LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

January 25/17

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

 

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Bible Quotations For Today
Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?" So the last will be first, and the first will be last
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 20/01-16/:"‘The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place; and he said to them, "You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right." So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, "Why are you standing here idle all day?" They said to him, "Because no one has hired us." He said to them, "You also go into the vineyard."When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, "Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first." When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, "These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat." But he replied to one of them, "Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?" So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’"

The gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ
Letter to the Galatians 01/11-17/:"For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I returned to

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 24-25/17
The suicide bomber who stopped for coffee/Diana Moukalled/Arab News/Tuesday 24 January/17
Yazidi Girls Sold as Sex Slaves while Women March against Trump/Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/January 24/17
Germany's New 'Ministry of Truth'/War against Free Speech/Stefan Frank/Gatestone Institute/January 24/17
Wilders to Prime Minister Rutte: Stop Deceiving the People/Geert Wilders/Gatestone Institute/January 24/17
It’s Going to Be a Hot Summer for Oil Prices/Jason Schenker/Bloomberg/Asharq Al-Awsat/January 24/17
Trump’s No 1 Enemy/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/January 24/17

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on January 24-25/17
French FM ‘confident’ Saudi Arabia will restore military aid to Lebanon
Protests in Lebanon Complain of Syrian Labor Competition
Kuwaiti Envoy Carries Invitation to Aoun to Visit Kuwait
Hariri Discusses with Berri Electoral Law, Security Situation
Mashnouq Confirms Costa was Target of 'Lone Wolf' al-Assi
Conflicting Reports on Gunshots near Israeli-Lebanese Border
French Presidential Hopeful Macron Meets Lebanese Leaders
Hariri Meets EU Envoys: Security, Electoral Law and Economy are Govt. Priorities
Body of Missing Jbeil Man Found in Akoura
Nasrallah Discusses Developments with Visiting Iranian Official
Democratic Gathering Delegation Meets Hariri
Change and Reform Says 'Procrastination' Won't Push It to Accept Extension or 1960 Law
Judge Extends Deadline to Close Controversial Costa Brava Landfill
Geagea Says Hybrid Electoral Law Will Eventually be Reached
Aoun Signs Decree Appointing OGERO Director-General
Qabbani after Public Works House Commission meeting: Seagulls case is over
Man Plunges to Death in Beirut
Abi Khalil postpones press conference till Thursday
The suicide bomber who stopped for coffee


Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 24-25/17
Iran, Russia, Turkey 'to enforce' Syria ceasefire
Tehran responds to letter from Netanyahu to the Iranian people
Saudi Arabia captures 14 extremists
Jubeir: Optimistic after contact with Trump cabinet
NATO seeks closer ties with Gulf, opens new center
Yemen govt objects UN envoy Sanaa meetings
Yemen army takes control of strategic port city of Mokha
UN Security Council Wants to Keep Momentum of Cyprus Talks
Iran: The Finger Amputation of a 70-Year-Old Prisoner Is About to Be Carried Out
Iran: Devastating State of Schools in Tehran
Addiction Is Rising Among Women in Iran: Rouhani's Vice-President
At Peace Talks, Syrian Opposition Demand Iran Regime Leave Syria
Iran: High Ranking MP Says If We Stop Fighting in Syria, We Have to Fight in Iranian Cities

Links From Jihad Watch Site for on January 24-25/17
PA threatens to cut US ties, turn to UN if US embassy moves to Jerusalem
Obama hosted former Iranian official, pro-Tehran lobbyist at White House numerous times
Nigeria: Muslims use babies in jihad suicide bombings
Women’s March organizer Linda Sarsour makes Islamic State signal
Christine Williams Moment: How the Victimology Subterfuge is Killing the West
Muslim cleric: Moving US embassy to Jerusalem would be declaration of war on Islam
Pakistan: Two jihad suicide jackets found in mosque
Austria: 12-year-old Muslim boy arrested as part of an Islamic jihad network
Pakistan: Council of Islamic Ideology says organ transplant un-Islamic
Texas Christian University to send students to mosque for ‘religious experience’
Video: Robert Spencer on Islam, the FBI and Bigotry Accusations
Bernie Sanders, Elle defend Hamas-linked pro-Sharia Women’s March organizer Linda Sarsour
Hugh Fitzgerald: Professor Kishwar Rizvi and “Misinformation About Islam”
Trump affirms support for Egypt’s fight against terror in phone call with Sisi
In final hours in office, Obama sent $221,000,000 to the “Palestinians”

