/August 23/15
Why Assad’s old and new war crimes do not faze him/Brooklyn Middleton/Al Arabiya/August 23/15
America’s summer of discontent/Hisham Melhem/Al Arabiya/August 23/15
The Iran Deal: How Christians Choose Sides/Susan Warner/Gatestone Institutute/August 23/15
The IKEA Murders: Sweden in Crisis/Ingrid Carlqvist/Gatestone Institute/August 23/15

LCCC Bulletin titles for the Lebanese Related News published on August 23-24/15
Lebanon’s Michel Aoun: a legacy of change, a failure of reform
Lebanon… what a load of rubbish!
Lebanon’s ‘You Stink’ protests: Uprooting the political garbage
At least 20 hurt in Beirut protest against govt, trash crisis
Lebanon PM threatens to resign as protesters rally in Beirut
Clashes as Thousands of Protesters Rally in Riad al-Solh for Second Day
Geagea Urges Salam Not to Resign, Says Protesters Must Seek President Election
Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq: Date for Declaring Winning Waste Management Bids Advanced to Monday
Jumblat Voices Support for Salam, Warns against Political Exploitation of Protests
Report: Salam Refuses to Take Part in the Collapse of the State
Salam Extends Hand to Trash Protesters Who Call for Massive Demo in Response
Aoun Hails ‘You Stink’ Campaign Demonstrations
Hariri Throws Support behind PM, Says Govt. Fall would 'Plunge Lebanon into Unknown'
Sniper Fire Renews in Sidon, Night Clashes Kill 3 and Injure 20

Lebanon’s Michel Aoun: a legacy of change, a failure of reform
August 23rd, 2015/Daily Star
Love him or loathe him, retired Gen. Michel Aoun has been an integral part of the political scene for more than a quarter of a century. At various stages of his political career, first as interim premier, then exiled opposition leader and finally an integral part of the ruling class, he has enjoyed popular support in Lebanon, mainly among Christians. From the early days, the general hit a cord among many when he stood up first to the Syrian military presence and then to the dominant militia in the Christian areas during the Civil War. From his exile he later worked actively to garner international pressure to get Syrian forces out of the country.Despite little success, and at times catastrophic results, many supporters stood with Aoun, seeing him as a force of change in the political class and a serious alternative to warlords-turned-politicians. When he returned to Lebanon his supporters rejoiced and his rivals fretted – both assuming he would seek change. Forming a large parliamentary bloc, he called it Change and Reform. Friends and foes braced for the onslaught. Then, not much changed.
Aoun can point to many factors that didn’t facilitate a reform agenda. He can blame adversaries for his long trail of disappointments, from the presidency to the government and Army command. But what happened Tuesday can’t be defended by the most dedicated of followers.Imposing his son-in-law as leader of his party, without even the façade of an election or a vote despite widespread internal opposition, epitomized Aoun’s turbulent career: A lot of rosy promises, but little change. In the end he became a typical member of Lebanon’s political elite, the elite he spent his long career claiming he wants to reform.

Lebanon… what a load of rubbish!
Faisal J. Abbas/Al Arabiya/Sunday, 23 August 2015/Lebanon is sinking in a big load of rubbish; and not just in the physical sense. After all, the one thing that has emerged from the uncollected piles of garbage bags – apart from the nasty smell – is that the country’s ongoing institutional failure has now put everyone in a catch-22 situation, whereby there is no clear winner but a definite loser: the average Lebanese citizen. Just imagine being this average citizen for a moment: a victim of decades of corruption and self-serving politicians, a disgustingly sectarian climate, a devastating civil war, the spread of extremist ideology and the de facto rule of a militia like Hezbollah which has been holding the whole country hostage to its pro-Iranian agenda. The garbage problem won’t be resolved unless the political elite decides that this issue is a matter of basic rights for their people, not a mere lucrative contract which is up for grabs. Now if that wasn’t bad enough, the average citizen also has to deal with the consequences of such a decaying reality. For instance, the entire infrastructure – rebuilt mainly by the slain Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri – is now deteriorating and many issues which were somewhat resolved during his era are now worse than ever.
Catch-22
Indeed, one wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of average Lebanese citizens; particularly if they can’t afford to buy their own electricity generator. And if you ever wondered what a ‘catch-22’ feels like, you only have to imagine trying to escape the heat while living in the coastal, highly-congested, capital city of Beirut in this exceptionally hot summer. Imagine not only being unable to turn on your air-conditioning due to the lack of electricity, but also unable to open your windows due to the nasty smells emerging from the rubbish piling up on the streets opposite your home.A Lebanese man passes a pile of garbage blocking a street in east Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Aug. 17, 2015. (AP) Understandably frustrated, many Lebanese took to the streets and protested against the current government’s inability to resolve the situation, demanding its resignation (what was ironic is that many of these people were motivated by a number of corrupt politicians who caused the problem but then blamed the government for it.) However, to be fair, PM Tammam Salam (who is among the few good and honest politicians in Lebanon) is in a catch-22 situation himself, as the position he still occupies resembles the last-remaining shred of authority that Lebanon, as a state, pretends to have. Indeed, the country has been without an elected president for over a year now, its parliament continues to be a failure and as mentioned earlier, most key state functions (such as intelligence, defense and foreign policy) are either fully-controlled or heavily-influenced by Hezbollah and its allies. The issue here is that even if PM Salam resigns, this will not necessarily solve the garbage problem, for that won’t be resolved unless the political elite decides that this issue is a matter of basic rights for their people, not a mere lucrative contract which is up for grabs. The only good thing to emerge of out this recent crisis is that - or at least one hopes that - the Lebanese have finally realized that it is time to take out the garbage; and by garbage, I mean the stinking sectarian politics which has destroyed the nation and the self-serving politicians who not only oversaw, but profited from, the collapse.

Lebanon’s ‘You Stink’ protests: Uprooting the political garbage
Joyce Karam/Al Arabiya/Sunday, 23 August 2015
The absurdity of the scene in downtown Beirut yesterday is in portraying the protests to be just about the trash collection crisis, while in reality they are about everything else that led to the largest waste mismanagement scandal in Lebanon’s history.Thousands are protesting and vowing to “topple the regime” not just because the garbage collection has run amok, but due to Lebanon’s political stagnation crippling the country in the last four years. Beirut is constantly in a crisis-mode, and right now Lebanon has had no President for over a year, its parliament has casually renewed its own term twice, and its government of “rivals” is excelling in shortsightedness, and promoting narrow interests at the expense of the public good. The country also has over a million Syrian refugee, and Hezbollah is fighting with more than 5000 members in Syria.
Conspiracy over strategy
Self-infatuation and hubris are allover Lebanese politics. Parliamentarians and policymakers are frequently busy analyzing and commenting on larger global events while turning a blind eye to the day to day problems . Everyone is a nuclear expert when it comes to the Iran deal negotiations, or a counterterrorism one if it’s the rise of ISIS or the fate of the Syrian war, while rubbish consumes the capital, and traffic chaos is allover the country. Even Donald Trump is more likely to come up in a conversation than discussing a plan or a vision to explore Lebanon’s potential gas resources, traffic congestion or tackle the question of armed militias. Hezbollah’s weaponry is now forgotten while the presence of ISIS and Nusra in border towns is being accepted as a fait accompli.
The “You Stink” campaign will likely transform into a political movement, transcending the traditional sectarian lines. The political elite’s motto is every regional event revolves somehow around Lebanon, and nothing can happen in Lebanon without regional events. A perfect narrative to guarantee that nothing gets done, while propagating conspiracy theories on the U.S. starting ISIS, or how will Russian-Saudi talks help the army. Some Lebanese Christian parties are preoccupied in discussing federalism, but they’re not able to agree on their highest portfolio position and name a President. Strategy and longterm vision have had no place in Lebanese politics since the killing of former Prime Minister Rafic Harriri in 2005, irrespective of opposing views to his plan. Today, most local parties and leaders operate on a short term calculus, and pursue narrow partisan interests that occasionally clash with the country’s wellbeing as in the case of the waste management crisis. The government’s repeated failure to agree on a new landfill has exacerbated the problem to this point, while the absence of longterm planning in waste management will ultimately promise a recurrence. For Hezbollah, its intervention in Syria was driven by the party’s narrow interest in saving the Assad regime and maintaining supply routes from Iran, regardless of the security repercussions it has had on Lebanon.
Protests outcome?
While the protests bear lot of the hallmarks of the Arab spring and Lebanon’s own cedar revolution in 2005, the “You Stink” campaign will likely transform into a political movement, transcending the traditional sectarian lines, without starting a revolution.The political toxicity in Lebanon is deeply entrenched within the elite as well as the main institutions who will unite in resisting a major overhaul. This elite consensus to save the system, prevented the Cedar revolution in 2005 from reinstating new leaders, and from going beyond the goals of toppling the government and ending the Syrian military presence. Today’s political and religious elite in Lebanon is fully invested in the sectarian architecture of the current system, and will block any serious attempt at a revamp. What the protests can achieve, however, is hold the military and police who used excessive force accountable, and if they continue with the same pace possibly overthrow the government. In such scenario, and if Lebanon becomes with no President, no government and an ineffective parliament, pressure could build up for a larger dialogue to reach a more comprehensive framework. For now, the trans-sectarian, forward leaning and passionate Lebanese youth that took to downtown Beirut to tell the elite “you stink”, gives hope that the spark of change has not died in Lebanon, and the narrative is not completely hijacked by ISIS and the authoritarians.

At least 20 hurt in Beirut protest against govt, trash crisis
Staff writer, Al Arabiya News/Sunday, 23 August 2015/At least 20 people were injured Sunday in Beirut during a second day of clashes between police and protesters angry about the Lebanese government’s failure to remove rubbish from streets, medics said. Around 200 youths, some wearing scarves or masks to cover their faces, threw stones and bottles filled with sand at police and tried to pull down security barricades, an AFP correspondent said.A day earlier, 35 people were injured, according to reports. The demonstrators were calling on the government to step down for mishandling a dispute over uncollected garbage in the streets for weeks, extending an online campaign named “You Stink” by activists. Protesters chanted “Down with the regime” and “Freedom,” slogans borrowed from the Arab Spring uprisings that toppled several governments in the region. Meanwhile on Saturday, in a response to the protests, Lebanon’s prime minister threatened to resign, warning rival parties in his unity cabinet that the state faced collapse because of paralysis that has come to a head with its failure to resolve a crisis over rubbish disposal. I warn that we are going are going towards collapse if matters continue/ “I warn that we are going are going towards collapse if matters continue,” Prime Minister Tammam Salam said in a televised address. “Frankly, I have not and will not be a partner in this collapse. Let all officials and political forces bear their responsibilities.” Salam’s government has suffered almost complete paralysis since it took office last year as wider crises in the Middle East, including the war in neighboring Syria, have exacerbated Lebanon’s own political and sectarian divisions.(With Reuters and AFP)

Lebanon PM threatens to resign as protesters rally in Beirut
By Laila Bassam | Beirut Reuters/Sunday, 23 August 2015/Lebanon’s prime minister threatened to resign on Sunday, warning rival parties in his unity cabinet that the state faced collapse because of paralysis that has come to a head with its failure to resolve a crisis over rubbish disposal. Protesters called for a second day of demonstrations against Prime Minister Tammam Salam’s cabinet on Sunday after at least 35 people were injured on Saturday night when security forces used water cannons and tear gas to disperse several thousand demonstrators in central Beirut. Salam’s government has suffered almost complete paralysis since it took office last year as wider crises in the Middle East, including the war in neighboring Syria, have exacerbated Lebanon’s own political and sectarian divisions.“I warn that we are going are going towards collapse if matters continue,” Salam said in a televised address. “Frankly, I have not and will not be a partner in this collapse. Let all officials and political forces bear their responsibilities.”
He described as excessive the force used against protesters on Saturday and said those responsible would be held to account. On Sunday, several hundred protesters gathered near the government headquarters on Sunday chanting anti-government slogans. Activists called for a bigger protest later in the day. Their campaign “You Stink” is a response to trash being left uncollected in and around Beirut last month when a refuse tip closed, with no agreement on an alternative. While collection has resumed, no solution has been found.
‘Political garbage’
The Salam government brings together rival Lebanese parties, including the Sunni-led Future Movement of Saad al-Hariri, Shiite Hezbollah, and competing Christian groups. Should it collapse, Salam’s government would stay on in the caretaker capacity. However, his resignation would trigger a constitutional crisis. In Lebanon, it is the president who appoints the prime minister, but the presidency has been vacant since last year. Salam said that if a cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday was not productive on issues including a tender to decide on a new refuse collection company, “there would be no necessity for the government after it”.“The trash is the straw that broke the camel’s back, but the story is much bigger than this straw. It is the story of the political garbage in the country and the political trash in the country,” Salam said. He also warned the heavily indebted government would be unable to pay salaries next month. Unable to issue new debt, it risked being classified “among the failing states.” Lebanon’s public debt currently stands at about 143 percent of gross domestic product, a government source said. Lebanon, still rebuilding from its 1975-1990 civil war, has been repeatedly jolted by spillover from the Syria war, including political violence and a major refugee crisis. Hezbollah, a powerful Iranian-backed party, is fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian conflict.

Clashes as Thousands of Protesters Rally in Riad al-Solh for Second Day
Naharnet/23 August/15/NewsAgencies/Thousands of protesters poured into Beirut's Riad al-Solh Square on Sunday demanding that the country's top politicians resign, hours after Prime Minister Tammam Salam hinted he might step down following violent protests triggered by a monthlong trash crisis. The demonstrations, the largest in years, railed against the corruption and dysfunction that has brought about Lebanon's current political crisis. The country does not have a functioning cabinet or parliament, and hasn't had a president for more than a year. By Sunday afternoon, thousands of protesters chanting "revolution" massed near the Grand Serail, demanding that Salam resign immediately. "The people want to topple the regime!" protesters cried out, a slogan used during the Arab Spring protests that swept through the region. Waving Lebanese flags and chanting, they stood in front of a ring of barbed wire that separated them from government headquarters and riot police. In the evening, violence erupted as some protesters -- described as "infiltrators" by organizers and state-run National News Agency -- tried to remove the barricades outside the Grand Serail. The You Stink campaign, the main group that has called for the current protests, has noted that the "infiltrators" were sent by political parties represented in the government.
Security forces fired water cannons and tear gas to disperse the protesters, who responded by hurling rocks and empty bottles. Several people were injured and some fainted during the confrontations. Meanwhile, NNA said some "infiltrators" hurled Molotov cocktails and a burning tire at security forces. The violence prompted the You Stink campaign to ask its supporters to leave Riad al-Solh and head to the nearby Martyrs Square. The movement later called on protesters to leave all streets. The Lebanese Red Cross said at least 43 wounded protesters were rushed to hospitals as 200 injuries were treated on the spot. The Internal Security Forces for its part said 36 of its members were injured, one critically.The clashes come one day after more than 50 protesters were wounded after security forces used excessive force and fired rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons on demonstrators. Saturday's demonstrations were by far the largest since garbage began piling up on the streets after the capital's main landfill was closed a month ago. Bickering politicians have been unable to agree on an alternative system for waste management. Residents and municipalities have resorted to burning trash on the streets and dumping garbage into valleys, rivers and near the sea, leading to warnings of a health catastrophe. An online group calling itself "You Stink" and other civil society groups organized the rallies, urging others to join them in a revolt against a corrupt system.You Stink issued a statement Sunday afternoon calling on Salam to resign immediately, saying, "Our patience has run out."
The campaign is also demanding that those responsible for using excessive force against protesters be held accountable.

Geagea Urges Salam Not to Resign, Says Protesters Must Seek President Election
Naharnet/August 23/15/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Sunday urged Prime Minister Tammam Salam not to resign before the election of a new president, while warning anti-government protesters that “anger” alone cannot resolve the country's growing crises.
“The grievances of the protesters are our grievances ... The garbage crisis has reached an unaccepted level,” said Geagea at a press conference in Maarab.“There is rampant corruption and incompetency. The demands that are being voiced at the Martyrs Square are legitimate and I voice solidarity with the protesters,” he added. However, the LF leader cautioned that the current “anger outburst” cannot solve the country's problems. “It is true that this government must leave and it is true that new parliamentary elections must be held, but what will we do if the government and the parliament resign? What is the alternative amid the current presidential vacuum?” Geagea wondered. He noted that protesters in downtown Beirut “must remain there until MPs head to parliament and elect a new president.” “Once a new president is elected, the government would be automatically rendered resigned. The difference is that you can form another government in the presence of a president,” Geagea explained. Accordingly, the LF leader urged PM Salam not to resign, noting that “he is responsible for maintaining legitimacy in the country until the election of a new president.” Geagea also called on Salam to “call an immediate cabinet session” to address the extraordinary situation in the country. He said that the government must seek to “collect the garbage from the streets immediately” and to discuss the excessive force that was used against protesters in Saturday's demo. Addressing protesters, Geagea said “it is prohibited to undermine public order and it is unacceptable to attack security forces.”“I urge the protesters to preserve the public order or else they would be harming their legitimate demands,” he added. Earlier on Sunday, Salam said he was ready to meet with protesters, admitting that "excessive force" had been used against the demonstrators. Protesters headed back to central Beirut on Sunday morning, joining those who had spent the night there in tents after evening protests spiralled into clashes with security forces that left more than 50 demonstrators injured. Protests in recent weeks have called for a comprehensive solution to Lebanon's trash crisis, which has seen piles of waste growing in Beirut and elsewhere since the country's largest landfill shut down on July 17. But demands posted online on Sunday by the "You Stink" campaign, which has organized recent protests, called for the government's resignation and parliamentary elections. The group also called for the prosecution of security forces who had fired on protestors and of Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq.

Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq: Date for Declaring Winning Waste Management Bids Advanced to Monday
Naharnet/August 23/15/The date for announcing the winning waste management bids has been advanced from Tuesday to Monday afternoon, Environment Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq declared on Sunday. “At the request of Prime Minister Tammam Salam to double the efforts and speed up the announcement of the winning waste management bids … I have contacted the technical teams assessing the bids and asked them to intensify their efforts to finish their task as soon as possible,” said Mashnouq. “Accordingly, I announce advancing the date for declaring the names of the winning firms from Tuesday evening to Monday afternoon,” the minister added. The decision comes in the wake of violent street protests on Saturday in downtown Beirut. In recent weeks, civil society activists have called for a comprehensive solution to Lebanon's trash crisis, which has seen piles of waste growing in Beirut and elsewhere since the country's largest landfill shut down on July 17. But demands posted online on Sunday by the "You Stink" campaign, which has organized recent protests, called for the government's resignation and parliamentary elections after excessive force was used against demonstrators in Saturday's demo. The winning bids were supposed to be announced on Wednesday but the declaration was postponed for “further assessment.”Early in August, three private firms offered bids to manage Beirut’s waste without stating a clear disposing ground. In July and following the closure of the Naameh landfill, which receives the waste of Beirut and Mount Lebanon, an unprecedented waste management crisis erupted and continues until today. Several regions have refused to take and bury any of the capital’s waste as a substitute for Naameh. The developments have prompted municipalities to dump garbage randomly in forests, valleys and on river banks.

Jumblat Voices Support for Salam, Warns against Political Exploitation of Protests
Naharnet/August 23/15/Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Sunday threw his support behind Prime Minister Tammam Salam, after civil society demonstrators called for the premier's resignation in protest at the excessive force that was used against them on Saturday. “We reiterate our full support for PM Tammam Salam, who showed once again in his press conference his level of wisdom, vision, patience and responsibility – characteristics that we are in dire need for amid these critical circumstances in Lebanon and the region,” said Jumblat in his weekly editorial in the PSP's al-Anbaa newspaper. Calling for a “productive” cabinet session as soon as possible, the PSP leader said citizens' “legitimate demands” cannot be addressed through “usurping the popular protests and diverting them from their real objectives.”Moreover, Jumblat warned that some political forces are trying to take advantage of the civil society demonstrations, cautioning that there are attempts to “expand the paralysis and obstruction and undermine the pillars of the system and stability.”The PSP leader also reiterated his call for prosecuting the security officials and personnel who opened fire during Saturday's demonstration in downtown Beirut. Earlier on Sunday, Salam said he was ready to meet with protesters, admitting that "excessive force" had been used against demonstrators. Protesters headed back to central Beirut on Sunday morning, joining those who had spent the night there in tents after evening protests spiralled into clashes with security forces that left more than 50 demonstrators injured. He also pledged to hold accountable those "responsible" for using "excessive force against civil society and against the people." Protests in recent weeks have called for a comprehensive solution to Lebanon's trash crisis, which has seen piles of waste growing in Beirut and elsewhere since the country's largest landfill shut down on July 17. But demands posted online on Sunday by the "You Stink" campaign, which has organized recent protests, called for the government's resignation and parliamentary elections. The group also called for the prosecution of security forces who had fired on protestors and of Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq.