Links From Christian Today Site for on January 24-25/17
Government Loses Brexit Supreme Court Case Over Article 50
Respect The People': Christian MPs Give Verdict On Supreme Court's Brexit Ruling
Jihadists Used Our Church As A Shooting Range': Iraqi Christians Return Home To Devastation
70 Thoughts You Have When Reading The Bible
Is Donald Trump The Antichrist?
Vatican Launches New YouTube Channel So Priceless Christian Art Can Reach 'All Corners Of The Earth'
Anti-Gay Protesters Object To Lesbian Pastors At Washington Church
Who Is The Christian Philosopher-Priest Appointed To Head Opus Dei?
He's A Pro-Life President': Christians Praise Trump's Block On Abortion Funding
Mosque Joins Growing Sanctuary Movement As Trump Pledges To Crackdown On Immigration
Thousands Pray For Indian Priest Kidnapped By Islamists
Donald Trump And Jerusalem: Our Q & A Explainer

Latest Lebanese Related News published on January 24-25/17
French FM ‘confident’ Saudi Arabia will restore military aid to Lebanon
Agence France-Presse/January 24, 2017/On a visit to Riyadh where he is to meet senior Saudi officials on Tuesday, Mr Ayrault said the package was needed to help bring stability to Lebanon. "It’s a country that should be helped," he said. "And I know that the Lebanese army is a factor for unity. So it’s true that aid can help stabilise things." A combined US$4 billion (Dh14.7bn) aid package is to see Riyadh fund the transfer of vehicles, helicopters, drones, cannons and other military equipment from France to the Lebanese army. It is seen as a crucial show of support for Lebanon’s military and will provide a boost to French efforts to increase arms sales in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia halted the programme last year in protest at what it said was "the stranglehold of Hizbollah on the state" in Lebanon. Asked if the package would be restored, Mr Ayrault said things were moving in "a good direction. So I am confident". The potential turnaround comes after a visit to Riyadh earlier this month by Lebanese president Michel Aoun, who was elected in a November vote that ended a two-year deadlock between Sunni and Shiite-backed blocs in the Lebanese parliament. A member of Mr Aoun’s delegation said during the visit that Riyadh and Beirut had agreed to hold talks on how to move forward with the package. The French foreign minister, on his first visit to the kingdom, arrived in Riyadh late on Monday to reaffirm the "strategic partnership" between France and Saudi Arabia. Mr Ayrault "will discuss the main regional issues, particularly the situations in Yemen, Iraq, Libya and Syria", the French foreign ministry said. He spoke briefly to reporters during a visit to the $22.5bn Riyadh Metro rapid transit project.French company Alstom is a member of a consortium on the project, building part of the track network as well as rail cars. 

Protests in Lebanon Complain of Syrian Labor Competition
Asharq Al-Awsat/January 24/17/ Beirut – Several protests in different Lebanese areas have taken place against the Syrian competition in the market place.  The protests come in the wake of the recent campaign launched by the Lebanese Labor Ministry to organize foreign employment in the country. Not to mention the several objections from people suffering from the chaotic spread of Syrians as traders or owners of shops without permits, which they make profit of without having to pay taxes to the Lebanese government.  After the protests in Tripoli, north Lebanon, Jbeil and Mount Lebanon, other demonstrations began in Beirut’s southern suburb against this chaos.  On Monday, a group of female laborers blocked off the road in a neighborhood in the southern suburb of Beirut, Jammal Market, in protest against Syrian foreign competition in the district.  Protesters held signs complaining of the unfair work conditions, particularly in the area, which is affecting the locals. The women threatened to take escalatory measures if the authorities didn’t respond to their demands.  A local merchant claimed that Syrian merchants have opened stores and are selling their products at low prices, since they don’t have to pay taxes that the Lebanese have to. He asked the authorities to put an end to this, which could be harmful for the Lebanese economy.  A source at the Lebanese Ministry of Labor informed Asharq Al-Awsat that the ministry is pushing for stricter inspections and regulations on Syrian laborers, warning that the high influx of foreign workers could jeopardize the Lebanese population’s rate of employment.  He added that the new regulations will also include Lebanese businessmen who hire Syrian employees instead of Lebanese.  Since foreign workers tend to accept lower wages than Lebanese laborers, local and international businesses have preferred them to Lebanese labor, according to former Labor Minister Sejaan Azzi.  The ministry had informed the owners of shops with no permits to regulate their papers, but none reported because they lacked identity papers.