Report: Salam Refuses to Take Part in the Collapse of the State
Naharnet/August 23/15/Prime Minister Tammam Salam said on Sunday that he refuses to be part of the “paralysis” governing the country and driving it to a total “collapse,” the Pan Arab al-Hayat daily said.
“The PM’s call for a cabinet convention on Thursday came out of his duty that he should not participate in the complete paralysis controlling the country and leading it to a breakdown,” visitors to Salam quoted him as saying. They added that despite the fact that the PM has tried to arrange favorable atmospheres that allow the ministers of the Free Patriotic Movement, Jebran Bassil and Elias Bou Saad, to address the matter positively and engage in the session but that however did not yield until yesterday. “Some might consider resigning as a collapse, but I believe that the inability to save the country is the most dangerous,” said the Prime Minister. In the absence of a head of state, the cabinet had agreed on a decision-making mechanism by consensus among the ministers. But ministers representing different parties including the FPM began to put sticks in the wheels of the government, leading it to paralysis.

Salam Extends Hand to Trash Protesters Who Call for Massive Demo in Response
Naharnet/August 23/15/Agence France Presse/Prime Minister Tammam Salam said Sunday he was ready to meet with members of a growing movement protesting the country's trash crisis, and admitted that "excessive force" had been used against demonstrators. Salam’s comments came in a press conference he held against the backdrop of Saturday’s clashes between security forces and activists of the anti-garbage demonstrators in Downtown Beirut. He said that he stood "with the people and with the citizens."Addressing the protesters, he said he extended his "hand to civil society. I'm ready to listen to you and sit with you."“Lebanon and the people are passing through very difficult times which compels the necessity for each to shoulder responsibility,” said the PM. He emphasized that the clashes that left scores injured “are a huge responsibility,” pledging to hold accountable those "responsible" for using "excessive force against civil society and against the people." “What happened yesterday was the result of accumulating matters that have been building up and increasing the people’s suffering as the result of the vacuum we are living,” he stated. He assured that the incidents will not pass without accountability, adding “I have no cover for anyone.” Salam also warned that if the cabinet failed to convene productively on Thursday, then there is no need for it in the first place. He blamed all political parties for the cabinet obstruction and the presidential vacuum saying: “I have always warned that this incapability will accumulate negativity in the country. I have been tolerating all this for the people’s sake.” In a reference to his earlier threats to submit his resignation in light of the ongoing obstruction of the cabinet’s work, Salam said: “On several occasions I have warned that I would submit my resignation, and I have warned that the situation is becoming unbearable. I have warned that I would resign but the people’s will prevented me.”“My patience is limited and it is linked to yours,” he said as if referring to a possible resignation on his part if the street protests went completely out of hand. “Our country is going backwards while other countries are progressing. The Lebanese citizens have been patient for long, watching all countries achieve progress while Lebanon is deteriorating,” he stated. “I have always been frank and open. I am a citizen too. I have never sought for positions but always tried to support them. “I have called for a cabinet session on Thursday that will address pressing issues and the living matters as we approach the school season and a number of entitlements. If that convention failed to achieve the desired results, then there is no need for the cabinet in the first place,” he indicated. “I continue to bear the responsibility for your (the people) sake. But my patience has limits. “I call on you people to stand in the face of those who mean harm. I call on the civil society to form a delegation and put our hands together to discuss any issue there is. I have nothing to hide,” concluded Salam. However, You Stink issued a statement following Salam’s speech calling on the PM to submit his resignation. “We demand that Salam submits his resignation and that the aggressors are held accountable.”They also called for a massive demonstration today at 6:00 pm. Police clashed on Saturday with anti-garbage demonstrators and used tear gas and water cannon to disperse them in downtown Beirut's Riad al-Solh square and to stop them from moving towards the nearby Nijmeh Square, leaving scores of protesters injured. However, the demonstrators stayed in the area and urged all the Lebanese people to join them but anti-riot police opened fire in the air and used baton charges. The demonstrators erected tents near Martyrs' Square, vowing to stay there until police release several activists they arrested during the protest.

Aoun Hails ‘You Stink’ Campaign Demonstrations
Naharnet/August 23/15/Change and Reform bloc MP Michel Aoun congratulated the Lebanese youth of the You Stink campaign who demonstrated “peacefully” on Saturday in Downtown Beirut. “I congratulate the Lebanese youth who demonstrated peacefully and civilized yesterday, and have proven mature in demanding their rights and pressing livelihood matters,” said Aoun in a statement on Sunday. However, Aoun denounced the violence of security forces against the protesters saying “I denounce the violence against the demonstrators and the use of live ammunition,” calling for immediate accountability. Aoun has warned the political majority and its apparatuses from taking advantage of the “noble demonstrations” to achieve political gains. On Saturday, the You Stink campaign organized a protest and urged police to protect them and to not beat them similar to what happened on Wednesday during a demonstration. But the Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands of them in Riad al-Solh square and to stop them from moving towards the nearby Nijmeh Square, leaving scores of protesters injured.

Hariri Throws Support behind PM, Says Govt. Fall would 'Plunge Lebanon into Unknown'
Naharnet/August 23/15/Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri on Sunday stressed his support for the stances expressed by Prime Minister Tammam Salam in the wake of Saturday's violent protests, while warning of attempts to “topple the government.” Condemning “any form of extreme security measures in facing peaceful protests,” Hariri cautioned in a statement against “attempts to drag the country into chaos and the unknown.”The ex-PM noted that the mission of the government is to “reinforce security and stability and manage the affairs of the state until the problem of the presidential vacancy, which has been going on for over a year, is resolved.”“This vacancy reflected negatively on the path of the state as a whole and on the work of the government and its tasks of managing public affairs and meeting the needs of people,” said Hariri. He added: “We admit that there is a deficiency in resolving a national crisis that is affecting every village and city in Lebanon, but protesting against the garbage crisis and demanding a fast solution to it is one thing, and demanding to topple the government and the system is another thing.”The former premier warned that “toppling the government means toppling the last legitimate stronghold and taking Lebanon into the unknown.”“We will not allow the collapse of Lebanon and its legitimacy, and we stress at the same time that the garbage crisis will not remain captive of political disputes; it will find realistic solutions in the coming days,” Hariri pledged. Earlier on Sunday, Salam said he was ready to meet with protesters, admitting that "excessive force" had been used against the demonstrators. Protesters headed back to central Beirut on Sunday morning, joining those who had spent the night there in tents after evening protests spiralled into clashes with security forces that left more than 50 demonstrators injured. Protests in recent weeks have called for a comprehensive solution to Lebanon's trash crisis, which has seen piles of waste growing in Beirut and elsewhere since the country's largest landfill shut down on July 17. But demands posted online on Sunday by the "You Stink" campaign, which has organized recent protests, called for the government's resignation and parliamentary elections. The group also called for the prosecution of security forces who had fired on protestors and of Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq.

Sniper Fire Renews in Sidon, Night Clashes Kill 3 and Injure 20
Naharnet/August 23/15/Several neighborhoods in the southern city of Sidon, including al-Baassiri and al-Njasa neighborhoods, went under prolific sniper early on Sunday despite a cease-fire agreement overnight between the clashing parties. The overnight clashes, which left 3 dead and 20 wounded, led to the outbreak of fires in homes and damage to properties and cars and had forced many Palestinians to flee to the city of Sidon. Despite the agreement that was reached overnight in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh between the Islamist Jund al-Sham group and the secular Fatah Movement, intermitted gunfire continued until midnight and it included hand grenades and sniper fire that forced the closure of a number of roads leading to the camp. The Lebanese army positions on the entrance of the camps were hit by the clashes and had therefore replied to the source of fire and fortified its presence and enhanced security measures. Although contacts between the Lebanese and Palestinian factions led to a cease-fire agreement, but they failed to keep it going. The camp had witnessed several similar incidents in recent months. Ain el-Hilweh, the largest Palestinian camp in the country, is home to about 50,000 refugees who live in dire conditions and is known to harbor extremists and fugitives. By long-standing convention, the Lebanese army does not enter the country's 12 refugee camps, leaving security inside to the Palestinians themselves.