Kuwaiti Envoy Carries Invitation to Aoun to Visit Kuwait
Naharnet/January 24/17/Kuwaiti envoy, Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah al-Mubarak al-Sabah who arrived in Beirut a day earlier, held talks with President Michel Aoun at the Presidential Palace, media reports said on Tuesday. The Kuwaiti envoy, who is planned to hold talks with senior Lebanese figures, extended an invitation to Aoun to visit Kuwait on behalf of Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, the reports added. Lebanon has witnessed a flurry of Arab diplomatic activity, mainly after the election of a president that ended a two-year vacuum at the top state post.
 
Hariri Discusses with Berri Electoral Law, Security Situation
Naharnet/January 24/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri held talks Tuesday in Ain el-Tineh with Speaker Nabih Berri. Hariri was accompanied by his adviser Nader Hariri and the meeting was held in the presence of Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil. State-run National News Agency said talks tackled “the current situations, a number of proposed projects, the security situation and the electoral law.”Al-Jadeed television said the talks focused on the electoral law.
 
Mashnouq Confirms Costa was Target of 'Lone Wolf' al-Assi
Naharnet/January 24/17/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq confirmed Tuesday that Hamra's Costa cafe was the target of the would-be suicide bomber Omar al-Assi. In an interview with Al-Arabiya Al-Hadath television, Mashnouq also described the botched attack as a “lone wolf” operation. “Lebanon, like other vibrant world capitals, is subjected to terrorism but the real difference is the security agencies' ability to carry out preemptive operations,” the minister added. Assi was arrested inside Costa cafe in Hamra on Saturday night. The cafe is on the main street of the bustling area, and was filled with people socializing on a weekend evening when the arrest occurred around 2100 GMT. The man was being tracked by security forces according to media reports. Assi was injured during the arrest, with several soldiers holding him down to ensure he was not able to detonate the explosive belt. According to Costa employees, the man ordered coffee and chocolate and sat down inside the cafe for around ten minutes before going outside to make a phone call. Only then the undercover security agents pounced on him and removed the suicide belt. Media reports said Assi was injured fighting alongside Ahmed al-Asir's group against a Hizbullah-affiliated group in Sidon in 2013. He later became affiliated with the extremist Islamic State group which ordered him to carry out the failed Costa attack, the reports say. The Hamra neighborhood, a district known for shopping and nightlife, has not previously been hit by an attack. But in June 2016, the army said it had arrested jihadists from the Islamic State group planning attacks against busy areas, including Hamra.
 
Conflicting Reports on Gunshots near Israeli-Lebanese Border
Naharnet/January 24/17/Conflicting reports emerged Tuesday evening about whether or not gunshots were fired towards an Israeli force near the border with Lebanon. Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee announced on Twitter that “gunshots were heard fired towards a force that was conducting routine activities in an area overlooking the border with Lebanon, causing no casualties or damage.” The incident is being investigated,” he added. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz said Israeli forces scrambled near the Metulla settlement after “gunshots were heard from Lebanon.” Al-Arabiya television had reported that “an Israeli military patrol came under gunfire near the Lebanese border.” The Hizbullah-affiliated Military Media meanwhile announced that “there was no shooting at the Lebanese-Israeli border as claimed by the enemy's media.”“The situation is normal in that region,” it added. A Lebanese security source also told al-Mayadeen television that “no shots were fired from Lebanon towards Israel.”
 
French Presidential Hopeful Macron Meets Lebanese Leaders
Associated Press/Naharnet/January 24/17/French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron held talks with President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Tuesday and said his country needs a more "balanced" policy toward Syria. During a visit to Lebanon, the 49-year-old centrist said he wants France to talk to "all parties," including the regime of President Bachar Assad. He said a political solution to Syria's war must include "a credible and continuous way" to deal with the millions of refugees who have fled the country. “France will always be alongside Lebanon because its history, its values and those deep shared interests bind us,” said Macron after meeting Hariri. Lebanon, which has a population of about 4.5 million, is home to more than 1 million registered Syrian refugees.Macron, a former economy minister, is considered one of the leading candidates for France's presidency. Other top contenders are conservative Francois Fillon and far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
 
Hariri Meets EU Envoys: Security, Electoral Law and Economy are Govt. Priorities
Naharnet/January 24/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri met Tuesday at the Grand Serail with the ambassadors of the European Union member states to Lebanon and discussed with them the political situation in Lebanon and the region. “During the last three months we were able to achieve a mini miracle by electing a president and forming a government. My government has three priorities: securing and stabilizing Lebanon; drafting a fair and just electoral law and holding the elections on time; and kickstarting our economy,” Hariri told the ambassadors.
Hariri continued: “The biggest challenge is to increase the economic growth from the present one percent or less to more than that with the presence of this large number of refugees.”“This economic breakthrough can only be achieved through the renewal of confidence in the state and the government. We will put a new budget that includes tax cuts particularly for small businesses,” he added. “I want to reiterate the need and the importance of investing in the Lebanese infrastructure because if we do not do that we will face a problem in shouldering the burdens of 1.5 million Syrian refugees,” Hariri said. Stressing the importance of the EU-Lebanon trade agreement and the need to increase Lebanese exports to EU countries, the premier revealed that EU Ambassador to Lebanon Christina Lassen has suggested to “set up a working group of all relevant stakeholders to discuss obstacles facing access of Lebanese products to EU markets.”“I welcome such initiative. This would contribute to increased economic activity, new job opportunities as well as potential new joint ventures. This is important to help Lebanon bear the burden of the Syrian displaced crisis, and in particular support host communities that are mostly rural in nature,” Hariri added. He also emphasized Lebanon's commitment to “our partnership priorities for the coming year especially in security and countering terrorism; governance and the rule of law; fostering growth; and job opportunities.”
 
Body of Missing Jbeil Man Found in Akoura
Naharnet/January 24/17/After two days of search operations, the dead body of Lebanese citizen Majid Raji al-Hashem, 61, was found Tuesday buried in sand at a stone factory in the Jbeil town of Akoura, state-run National News Agency reported. Al-Hashem had gone missing at dawn Sunday. Several of the stone factory's Syrian workers had been detained on charges of involvement in al-Hashem's kidnap and murder. Two of them were arrested earlier on Tuesday in the Mount Lebanon area of Bchamoun, LBCI television reported. Al-Hashem, a cab driver, had gone missing Sunday in the Jbeil district. His relatives said he left his home at 5:00 a.m. for work. His vehicle was found on Monday evening in the Jbeil town of Fetri.
 
Nasrallah Discusses Developments with Visiting Iranian Official
Naharnet/January 24/17/Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah held talks Tuesday with a visiting Iranian official, Hizbullah said in a statement. Talks with Hossein Amir-Abdollahian -- an assistant to Iran's parliament speaker and the secretary-general of a conference for backing the Palestinian cause that will be held in Tehran – tackled “the political developments in Lebanon and the region,” the Hizbullah statement added. The meeting was held in the presence of an accompanying Iranian delegation and Iran's ambassador to Lebanon Mohammed Fathali.
 