Britain and Iran Reopen Embassies
Naharnet/August 23/15/Agence France Presse/Britain's foreign secretary reopened his country's embassy in Tehran on Sunday in a long-awaited step signaling better relations four years after a mob stormed the compound, forcing its closure. Philip Hammond's two-day trip comes five weeks after Britain and five other world powers struck a deal with Iran to end a 13-year dispute over the Islamic republic's nuclear program. He led a ceremony shortly after noon in the embassy garden with Ajay Sharma, the new charge d'affaires who will be Britain's top diplomat in Tehran. Iran's embassy in London also reopened on Sunday. The two nations are expected to appoint ambassadors within months. Hammond, the first British foreign secretary to visit Iran since Jack Straw in 2003, described the violence that shuttered the Tehran mission as "a low point" but said a new journey was beginning. "Over the coming months, we will work to ensure that the nuclear agreement is a success, including by making sure that it is fully implemented by all sides," Hammond said at the reopening. "Through this embassy's efforts we will support British trade and investment, once sanctions are lifted. That will bring benefits for Britain and the Iranian people."
Lifting of sanctions
Hammond was to later hold a press conference with Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister and lead negotiator in the nearly two years of talks that have ended Tehran's isolation from the West. European officials have been quick to visit Iran since July 14, when the nuclear agreement with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States was announced in Vienna. The deal will see the lifting of economic sanctions -- imposed as punishment over Iran's nuclear program -- in exchange for curbs on its atomic activities and a new inspections regime.Iran's leaders have always denied international allegations that they sought to develop a nuclear weapon, insisting the program is for peaceful energy and medical purposes.The nuclear deal has sparked a flurry of interest from countries seeking to reconnect with the oil-rich Islamic republic, whose 78 million people are seen as an untapped market for many industries. The thaw between Britain and Iran started with the June 2013 presidential election victory of Hassan Rouhani, a moderate who reached out to the West. Hammond is to meet him on Monday. "We have seen our relationship steadily improve, step by step," Hammond said, mentioning Prime Minister David Cameron's meeting with Rouhani in New York last autumn, the first at that level between the countries since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Shared challenges ahead
"Last month's historic nuclear agreement was another milestone, and showed the power of diplomacy, conducted in an atmosphere of mutual respect, to solve shared challenges," Hammond added. Following the 2011 embassy attack, Britain said it could not have happened without the tacit consent of the Iranian regime at the time. It took place after lawmakers voted to expel the British ambassador and reduce trade relations in retaliation for nuclear-related sanctions against Iran's banking sector. Students rampaged for hours through the embassy compound, tearing down the British flag, ripping up pictures of Queen Elizabeth II and trashing offices. Staff were seized by protesters. Diplomatic relations were reduced to their lowest possible level, with Britain expelling Iran's officials. But Hammond said London and Tehran should now be ready to discuss shared problems, including the spread of the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria and Iraq. Plans to reopen the embassy were announced in June last year. Sharma was appointed in a non-resident position in November 2013 and has since visited Iran 12 times. Hammond and treasury minister Damian Hinds are visiting Tehran with a small trade delegation to discuss business opportunities. Hammond follows his Italian, French and German counterparts who all visited Iran after the nuclear deal. Europe is keen on renewing trade ties with Iran, and most countries have diplomatic representation in Tehran. However the United States, which led the nuclear talks, has not had diplomatic relations with Iran since 1979 following the 444-day hostage crisis that followed the storming of its Tehran embassy. The nuclear deal is undergoing a bruising review in the U.S. Congress, but President Barack Obama has vowed to veto any vote against the historic agreement.

Saudi Border Guard Killed by Rocket Fire from Yemen
Naharnet/August 23/15/Agence France Presse/A Saudi border guard has been killed by rocket fire from anti-government rebels in northern Yemen, Riyadh's official SPA news agency said on Sunday. A border post in the kingdom's Jazan region came under attack on Saturday, prompting guards to respond to the fire, the SPA said, quoting an interior ministry spokesman. It said one Saudi guard was killed in the exchange. More than 50 people have been killed along the Saudi-Yemen border since a Riyadh-led military coalition began air strikes on Iran-backed rebels across the impoverished country in March.

Israel Restricts Movement for 10 in Jewish Extremist Crackdown
Naharnet/August 23/15/Agence France Presse/Israeli authorities have restricted the movements of 10 people amid a crackdown on Jewish extremists following the deadly firebombing of a Palestinian family's home, authorities said Sunday. The orders range from a ban on entering the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where a number of wildcat Jewish settlement outposts are reputed to house extremist youths, to lesser restrictions. Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency said attacks had "emanated" from the Habaladim outpost near Duma, the Palestinian village where the firebombing that killed in July an 18-month-old and his father occurred. "In light of a number of terror incidents recently, including the taking of human life... restraining orders have been signed in the past days against 10 activists," the Shin Bet said in a statement. "These orders include various restrictions, among them on place of residence, movements during the night hours and preventing their entry to (the West Bank), among other things, to keep them away from illegal outposts, for example Habaladim, from which the attacks emanated."A Shin Bet spokeswoman declined to elaborate, including on whether those responsible for the firebombing had left from Habaladim or if they were from there. In the wake of the firebombing, three alleged Jewish extremists were placed in administrative detention, a controversial form of internment without trial usually used on Palestinians. The firebombing led to criticism of Israel's security services over what critics said was a failure to tackle Jewish extremism earlier. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu labeled the firebombing "terrorism" and vowed to pursue the assailants through all legal means.

UAE Forces Rescue British Hostage in Yemen
Naharnet/August 23/15/Agence France Presse/Forces from the United Arab Emirates have rescued a British hostage held for more than 18 months by al-Qaida in Yemen, authorities in Abu Dhabi and London said on Sunday. Douglas Robert Semple, a 64-year-old oil worker, had been kidnapped by al-Qaida in February 2014 while working in Yemen's Hadramawt province, a stronghold of the jihadist group, a statement carried by the UAE's official WAM news agency said. It said that UAE forces freed Semple in a military operation on Saturday and took him to Yemen's main southern city of Aden, from where he was flown to Abu Dhabi overnight. Emirati forces are among troops taking part in a Saudi-led campaign supporting Yemen's government against Iran-backed rebels. The statement provided no details about the operation or where Semple had been held. The Foreign Office in London confirmed that a British hostage in Yemen had been freed by UAE forces but did not identify him and also provided no further details. "I'm pleased to confirm that a British hostage held in Yemen has been extracted by UAE forces in a military intelligence operation," Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said in a statement released while he was in Tehran to reopen the British embassy. Hammond said the freed hostage was "safe and well" and that Britain was "very grateful for the assistance of the UAE." The statement carried by WAM said Semple had been met at the airport in Abu Dhabi by UAE officials and the British ambassador. He was taken to hospital for health checks and spoke to his wife by telephone, it said. He was to leave for Britain following the medical checks. WAM said Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan had telephoned British Prime Minister David Cameron on Saturday night to inform him of the operation.Cameron later Tweeted: "I'm so pleased for the family of the British hostage in Yemen -- who has been released safe and well. Thanks to the UAE for their help."
UAE confirms forces in Aden
The UAE, a longtime Western ally, is a key partner in the Saudi-led coalition that in March launched air strikes against the Huthi rebels as they advanced on Aden, forcing President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government to flee to Riyadh. The Huthis had seized the capital Sanaa last September. The coalition has also provided military equipment to loyalist forces and reportedly sent troops, with Saudi media reporting that some 1,500 soldiers, most from the UAE, had entered Aden. The statement carried on WAM was the first official confirmation that UAE troops were on the ground in Yemen. "This action by the UAE forces in Aden is renewed evidence of the UAE's unchanging policy towards terrorism in all of its forms," the statement said. Backed by the coalition, pro-government forces retook Aden in mid-July and in recent weeks have been pressing a major offensive against the rebels. As well as Aden, they have recaptured four other southern provinces and in recent days have fought fierce battles for control of Yemen's third-largest city, Taez. The conflict has killed more 4,500 people since March, according to the United Nations. Kidnapping has long been rife in Yemen, with hostages often used as bargaining chips between rival groups. Earlier this month French hostage Isabelle Prime arrived in Oman following her release in Yemen after nearly six months of captivity.
Last year British teacher Mike Harvey was released after being held for five months in Yemen following negotiations. In December, U.S. journalist Luke Somers and South African teacher Pierre Korkie died during a failed attempt by U.S. commandos to rescue them from an al-Qaida hideout in southeastern Yemen. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the local branch of the jihadist network, is considered among its most dangerous affiliates and has taken advantage of the chaos in Yemen to seize territory including Hadramawt provincial capital Mukalla. AQAP was behind several plots against Western targets, including this year's deadly attack on French magazine Charlie Hebdo. The United States has for years carried out a drone war against al-Qaida militants in Yemen. On Sunday a local official in Hadramawt told AFP that four suspected al-Qaida militants were killed overnight in an apparent U.S. drone strike in Mukalla.

Syrian Observatory: Toll from Syria Regime Strikes near Damascus
Naharnet/August 23/15/Agence France Presse/The toll from heavy government bombardment of a rebel stronghold outside the Syrian capital rose on Sunday to 34 civilians including 12 children, a monitoring group said. A separate rocket attack on Sunday in a regime-held neighborhood northeast of Damascus killed 11 people, state television said. "There are now 34 civilians that were killed in Saturday's attacks on Douma, among them 12 children and eight women," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Forces loyal to President Bashar Assad targeted the rebel-held town of Douma with shelling and air raids on Saturday. By late evening, the Observatory said 20 civilians had been killed, but also that rescuers were still searching for more victims. "Overnight, they found more victims underneath the rubble, and others who were wounded died," Abdel Rahman said on Sunday. He said some strikes killed entire families inside their homes. Local volunteers and civil defense teams worked on Sunday morning to locate seven people who were still unaccounted for, the Britain-based Observatory said. The Douma Coordination Committee, a local activist group, published the names and photos of documented casualties on Facebook. One picture showed a toddler the group said had been rescued from beneath the rubble but who succumbed to his wounds shortly afterwards. At least 11 air strikes targeted the Eastern Ghouta area, of which Douma is a part, on Sunday. The Observatory said several people had been wounded, but had no further details.
On August 16, a series of regime strikes killed more than 117 people -- mostly civilians -- in Douma, sparking international condemnation of the Assad regime.Eastern Ghouta has been under a government siege for nearly two years and comes under regular air attack. Meanwhile, northeast of Damascus at least 11 people were killed and 56 wounded by rocket fire outside Adra prison on Sunday, state television said. It said the rockets were fired by "terrorist groups" and that women and children were among the wounded. The Observatory's Abdel Rahman said nine people were killed, including civilians. Syria's war, which began in March 2011 with anti-regime protests, has spiraled into a multi-front conflict that has killed more than 240,000 people.