Democratic Gathering Delegation Meets Hariri
A Democratic Gathering bloc delegation held a meeting on Tuesday with Prime Minister Saad Hariri at the Grand Serail, talks focused on a new electoral law for the upcoming parliamentary elections. The delegation included ministers Marwan Hamadeh and Ayman Choucair, and MPs Akram Shehayyeb, Henri Helou, Alaeddine Terro and Wael Abou Faour. “We have allies in all political blocs. Wherever the delegations from the Progressive Socialist Party and the Democratic Gathering bloc go, we find an understanding for the positions of (PSP leader) Walid Jumblat and his keenness for an electoral law that ensures proper representation for all,” said Hamadeh after the meeting. “Anyone who believes that we lack allies among the major Christian parties and smaller partisans is wrong,” he added.
 The Minister stressed that the bloc has held discussions with several parties, and “they have all assured rejection for laws that do not meet the approval of Jumblat.”The Democratic Gathering is expected to meet Hizbullah on Wednesday. Last week they met with President Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri. Jumblat rejects endorsing a proportional representation system, and has recently rejected the hybrid law system.
 
Change and Reform Says 'Procrastination' Won't Push It to Accept Extension or 1960 Law
Naharnet/January 24/17/The Change and Reform parliamentary bloc stressed Tuesday that “there will be no extension of the parliament's term or a return to the 1960 law.”“Let no one believe or bet that procrastination will make us accept a de facto situation,” bloc secretary MP Ibrahim Kanaan said after Change and Reform's weekly meeting in Rabieh. “We will give a chance and contribute in a positive and constructive manner to reach a solution, but this solution must respect equal power-sharing and transparency,” he added. Kanaan also stressed that the new electoral law “must shift the political system and state institutions from the flawed situation to democratic, constitutional situation that conforms with the National Pact.”“Throughout the next two weeks, there will be strenuous efforts to reach a positive result,” he promised. Speaker Nabih Berri and Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq have recently warned that the country seems to be heading to parliamentary elections under the controversial 1960 electoral law due to the parties' failure to agree on a new law. Hizbullah has repeatedly called for an electoral law fully based on proportional representation but other political parties, especially al-Mustaqbal Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party, have rejected the proposal, arguing that Hizbullah's weapons would prevent serious competition in the Iran-backed party's strongholds. Mustaqbal, the Lebanese Forces and the PSP had proposed a hybrid electoral law that mixes the proportional representation and the winner-takes-all systems but the PSP eventually withdrew its support for the proposal. Berri has also proposed a hybrid law. The country has not voted for a parliament since 2009, with the legislature instead twice extending its own mandate. The 2009 polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the next elections are scheduled for May 2017.
 
Judge Extends Deadline to Close Controversial Costa Brava Landfill
Associated Press/Naharnet/January 24/17/Urgent Matters Judge of Baabda Hassan Hamdan ordered on Tuesday an extension for the deadline to close the controversial landfill of Costa Brava until a final verdict is issued in the case on January 31, the National News Agency reported on Tuesday. The landfill was purported to be permanently closed on Tuesday, January 24, pending a final verdict in the case, according to a judge ruling. Orders to close the landfill, which lies at the foot of the Rafik Hariri International Airport, emerged when concerns rose that the seagulls circling around the site pose a threat to aircraft safety. Ultrasonic noise makers were installed to keep the gulls out of the flight path, after local media reported multiple bird strikes, citing unnamed airport workers. Birds were seen around the landfill as planes touched down on the opposite end of the runway. Since authorities opened the landfill last year, environmentalists have warned it would attract large birds, leading to catastrophic strikes if they were sucked into engines. Lebanon has been grappling with a garbage crisis since authorities were forced to close an overused landfill serving the capital in 2015.
 
Geagea Says Hybrid Electoral Law Will Eventually be Reached
Naharnet/January 24/17/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea announced Monday that a “middle-ground” solution will be reached regarding the stalled electoral law. “We will end up with a hybrid electoral law, half of which is based on the winner-takes-all system and the other half on proportional representation, and this is what we are working on together with the other parties because it's a solution that satisfies most parties,” Geagea said in an interview with Al-Arabiya Al-Hadath television. “We and our allies have a lot of cards and we will never accept an extension of the current parliament's term or parliamentary elections under the 1960 law,” Geagea added. Speaker Nabih Berri and Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq have recently warned that the country seems to be heading to parliamentary elections under the controversial 1960 electoral law due to the parties' failure to agree on a new law. Hizbullah has repeatedly called for an electoral law fully based on proportional representation but other political parties, especially al-Mustaqbal Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party, have rejected the proposal, arguing that Hizbullah's weapons would prevent serious competition in the Iran-backed party's strongholds. Mustaqbal, the LF and the PSP have meanwhile proposed a hybrid electoral law that mixes the proportional representation and the winner-takes-all systems. Berri has also proposed a hybrid law. The country has not voted for a parliament since 2009, with the legislature instead twice extending its own mandate. The 2009 polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the next elections are scheduled for May 2017.
 