Turkey Opposition Accuses Erdogan of 'Civilian Coup' over Poll
Naharnet/August 23/15/Agence France Presse/The leader of Turkey's main opposition party on Sunday accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of seeking to stage a "civilian coup" over plans for snap elections after coalition talks failed. Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its overall majority in June 7 legislative polls but was unable to form a coalition by the deadline that runs out Sunday. The opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), which held weeks of coalition talks with the AKP, says Erdogan deliberately stymied the negotiations in the hope of triggering new polls and a better result for his party. "There is no law in Turkey at the moment," said CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu. "Democracy is currently suspended and the constitution is is not working," he told a televised meeting of CHP MPs in Ankara."We are faced with a civilian coup," he said, in nod to history which has seen Turkey living through three military coups -- in 1960, 1971 and 1980. He said the CHP, which came second in the polls, was willing to be the minority partner in a coalition led by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, that would have been "respected inside and outside" of Turkey. But his party wanted to see change on three major issues -- foreign policy, which needed a "180 degree transformation," the "big problem" of the economy and an education system "that leaves no parent satisfied."On Friday Erdogan said he would meet the speaker of the Turkish parliament on Monday to exercise his right to call snap elections, slated for November 1.The CHP is incensed that Erdogan did not offer the party a chance to form a coalition government after the failure of talks with the AKP, accusing him of violating the constitution. But Erdogan snapped back, saying he could not meet Kilicdaroglu because the CHP leader refused to set foot in his presidential palace. Speaking to reporters in Ankara on Sunday, Davutoglu insisted that the AKP had acted in line with the Turkish constitution. "Right until now, since June 7 - and the nation is our witness - we have not deviated one inch from the constitution and the law," he said. The key question in the November 1 polls will be whether the AKP can increase its vote count and regain its overall majority, an outcome commentators believe is far from inevitable.

The smiling faces of the Iranian government
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/Sunday, 23 August 2015
The Iranian regime’s bad reputation is not merely propaganda fabricated against it, amid a political war which has been ongoing since the revolution against the Shah. It is actually the true face of a regime that has - for more than 36 years - exported conflicts, revolutions, violence and extremist and hostile ideologies against any state or movement that locally, regionally or internationally disagrees with it. This bad reputation has been a direct result of several malicious acts - abductions, assassinations and explosions - as well as making threats and funding groups to mobilize against several countries. This is in addition to the violent form of governance inside Iran itself as the regime pursued and excluded millions of Iranians who fled and currently live in exile.
These damaging moves, which have accumulated over time, have made Tehran’s governance resemble the likes of Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq, the Assad family in Syria, Muammar Qaddafi in Libya and Kim Jong-un in North Korea. This bad image is therefore not one “fabricated” by the regime’s enemies outside of Iran. The Iranian regime’s bad reputation is not merely propaganda fabricated against it The Iranian government has currently resorted to a new language and is sending clear hints about its desire to establish positive relations with its rivals in the Middle East. These hints made by Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif were quickly received by Iran’s rivals. Their reactions came as expected; in principle, welcoming the new sentiments, still however being doubtful on how serious these friendly intentions are. There’s a general belief that Tehran’s government is running a campaign to clear the air with its rivals, in order to end regional opposition of its nuclear deal with Western powers – particularly opposition from Gulf countries, Jordan and Israel as they think the agreement is good in principle, but masks Tehran’s true intentions. Of course those who oppose this nuclear deal do not all oppose it for the same reasons. Arab states think that Iran wants to calm the West and end sanctions imposed on it so it may resume plans to dominate in the region. Meanwhile, Israel thinks that Iran plans to resume its nuclear military program and fears that the agreement does not provide enough guarantees and will therefore not only pose a threat against its security but also against its existence. Some American politicians, including Democrats, are also doubtful of the agreement and oppose it. In the past, Iran was clear in regards to its extremism as it ignored all what was said about its intentions and stances and carried on with its policies; however, today it fears that the interests of the Arabs, Israelis and Americans who oppose the nuclear agreement have become and interruption. We must note however that despite the fierce opposition against this deal, President Barack Obama’s chances of the deal passing Congress remain very high. All he needs is to gain the approval of just one third of either the Senate or the House of Representatives.
Two smiling faces
To activate the nuclear deal, Iran is embellishing its policies and rhetoric towards other countries in order to reassure opponents that it wants to cooperate and turn the page and that it has become a new Iran: a country that’s politically moderate, cooperative on regional and international levels and religiously tolerant. To serve this purpose, the regime has pushed two smiling faces to the forefront, President Hassan Rowhani and foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Both of them do not at all resemble the officials of the former government of Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and his grouchy ministers. However, we are aware that it is actions and not facial expressions which expose a politician’s true intentions. Bashar al-Assad for example is seemingly a jovial, elegant and polite man, yet his hands are stained with the blood of more than 250,000 Syrians. In Iran, the president and the government do not actually rule as there’s a strict religious institution that makes decisions on important details. Knowing this institution, we have not witnessed any change in its hostile policy towards countries in the region and towards the Iranian citizens who oppose it. The image Iran is trying to present and the soft rhetoric it is addressing us with may just be for the aim of soothing tensions against the regime and against the deal. Its final goal may be to seal the deal, have it approved, then have all sanctions lifted.

Why Assad’s old and new war crimes do not faze him
Brooklyn Middleton/Al Arabiya/The video footage of the latest Syrian regime bombardment of a civilian site showed mangled bodies lining the ground among scattered fresh vegetables. On the first day of the week, as families likely attempted to prepare for the week’s meals to come, a round of intense airstrikes devastated a market in Duma, killing at least 100 people and injuring at least 500 others. The brutal attack on 12 August once again underscored the utter barbarity of Bashar al-Assad’s disgraced regime. And the assault also proved Assad continues to feel emboldened by the international community’s refusal to address his past war crimes.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) noted that the criminal regime carried out at least four airstrikes on the crowded area and after a five-minute pause – presumably a window of time in which people rushed toward the carnage to help – at least several rockets struck the same site. United Nations Political Chief Jeffrey Feltman's stated the attack "would be yet one more war crime for which those responsible must be held accountable.” But held accountable by who - no one knows. Surely not by any single actor in the international community: Not the U.S., which plans on pulling the Patriot missile defense system from Turkey amid what Pentagon officials told the Associated Press was due to “a declining Syrian military threat.” Obviously none of Syria’s allies including Russia, which reportedly, just sent at least six MiG-31M fighter jets to Assad fighters. Domestically, U.N. special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura released a statement calling the attack "unacceptable under any circumstances.” Syrian government officials had a predictably absurd response, stating Mistura bought into "propaganda circulated within circles known for their hostility to Syria." It is highly unlikely the Syrian regime will be held accountable for their latest, well-documented attack against innocent civilians and yet again, any condemnation is likely to be ephemeral and limited to words.
Targeting civilians
It is worth noting too, that it was not the first time the Assad regime intentionally targeted civilians trying to gather food for themselves and their families; in one example of many such attacks, in late December 2012, at least 68 people were killed as they waited in line at a bakery in Halfaya. Reports noted no less than eight bombs were dropped at the site. In a study conducted by McClathyDC, credible evidence corroborated locals’ claims that hundreds have been killed while waiting for bread at dozens of different bakeries across the country since 2011. In an interview with the site, a U.N. official stated that, "The number of reported attacks on bakeries and bread lines is extraordinarily high…If such attacks are indeed proved to be systematic or widespread targeting of civilian populations, then they may amount to both crimes against humanity and war crimes. All parties must halt all such attacks.” The article referenced was written in January of 2013. Over two and a half years later, intentional regime attacks targeting markets continue while the Assad remains in power. While every senseless attack intentionally targeting civilians is reprehensible, the Assad regime’s continued targeting of Syrians attempting to feed themselves and their families is especially haunting. Assad continues to feel emboldened by the international community’s refusal to address his past war crimes Meanwhile, as the blood on the streets of Duma continues fading, Syria marks the somber anniversary of the Sarin attack that left, according to the White House, at least 1,429 people, including at least 426 children, dead on August 21, 2013.
Perhaps there is no grimmer evidence of the ramifications of allowing Assad to continue killing than by a massacre taking place at a market days before the anniversary of what U.N. chief Ban Ki-Moon called, “the worst use of chemical weapons on civilians in the 21st century.” As the war-torn country commemorates the attack, world leaders should hang their heads in collective shame for allowing the Assad regime to continue killing with impunity.

America’s summer of discontent
Hisham Melhem/Al Arabiya/Saturday, 22 August 2015
The op-ed page of the Washington Post on Friday was fully occupied by columns about Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for the Presidency who has dominated the race since he made his entry two months ago with characteristic bang, labeling members of the political class in Washington as ‘stupid’ and accusing Mexico of sending its refuse of mostly rapists, criminals and drug users to America. This was the most dangerous appeal to nativism by a presidential candidate in recent memory. The day before, Trump a narcissist’s narcissist, graced the cover of Time Magazine, with a screaming headline: Deal with it. To make the event worthy of the supposedly richest man to ever contemplate occupying the White House, Time flew a 27-year-old bald eagle -America’s emblem- named Uncle Sam from Texas to New York to be photographed with the man who wants to ‘make America great again’. It was political kitsch par excellence.
Trump Nation
In recent election cycles we briefly encountered the quick rise and the quicker fall of the candidate-de-jour phenomenon, particularly on the Republican side, represented by an assortment of eccentric, colorful, narcissistic, scoundrel, usually charismatic, attractive and articulate men and women who control the early stages of the race by sheer aplomb and character. Think of Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich in 2012.These self-appointed saviors of Western Civilization always cast themselves as the outsiders holding the keys to quick fixes, or having the divine vision to deliver us from the political wilderness and put us on the righteous path. Never mind that most of them are the creation of the same political culture and the very economic system that they supposedly abjure. In America of late, every politician denounces ‘Washington’, while barely hiding his/her yearning to embrace it.
Trump is now one of them. His detractors say that he is this summer’s fling for angry and alienated Republican voters who will repent in the cold days leading to the first Republican Caucus in Iowa on February 1, 2016. It is very unlikely that Trump will be the next Republican nominee, but surely he has more staying power, than the previous shooting-star candidates because of his wealth, celebrity and his so far, masterful exploitation of the visceral fears that are weighing heavily on many Americans; a seemingly insoluble immigration problem resulting in more than eleven million undocumented immigrants, almost 15 years of unending wars abroad, rising racial tension and small scale riots in American cities that could turn into major ones , and what many see as America’s retrenchment in the world in the face of a rising China and the bloodiest terrorist entity in the modern world, the so-called ‘Islamic State’, a new threat driven by apocalyptic visions of End Time. Trump also is benefitting from the disillusionment of many voters over widening income inequality, stagnant salaries, and the disappearance of many jobs in the new economy, not to mention the squabbling professional politicians and a dysfunctional government in Washington and an election cycle that seemed only few weeks ago destined to be dominated by two candidates representing two political dynasties.
The art of the scheme
Enter Donald John Trump, once again. Americans have known Trump for decades. You could not ignore him even if you wanted to. He is loud, crass, bombastic, a mendacious swashbuckling tycoon and a misogynistic man who mastered the art of the scheme. This is the man who bragged that he used the laws of the land to amass huge sums of monies in tax breaks to finance his real estate holdings ( a whopping $163.775 million on Trump Tower, in New York according to a recent report in the National Review) The man, who wants to fix a broken wasteful government in Washington, has reneged on paying his debts because of the way he engineered four corporate bankruptcies, and he lived to brag about it. He tweeted recently ‘Stop saying I went bankrupt. I never went bankrupt but like many great business people have used the laws to corporate advantage—smart!’
Trump's detractors say that he is this summer’s fling for angry and alienated Republican voters who will repent in the cold days
Of all the ‘outsiders’ and the career politicians who set their eyes on the prize of the White House in recent years, Trump, maybe because of his brusque and brash style, his celebrity status and wealth has the most formidable built-in immune system against blunders, gaffs and doublespeak. Any other candidate committing a fraction of the slips, half-truths and the outrageous answers born out of ignorance and arrogance, committed by Trump in the last few weeks, would have been history by now. Consider this: when the man who would be the Commander-in-Chief of the American Armed Forces was asked by veteran reporter and anchor of the Meet the Press program on NBC television network ,’Who do you talk to for military advice right now?’ Trump had no coherent answer, but he quickly recouped and blurted out,’ well, I watch the shows. I mean, I really see a lot of great—you know, when you watch your show and all of the other shows and you have the generals and you have certain people that you like.’ However, when Todd pressed him gently ‘but is there a go-to for you?’, Trump began to fall apart and obfuscate claiming that there are two to three such advisors, including John Bolton, a well-known civilian neoconservative, who talks like a tough General, but he is certainly not one.
Then, maybe to please Todd, Trump mentioned retired Army Colonel Jack Jacobs, a highly decorated officer and one of NBC’s best military analysts. Trump, with a straight face continued ‘Colonel Jack Jacobs is a good guy, and I see him on occasion.’ The problem with this tale is that it is tall. Colonel Jacobs told David Corn of Mother Jones magazine that the claim is not true. ‘He may have said the first person who came to mind, I know him. But I'm not a consultant. I'm not certain if he has a national security group of people. I don't know if he does or if he doesn't. If he does, I'm not one of them.’
Grunts, one-liners and elusive victories
Candidate Trump, in his own mind and in the collective imagination of his supporters is the American equivalent of the awaited Mahdi, the restorer of American greatness and righteousness. The problem is that Trump is not the politically pure outsider destined to lead the nation out of the desert; he is in fact the quintessential insider, the very privileged product of the political-economic structure that he pretends to be railing against. Trump’s crass and intimidating persona has fortified him against serious and tough questioning not only from most of his rivals, but also from most journalists who are in a stampede to interview the pretender-performer-cum-candidate as if he is the sage of these bad times. Trump has yet to propose anything serious to increase American economic growth and narrow the income gap, or how to fight the Islamic State better than Obama’s limited war, or how to deal with China’s belligerence in the South China sea, or how to break down barriers preventing better trade deals with China and Japan or how to deal with an irredentist Russia.
Trump so far has given us one liners such as: If I am elected, I will beat China and Japan on trade, I will build a huge 2000 mile wall on the border with Mexico to be as huge and imposing as the great wall of China, chiming at once that ‘it will be known as the Trump Wall’, while he is forcibly deporting millions of ‘illegal immigrants’ but without telling us how. Trump, as President, will literally steal oil from Iraq as he told Chuck Todd ‘and I said you take away their wealth, that you go and knock the hell out of the oil, take back the oil. We take over the oil, which we should have done in the first place.’ And as president, he says he will demand protection money from Saudi Arabia vowing that ‘they should pay us.’ Trump thinks, that such foreign policy demands and grunts will achieve the elusive victories of a bygone era that he and his supporters yearn for, ‘we have no victories. I mean, we just don't have victories anymore. As a country, we don't have victories anymore’. I am hoping that during the next debate, one of Trumps competitors could muster enough courage and be able to memorize a simple question to be directed to the American people ‘do you trust a man like Donald Trump to be the next Commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces?’
A deeper malaise
The Obama years have been lean years of hyper-partisanship domestically and internationally. The fight over the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) has bloodied both sides. The Republicans were opposed to it in principle, and their ‘proposals’ were ephemeral and pro-forma and an aloof President Obama did not seriously engage or challenge them to deliver. In Foreign policy, there were no victories as Trump said, but that was true of both the George W. Bush and the Obama administrations in Afghanistan and in Iraq. The Bush administration signed the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the Maliki government in Iraq, and both American Presidents tolerated the outrageous sectarian machinations of Maliki for 8 long years, that almost destroyed Iraq. One could argue that the United States would not be in the current predicament in Iraq, had the Obama administration been more robust in pushing for a residual force in Iraq after the withdrawal of American forces in 2011.The reality today, is that there is no bipartisan policy on Iraq or Syria or on how to really degrade and ultimately destroy the ‘Islamic State’. But it should be said that the Obama administration’s abandonment of the Syrian people to the chemical weapons and the barrel bombs of the Assad regime, by far the most effective, systematic killing machine in that tortured and pulverized land, has been the single most disastrous failure of the Obama administration. But with the exception of few important Republican voices in congress such as Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham calling for effectively arming and equipping the Syrian armed opposition from the beginning of the conflict (as opposed to the tentative moves by the Obama administration) there is no massive Republican support for a greater U.S. involvement in the Syrian conflict. A year into the air campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and the Republican controlled congress has yet to authorize the war.
It is expected that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the P-5 plus one nuclear deal with Iran) will survive any veto override by the Republican congress. Regardless of the merits of the agreement, and there are many legitimate criticisms leveled against it by non-partisan analysts, now is the time for the critics of the agreement to demand greater scrutiny and stringent inspections by the IAEA. The Republican senators did not help their case or show their seriousness in seeking a rigorous debate with the Obama administration, on the nuclear deal when they engaged in petty stunts such as writing an open letter to the Iranian leadership lecturing them about the intricacies of the American constitution and system of government. Also the ill-advised invitation to the Prime Minister of Israel Benyamin Netanyahu to address the congress, about the pitfalls of the agreement and how to stand up to Islamist threats without even consulting the President of the United States, showed petulance, and unprecedented lack of good judgment.
Now is the time to remind the Iranian regime that the military sword can still be unsheathed in case of serious breaches, regardless of what the rest of the signatories say or do. Now is the time to correct, the stunning failure of the Obama administration in linking the nuclear negotiations to Iran’s deplorable human rights record and its regional depredations.
During the long cold war with the Soviet Union, both Democratic and Republican administrations while pursuing and signing nuclear deals with the Communists in Moscow, never lessened their support for human rights in Russia and always maintained support for the dissident movement, as well as actively checking and in fact at times rolling back Soviet aggression in Africa and Afghanistan. The abject silence of the Obama administration during the ‘Green Movement’ in Iran in 2009, when the Islamic regime violently crushed the peaceful protests following the rigging of elections, was very telling about the Obama administration’s willingness, even eagerness to work with the Islamic Republic.
Not your father’s Republican Party
It is not an exaggeration to say that the current large field of Republican candidates is shockingly weak particularly on foreign policy. Their first debate exposed their limitations and lack of experience. There were those like Senator Ted Cruz and governor Bobby Jindal who criticized President Obama because he talks about violent extremism but not ’radical Islamic terrorism.’ Jeb Bush continued to struggle with the war in Iraq, still unable to extricate himself from his brother’s war. He is still his brother’s keeper. Ben Carson, a neurosurgeon, supposedly a healer, defended waterboarding. There were the usual ritualistic and obligatory lines about U.S. support to Israel, and Trump, was well, Trump. There were no serious proposals about any outstanding foreign policy challenge, from Iran, to Russia, to the Islamic State. No wonder the Republican candidates are in such disarray on national security issues.
This is not your father’s Republican Party. In the wake of the Tea Party and the rise of such luminaries like Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, this is no longer the home of George Herbert Walker Bush, Brent Scowcroft, James Baker or Colin Powell. It is doubtful that Ronald Reagan would be welcomed by the current custodians of conservatism. Dwight Eisenhower need not apply. The old healthy skepticism of Republicans and others of centralized Federal powers, has given way to very corrosive antipathy and even hostility to ‘government’ in general.
Early on after I hit the Eastern shores of the United States as a perplexed student in the early 1970’s who was fascinated, amused and baffled by America’s political and social paradoxes , I was introduced to the concept of the political tent. There was a big Democratic tent that was the home for labor unions, minorities (Jews and Blacks) and yes a liberal like Senator Ted Kennedy and a fiery segregationist like Governor George Wallace. There was a smaller Republican tent, that included hard core conservative groups like the John Birch Society, Southern and Western conservative Republicans and moderate Republicans in the Northeast, and yes a moderate like Nelson Rockefeller and an arch conservative like Barry Goldwater. Talk about the need for a guide to the poor perplexed Lebanese. Both tents have changed in subsequent decades, but the Republican tent has all but disappeared, and the handful moderate Republicans if they are still around are currently politically homeless.
The Democrats, and their front runner, Hillary Clinton, have their own set of problems and angst. Hillary Clinton, who lacks her husband’s finesse, and incredible talent to connect with people, is currently in an obfuscating mode and a deep hole of her own making. Her e-mail server saga gets weirder and more dangerous by the day. She seems unable to answer simple questions about how, when and who did erase the server before it was handed to the FBI. Barring a major violation of the law, Clinton will likely get the nomination of her party. She has yet to traverse a long journey, to get the nomination and already she is wobbly. By the time she gets to the convention, she maybe wounded. But that demands another article.