Aoun Signs Decree Appointing OGERO Director-General
Naharnet/January 24/17/President Michel Aoun signed a decree on Tuesday appointing Imad Kreidieh as the director-general of OGERO telecom authority, the state-run National News Agency reported. Early in January, the cabinet appointed two successors to Abdul Menhem Youssef -- the controversial director general of the OGERO telecom authority who was also serving as director general of investment and maintenance at the telecom ministry. The cabinet appointed Kreidieh to replace Abdul Menhem Youssef as OGERO chief and Bassel al-Ayyoubi to replace Youssef as director general of investment and maintenance at the telecom ministry. OGERO Telecom chief Abdul Menhem Youssef was interrogated last year by the Central Inspection Bureau over charges of negligence and embezzlement. He was summoned by the judiciary and questioned over several issues related to his negligence in preserving public funds in the Internet file and another case related to embezzling money from the employees' salaries under the excuse of the VAT tax.
 
Qabbani after Public Works House Commission meeting: Seagulls case is over
Tue 24 Jan 2017/NNA - Public Works, Transportation, Energy and Water House Commission convened on Tuesday morning, under the chairmanship of Commission head MP Mohammed Qabbani, to discuss the airport and civil aviation issue. The meeting was attended by Public Works and Transportation Minister, Youssef Fenianous and State Minister for Combating Corruption, Nichola Tueini. On emerging, MP Qabbani relayed Minister Fenianous as saying that the airport seagulls' issue was over. He also indicated that the mouth of Ghadeer River shall be extended 150 additional meters in the sea to keep it away from the land and airport.
 
Man Plunges to Death in Beirut
Naharnet/January 24/17/A Lebanese man fell to his death on Tuesday from the balcony of his house in Beirut neighborhood of Zqaq al-Blat, the National News Agency reported. Elias Chahin, 54, fell from the 5th floor and died instantly, added NNA. His body was taken to al-Zahra Hospital.No further details were reported.
 
Abi Khalil postpones press conference till Thursday
 Tue 24 Jan 2017/NNA - Water and Energy Minister, Cesar Abi Khalil, postponed his press conference which was scheduled for which was scheduled to take place tomorrow on January 24 at 4.00 p.m. at the "Lancaster Plaza" hotel, till Thursday, January 26 at 1.30 p.m. at the Ministry building, to declare all the necessary steps needed to complete the first licensing round for oil. The steps include notably: the opening of blocks offered for the first licensing round, roadmap for the completion of first licensing round, and opening a new round of companies' pre-qualification.