The Iran Deal: How Christians Choose Sides
Susan Warner/Gatestone Institutute/August 23, 2015
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6372/iran-deal-christians
*It is astounding to think that the term "peace and justice" could embrace Iranian nuclear ambitions, but these post-modern Christian groups seem to be able to make the mental adjustments in order to advance their anti-Israel agenda.
* Christian organizations such as Sabeel, Christ at The Checkpoint Conference and hundreds of other Christian groups that deny Israel's legitimate claims to the land seem totally oblivious to the existential threat Iran poses not only to Israel but to all of Western civilization.
*On the opposite end of the spectrum, Pastor John Hagee's Christians United for Israel (CUFI) is leading an all-out campaign against the Iran deal, in solidarity with Israel. And Hispanic Evangelicals are also raising their collective voices against the Iran deal.
*"This deal is not only bad; it is very dangerous. It falls woefully short of what both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have said is acceptable. ... This is not a partisan issue; it is a moral imperative. — Hispanic Christian leaders, in a statement published on July 24.
Nowhere are the deep divisions within Christianity more apparent than in the current responses to the Obama-Kerry Iran nuclear deal (officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA).
Even before U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's appearance on all five Sunday news talk shows on July 19, in which he elaborated on the administration's position, Christian groups had already lined up for a war of sorts that would focus Christian attention on the political debate to come.
The ink was barely dry on the 150-page final agreement when the Vatican, which represents roughly 70 million American Catholics, released a statement in favor of the Iran deal, pronouncing it an "important step" and calling for a "commitment to make it bear fruit," basically affirming the Pope's wish for peace in our time. American Christians, when it comes to a nuclear Iran, generally appear to reflect the nation as a whole — on the one hand, concerned that Iran's daily chant "Death to America" actually means what it says. On the other hand, advocates for the "deal" say the time has come to turn the other cheek, give diplomacy a chance and embrace your enemies — even those who vow to kill you.
According to a statement released by the Vatican on July 14, just as the deal was made public, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi said in response to reporters' questions that
"The agreement on the Iranian nuclear program is viewed in a positive light by the Holy See. It constitutes an important outcome of the negotiations carried out so far, although continued efforts and commitment on the part of all involved will be necessary in order for it to bear fruit. It is hoped that those fruits will not be limited to the field of nuclear programme, but may indeed extend further." Pope Francis communicated his support of initial framework of the Iran deal in his Easter message, one month after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke out strongly against it in an attempt to convince both Houses of Congress that the deal was not only not going to provide peace but was instead a pathway to war.
Bishop Oscar Cantu, chairman of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace, followed suit in a letter to members of the U.S. Congress, in which he urged Congress to support the effort.
It is not really news that the Pope and Israel are divided on many issues: certainly, on the value of President Obama's Iran deal, and recently on the Pope's premature recognition of a Palestinian state.
Even the group Catholics for Israel has not taken a firm stand opposing the Pope's position on the Iran deal.
While the Roman Catholic Church appears unified under the Pope's proclamation in favor of the Iran "deal," Protestant groups embrace each extreme — convinced that either this deal presents an opportunity to "bring Iran into the community of nations" or conversely that this deal represents nothing more than a pathway to satisfying Iran's nuclear ambitions and a catalyst for an inevitable regional nuclear arms race.
Pacifist groups including both Catholics and Protestants have hopped on a bandwagon of "hope" absent a clear, realistic comprehension of Iran as a determined and intractable foe of all people outside their brand of Islam.
Protestant Christianity is not unified — it is both diverse and divided. The divisions line up along as the many hundreds of Protestant denominations might suggest — each denomination and often each individual church has its own unique way of interpreting God, Jesus, scripture, war and politics. "Denominationalism" itself has become almost a curse within Christianity. John, the Apostle and Jesus' best friend, said, "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
Not surprisingly, the Catholic Church, along with and some Protestant groups, have landed on the same side of the Iran debate. Their common narrative is a liberal, social justice platform couched in a "pacifist narrative" that Mark Tooley, President of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, called "neither reassuring nor relevant." Further, Tooley says:
"Serious Christians can't just cry peace, peace, peace. We've a sacred duty to think through unintended consequences and advocate policies that seek approximate justice and security, which requires diplomacy and capacity for effective force."
Well-known champions of the "post-modern emerging church" movement, such as Tony Campolo, Shane Caliborne and Ronald Sider, embrace an extreme version of the "peace and social justice" scenario that they apply to the Iran deal. However, their version of "peace and justice" has nothing at all to do with actual peace and justice, but rather hijacks the term and inverts it in order to demonize Israel as an "Imperialist occupier" and advance the Palestinian and Islamic agendas.
It is astounding to think that the term "peace and justice" could embrace Iranian nuclear ambitions, but these post-modern Christian groups seem to be able to make the mental adjustments in order to advance their anti-Israel agenda.
Similarly, Christian organizations such as Sabeel, Christ at the Checkpoint Conference and hundreds of other Christian groups that deny Israel's legitimate claims to the land seem totally oblivious to the existential threat Iran poses not only to Israel but to all of Western civilization.
Included in this "club" is Jim Wallis, founder and President of the Sojourners, an organization focused on "social justice" with roots in "liberation theology," made famous in 2008 by former Obama pastor Jeremiah Wright. Wallis is a longtime friend and adviser to the President. He is leading his Christian devotees in a "Hope But Verify" movement to support Obama's Iran deal. CAMERA has cited Wallis' Sojourners magazine for its frequent attacks against Israel.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Pastor John Hagee, founder of Christians United for Israel (CUFI) and leader of an enormous media ministry, has expounded the Christian pro-Israel message for the past 25 years. With longtime friend Gary Bauer at the head of a new lobbying initiative and well over two million followers, CUFI is leading an all-out campaign against the Iran deal, in solidarity with Israel.
Pastor John Hagee has spoken out strongly against President Obama's Iran deal, portraying it as a danger to the U.S. and Israel. (Image source: Hagee Hotline video screenshot)
In that same camp, the influential International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem (ICEJ) has taken a major leadership role in opposition to the Iran deal. Their campaign, called Not One Bomb for Iran, has been collecting signatures on petitions to help defeat the deal.
Joining ICEJ is a list of Christian groups including such heavies as Dr. Michael Little, President of Christian Business Network (CBN); Jerry Johnson, President of the National Religious Broadcasters; Steve Strang, Founder and CEO of Charisma Media; Dr. James C. Dobson; Jane Hansen Hoyt, President of Aglow International; Penny Nance, CEO of Concerned Women for America; Dr. Paul Nyquist, President of Moody Bible Institute; Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council; and many others.
Hispanic Evangelicals are also raising their collective voices against the Iran deal. They are represented by:
Reverend Samuel Rodriguez, President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC/CONEL), the world's largest Hispanic Christian organization, claiming to represent Hispanic Evangelicals in more than 40,000 US churches; and
Rev. Mario Bramnick, President of the Hispanic Israel Leadership Coalition, an organization that stands against anti-Semitism and the campaign to delegitimize Israel.
In a statement published on July 24, Hispanic Christian leaders said:
"This deal is not only bad; it is very dangerous. It falls woefully short of what both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have said is acceptable.
"The implementation of this deal will lead to devastation results in the near term and in the future. In the short run, the agreement ensures the end of sanctions and empowers Iran to continue to fund terrorists who target Christians and Jews, and even Muslims with whom they disagree.
"We represent millions of evangelical Hispanic Christians across the United States who, like us, have a moral duty to fight anti-Semitism, defend America and support Israel. ... This is not a partisan issue; it is a moral imperative. "
Evangelical leader Franklin Graham criticized the nuclear deal, writing, "Iran has a history of funding terrorism around the world, and they are Israel's worst enemy. We are alienating our decades-long allies and cozying up to their enemies and ours."
As the September deadline approaches for Congress to act on the Iran deal, many Christian groups will continue their lobbying campaigns. What hangs in the balance is the fate not only of Israel but Western civilization.
Susan Warner is a Distinguished Senior Fellow of Gatestone Institute and co-founder of the Christian group Olive Tree Ministries in Wilmington, Delaware. She has been writing and teaching about Israel and the Middle East for over 15 years. She can be reached at israelolivetree@yahoo.com.

The IKEA Murders: Sweden in Crisis
Ingrid Carlqvist/Gatestone Institute.August 23, 2015/
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6379/ikea-murders-sweden
*The mosque fire received huge attention, while the rape epidemic is basically ignored. When a Swedish woman and her son are brutally knifed to death in the most Swedish of all places – an IKEA store – the Prime Minister has nothing to say.
*The normal democratic order, where citizens can contact politicians or the media to make their voices heard, has all but evaporated in Sweden. Newspaper websites have removed the reader comment fields, and the politicians hide behind a wall of officials who brand callers expressing concern "racist," and hang up. Sweden is governed by a power that has shut down the democratic process.
*Questions flooded the social media: Who are these people that are let into Sweden? How many of them are not innocent victims of war, but in fact war criminals and other criminals, hiding among the refugees?
*The most relevant question is: Why has one government after another chosen to spend Swedish taxpayers' money to support and shelter citizens of other countries, while some of them try to kill us?
None of the mainstream media has confronted the government about the *violent crimes committed by asylum seekers against Swedes. On the contrary – the media have done the utmost to convince Swedes that everything is safe and sound in Sweden. Better than ever, in fact.
*"Where do I apply for asylum... when the day comes that I can no longer live here?" – "Ewa," on Facebook.
Violent crime is up 300% and rape is up 1,472% since 1975, the year the Swedish Parliament decided to turn homogenous Sweden into a multicultural country.
A surge of rage has washed over otherwise docile Sweden. After a double homicide at an IKEA store in Västerås, where an illegal alien stabbed two random Swedes to death, more and more people are questioning why the government is exposing Swedish citizens to murderers from across the globe.
On August 10, news of the IKEA murders shocked Sweden. Two asylum seekers from Eritrea (the second largest source of asylum applicants in Sweden), were suspected of having grabbed knives from the kitchenware department and attacked two random Swedes. The victims were 55-year-old Carola Herlin and her 28-year-old son, Emil.
Carola Herlin, Director of the Moro Backe Health Center, was murdered on August 10, along with her son, in the IKEA store in Västerås, Sweden.
The elder of the two asylum seekers, a 36-year-old man, had twice been denied residency status in Sweden -- because he had already been granted residency it in Italy -- but he had not yet been deported. (Eritreans without residence permits in other EU-countries automatically get to stay in Sweden.)
The killer also inflicted life-threatening injuries on himself, and underwent several surgeries before the police could finally question him. On August 14, he confessed. His 23-year-old compatriot was released from custody, because the police no longer believe he had anything to do with the murders or had even known what his friend was planning to do.
Fear has now struck the Swedes. Even those who had routinely brand critics of immigration and multiculturalism racist, were shaken to the core. Questions flooded the social media: Who are these people that are let into Sweden? How many of them are not innocent victims of war, but in fact war criminals and other criminals, hiding among the refugees? And should we pay billions in taxes to support and shelter citizens of other countries, while some of them try to kill us?
The fact that the police refuse to deny the persistent rumor that one of the IKEA victims was beheaded, only adds fuel to the fear.
So many questions and no answers. No one from the government has even bothered to make a statement about the horrific double murder. None of the mainstream media has confronted the government about the violent crimes committed by asylum seekers against Swedes. On the contrary – the media have done the utmost to convince Swedes that everything is safe and sound in Sweden. Better than ever, in fact. The day after the double murder, Sweden's largest morning paper, Dagens Nyheter, published an article titled, "After all, deadly violence on the decline." The article begins:
"In recent weeks, several brutal murders have been committed, and many people ask themselves where society is headed. The answer is that Sweden has, after all, become a safer place. Deadly violence has been on the decline for some time."
Nowhere does the article explain that the reason deadly violence has been on the decline is that emergency medicine is now able to save the lives of a lot more victims of knife- and gunshot-injuries. The so-called Laser Man, for example, shot a number of immigrants in Sweden in the 1990s. Forensic pathologist Jovan Rajs commented, "The Laser Man shot eleven people, and one of them died. In the 1930s eight or nine would have died, in the 1970s about five, and today probably none."
Ergo, deadly violence remains on an even level thanks to better health care in Sweden, but all other kinds of violent crime (including attempted homicide) has gone off the charts. Violent crime is up 300% and rape is up 1,472% since 1975, the year the Swedish Parliament decided to turn homogenous Sweden into a multicultural country.
Ninety percent of asylum seekers to Sweden lack proper identification papers, so in reality no one knows how many murderers, rapists and thugs hide among the 100,000 or so people granted asylum in Sweden every year.
Frustrated Swedes are now howling with powerlessness on social media. The normal democratic order, where citizens can contact politicians or the media to make their voices heard, has all but evaporated. Newspaper websites have removed the reader comment fields, and the politicians hide behind a wall of officials, who brand callers expressing concern "racist," and hang up. Thousands bear witness to this on Facebook. One person who actually got to talk about her uneasiness is Ewa, who writes on Facebook about calling Immigration Services:
"Well, I've unleashed the devil now. I called Immigration Services and demanded to talk to a Unit Manager. ... I gave him an earful about every injustice I could think of, like how badly we treat our elderly and how we take away their homes and give them to asylum seekers. I also told him how unsafe Swedish women feel due to all these gang rapes perpetrated by asylum seekers and other foreigners. Also asked him if we all have to be beheaded before they stop taking in these kinds of people. ... Now I'm sitting here, feeling completely empty after crying, screaming, discussing, raging and getting all this frustration out of me. Told him there are many of us who feel depressed because of what Immigration is doing. He was really sorry I feel this way. Yes, I told him, a lot of people feel this way but they are afraid to open their mouths because then they are labeled racist. You don't even have to be a Sweden Democrat to see that our country is falling apart more and more with each passing day. Something you and all the rest at Immigration Services are responsible for. Where do I apply for asylum, I asked, when the day comes and I can no longer live here? Our country is ruined economically, socially and so forth and you are responsible. He answered that it was the politicians who decided about this, but that they would do everything in their power to make things better."
Another woman, Amanda, wrote on Facebook that she e-mailed Prime Minister Stefan Löfven. She noted that "nothing may change, but at least I've made my voice heard." Her e-mail read:
"Hi, why did the Prime Minister feel it was essential and urgent to go and talk about the fire at the mosque in Eskilstuna, no one even knew what started it when he held his speech? But now, he's as silent as the grave. Why? It's his/your unconditional and lax immigration policies that have enabled this culprit to move freely in society, despite having received a deportation order not just once, but twice. Can you tell me if this is something the citizens of this country should get used to, that immigrants, upon receiving deportation orders, kill people in order to get a lifelong contract with the Swedish state? It is your personal responsibility every time this happens, I hope you know that. Because this is nothing if not a political issue regarding immigration, and... its massive consequences to an entire nation."
The mosque fire in Eskilstuna that Amanda referred to happened December 25, 2014, and is one of many incidents affecting Muslims and other immigrants that have received huge attention, while the rape epidemic in Sweden is basically ignored. After the fire, the Prime Minister was quick to make a statement:
"It is despicable, a despicable act. We will never tolerate this type of crime. People who want to practice their religion should have the right to do so. Today I feel great sympathy and empathy for those affected."
Three months later, it turned out no crime was behind the mosque fire, and police dropped the investigation. Most likely, it was caused by an accident or children playing with fire.
But when a Swedish woman and her son are brutally knifed to death in the most Swedish of all places – an IKEA store – the Prime Minister has nothing to say.
The Swedes are not prone to rebellion. To find a citizen that took up arms and marched on the citadels of power, one has to go back to the days of Gustav Vasa – the king who during his reign, 1523-1560, founded the nation-state of Sweden.
Although Sweden today is not occupied territory, it is governed by a power that has shut down the democratic process by the "December Agreement" of 2014. In the general election that year, the only party critical of mass immigration, the Sweden Democrats (SD), became the third-largest party in Parliament. The left-wing and center-right blocs then agreed to lock SD out of political power, but SD refused to be silenced. When the left-wing minority government budget was presented one month after the election, SD voted for the opposition's budget – a shocking and unique occurrence in the Swedish Parliament. Here, it is considered "good manners and decorum" to vote for your own budget proposition first, then lay down your vote and let the government win. But after the Sweden Democrats' "coup," Prime Minister Stefan Löfven (of the Social Democratic Party) was forced to govern with a center-right budget during his first year in office.
One would think that this came as a pleasant surprise to the center-right opposition, but that was not what happened. No one wants support from the "racist" Sweden Democrats. Rather than call a snap election, the two blocs entered into an agreement in which the center-right opposition promises to abstain from voting when it comes to important issues such as a proposed budget.
Thus, the December Agreement is in reality a kind of "relay-race" dictatorship: The left-wing government gets to do what it wants for the next four years, and after that, for next the four years (if there is a change of power), it will be the center-right government's turn. This means both parties are free to ignore the 58% of Swedes who now feel that immigration is too high, and may choose to vote for the Sweden Democrats in the next election.
When the Swedes got the news about the December Agreement, they did what they usually do – clenched their fists in their pockets, formed Facebook groups and wrote angry comments on Twitter and Facebook. But the politicians congratulated each other on once again restoring order; they ignored the people's concern that democracy had now become even more eroded.
A well-known stand-up comedian, Magnus Betnér, thought it a good idea to mock frightened Swedes in a YouTube clip:
"Yes, it's really tragic two people were murdered in IKEA. ... but... it's not dangerous; Sweden has never been safer than it is now. ... Very few of you guys watching this clip will be murdered. And those of you who are, will be murdered in your own homes."
When the establishment refuses to take people's concerns seriously, rumors on social media spread fast. A stubborn rumor claims that Carola Herlin was beheaded by the Eritrean murderer. According to sources interviewed by Gatestone, the woman had her throat slit and was also stabbed in the abdomen. Her son tried to defend himself, but received a deadly stab wound to the stomach.
When Dispatch International called Per Ågren, the police investigator in charge of the case, and asked him about the rumor, he said: "I'm not going to confirm... describe anything at all about what happened, except to say that two people were murdered. You won't find out how from me."
One of the first measures taken by the police after the IKEA murders was to start guarding all the buildings housing asylum seekers in the county. There was some apprehension concerning "dark forces," the police claimed, without specifying who these "dark forces" were. The night of August 15, an asylum house in Arboga had to be evacuated after someone shouted something about a bomb outside. Now the mainstream media were really on their toes: Carola and Emil Herlin, according to their reports, had been "at the wrong place at the wrong time."
The newspaper Aftonbladet interviewed an anonymous woman who said, "My cousin has lived here for over a year. He told me the Swedes are the nicest people in Europe. Then something like this happens. I could never have imagined."
Once again, it is supposedly the Swedes who should bow their heads in shame. Supposedly, we are not the ones grieving; we do not have the right to be frightened to death over the immigration policy of our rulers – it is the asylum seekers who are the victims, even when they kill, rape, rob and abuse.
The burning question is: What will the people do, whom no one will listen to? In East Germany of 1989, the people took to the streets, scaled the Berlin wall and made the government to resign. The other communist dictatorships of Eastern Europe fell in similar ways. The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (the right to bear arms), exists to ensure that the citizens are able to seize power from a tyrannical government.
If powerlessness drives people to answer violence with violence, maybe one should not ask why Swedes are "racists" if they do not want the highest immigration level in Europe?
The most relevant question is why one government after another has chosen to spend Swedish taxpayers' money on citizens of other countries. While Swedish students take a plunge in the PISA tests, 60% of the welfare benefits go to immigrants who make up about 15% of the population. Healthcare and other social services are deteriorating, according to many Swedes, while violence is exponentially increasing. When more and more Swedes feel that they are being badly treated in their own country, the politicians have created a powder keg ready to explode at any minute.
The truth is that even the docile Swedish people have a limit. When those in power expose us to bloodbaths, whether in the Big Square of Stockholm in 1520 or at IKEA in Västerås in 2015, there will always be those who are ready to overthrow the mighty. Just as in Gustav Vasa's day, a lot of Swedes have firearms. They are not as easy to come by as in the United States, but more and more Swedes are getting hunting licenses, and are thereafter legally able to buy guns. From now on in Sweden, anything can happen.
Ingrid Carlqvist is editor-in-chief of Dispatch International.

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