The suicide bomber who stopped for coffee
Diana Moukalled/Arab News/Tuesday 24 January 2017
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2017/01/24/diana-moukalledarab-news-the-suicide-bomber-who-stopped-for-coffee%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%86%d8%aa%d8%ad%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b0%d9%8a-%d8%aa%d9%88%d9%82%d9%81-%d9%84%d8%b4%d8%b1%d8%a8/
He smiled at the café waitress and ordered a cup of chocolate Frappuccino, before starting to gaze at the other customers. Then he asked the waitress about the low customer turnout in the place. She guessed that it could be due to the cold weather.
These details are not about an ordinary customer; they are about the young man who was planning to blow himself up in a café in Beirut’s famous Al-Hamra neighborhood. His attempt was foiled by the security forces who managed to preemptively arrest him.
The story is a bizarre one. It is strange for a suicide bomber to choose a café that does not serve alcohol and is not frequented by many people. The people of Beirut have become scared of visiting nightclubs since Istanbul’s New Year’s Eve massacre. But the Beirut suicide bomber turned his back on nearby pubs and nightclubs. Did he wish to decrease the number of casualties? Or did he suddenly have crisis of conscience over his awful crime? What makes it more ambiguous is that the suicide bomber did not, unlike in similar cases previously, rush to blow himself up as plain-clothed security forces approached him.
As Lebanese people, we are not removed from the crises of our surroundings. We have several times suffered from fighting and suicide bombers. So the reality that the security forces managed to preemptively arrest a suicide bomber, who himself felt hesitant over committing the crime, gives us a sense of temporary relief, despite the fact that the political disappointments, exploited by extremist organizations to recruit suicide bombers, do still exist.
The Lebanese public have been very busy discussing the life of this would-be suicide bomber, after his name, identity and photo were revealed. He apparently took part in clashes in 2013 between the Lebanese army and supporters of the militant preacher Sheikh Ahmad Al-Assir. Those confrontations thereafter produced a number of suicide bombers who implemented operations in Lebanon and Syria. Lebanon has avoided one disaster, yet the existing political and sectarian disappointments, the weakness of the state and the strength of militias are factors that could produce more suicidal bombers. Suicide operations do not often give us the opportunity to approach the offenders to understand their motives or gauge the prospects of their retreat from carrying out their plots. When considering the life stories of suicide bombers, we find that most of them had very defective, flawed lives. Most of them suffered disorders at home or in their surroundings, which turned to be weak points through which terrorists managed to recruit these young men, deceived by the illusion of defending major causes.
The potential suicide bomber at the Al-Hamra café ordered a cup of coffee before reflecting on his own fate. Perhaps he concluded that coffee and chocolate are better than a futile death.
 • Diana Moukalled is a veteran journalist with extensive experience in both traditional and new media. She is also a columnist and freelance documentary producer. She can be reached on Twitter @dianamoukalledhttp://www.arabnews.com/node/1043426/columns

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 24-25/17
Iran, Russia, Turkey 'to enforce' Syria ceasefire

Staff Writer, Al Arabiya English Tuesday, 24 January 2017/Iran, Russia and Turkey will establish a trilateral mechanism to observe and ensure full compliance with the ceasefire in Syria, preventany provocations and determine exactly how the ceasefire will work, the three nations said in a joint statement. Concluding the Syria talks in Astana, Tehran, Moscow and Ankara also said they supported the willingness of the armed opposition groups to participate in the next round of negotiations to be held in Geneva on Feb. 8 and the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 2254. It was not immediately clear whether Syrian opposition or the Damascus government backed the communique.
Syrian opposition unhappy
Syrian rebels are unhappy with a communique establishing a ceasefire mechanism between Russia, Iran and Turkey, an opposition delegate said. "Iran is spearheading in a number of areas military offensives and leading to forcible displacements of thousands of Syrians and causing bloodletting. This communique legitimizes this role," said the delegate, who declined to be identified. A second delegate, who said the opposition would not endorse the communique, said Turkey had been weak in the negotiations and unable to assert the rebel position. The meeting in the Kazakh capital comes at a time when Turkey, which backs the rebels, and Russia, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, each want to disentangle themselves from the fighting. That has led them into an ad-hoc alliance that some believe represents the best chance for progress towards a peace deal, especially with the United States distracted by domestic issues. After facing each other to make opening remarks on Monday, the rival delegations spent the rest of the day negotiating indirectly through intermediaries and at times trading barbs. But the rebel side expressed optimism about Moscow's position. "We noticed a real understanding on the part of the Russians," Yahya al-Aridi, an opposition spokesman, told reporters. "We understand that militarily they have achieved what they wanted in Syria. Now they want to translate this military achievement into some sort of political deal. That has to be a ceasefire."Russian news agency TASS cited an early draft communique as saying Moscow, Ankara and Tehran would commit to jointly fighting ISIS and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the militant group formerly known as Nusra Front. They would set up a mechanism for trilateral monitoring of the ceasefire.
But fundamental divisions remain between Russia and Turkey which could complicate the final text. Turkey and Russia may also be at odds with Iran, whose militias are core to Assad's military strength and who rebels blame for rights violations.
Mohammed Alloush, a leader of the powerful Jaysh al-Islam group who heads the rebel delegation, insisted he wanted to stop "the horrific flow of blood" in the six-year-old war. To achieve that, the Syrian army and its Iran-backed allies had to abide by the truce and Shi'ite militias had to leave the country. Bashar Ja'afari, Syria's United Nations envoy, leading the government delegation, said the talks were an opportunity to reconcile the country with Assad staying in power, a red line for rebels. He accused opposition negotiators of defending "war crimes" by Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. The head of the Russian delegation, Alexander Lavrentyev, told reporters talks had been heated because of the mistrust between the parties, but he remained optimistic that Tuesday could yield results.
Some observers said the meeting, sponsored by Moscow and Ankara with the support of Tehran, could jump-start UN-led negotiations that were suspended in April. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, attending the Astana talks, said it was crucial to get a mechanism to oversee and implement a nationwide ceasefire. "That by itself ... would be a major achievement," he said, adding he hoped Astana could pave the way for talks that he has proposed for next month in Geneva. The rebels' loss of their former urban stronghold, Aleppo, has shifted the momentum of the fighting in favor of Assad. On Sunday, warplanes bombed rebel-held areas of western Syria, killing 12 people in one location, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, while insurgent shelling of Aleppo killed six. The Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Monday it would not be bound by any decision that came out of the talks in Kazakhstan as it was not involved in the meetings. The West is playing no role in Astana, although Kazakhstan, with the backing of Moscow and Ankara, extended an invitation to the new U.S. administration last week. The local U.S. ambassador was present, while several Western envoys for Syria were also in Astana to observe developments. "It's not very serious. You don't seal a ceasefire in two days. You have to work on the modalities, things like observers, mechanisms, maps, the list goes on," said a senior Western diplomat. But he added: "There is momentum now. The Russians hold the keys. It's now time to use them."(With AFP and Reuters)

Tehran responds to letter from Netanyahu to the Iranian people
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Tuesday, 24 January 2017/Iran’s Foreign Ministry responded to a letter from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed to the Iranian people, in which he said he “distinguishes between the Iranian regime and the people.”The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said at news conference on Monday that “Netanyahu ought to stop the massacres against the Palestinian people, and not talk about Iran, the Iranian people or the Plasco incident.”In his letter entitled, “We are your friends, not your enemies,” published on his Facebook page Saturday, Netanyahu talked to the Iranian people in English, translated in Farsi saying that he intended to have a discussion soon with US President Donald Trump on how to confront the threat posed by the Iranian regime.”The Israeli PM told the Iranians: “You have a long amazing history - you have a rich culture. Unfortunately, you are handcuffed by theocratic tyranny.” He continued: “I intend to talk soon with US President Donald Trump on how to address the threat posed by the Iranian regime, which calls for Israel’s extinction, recently it occurred to me that I talked a lot about the Iranian regime, but I did not talk enough about the Iranian people, or rather to the Iranian people.”Netanyahu said he hoped his message would reach every Iranian, adding: “I know you want to speak candidly and love whoever you want without fear of torture or death by hanging from cranes.”He added: “I know you want to browse the Internet openly without having to watch videos like these through virtual private networks to evade censorship. You are the owners of a great history. You have a rich civilization. But, tragically you are captured by the tyranny of theocracy.”The Israeli Prime Minister expressed his sympathy to the Iranian Green Movement against the Iranian regime maintaining: “I will not forget the images of the brave students hungry for change as they were executed in the streets of Tehran in 2009. I will never forget the beautiful Neda Agha Soltan as she passed away on the sidewalk.”He continued: “The brutal regime continues to restrict your freedoms. It is preventing thousands of candidates to run for office. Stealing money from the poor to finance a killer like Assad. Through intimidation and calling for the demolition of Israel, the system hopes to instill hostility between us. This is wrong. We are your friends, not your enemies. We’ve always distinguished between the Iranian people and the Iranian regime. The Iranian regime is a brutal regime. The people are not like that. The regime is an aggressive system, but the Iranian people are friendly.”Netanyahu stressed that he is looking forward to the day when Israelis and Iranians can visit each other freely in Tehran and Isfahan, in Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv,” he said.

Saudi Arabia captures 14 extremists
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Tuesday, 24 January 2017/Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry has captured 14 extremists involved in terror activities. The ministry announced that two of those arrested were Saudi nationals while the rest came from Pakistan.
Further details were announced on the recent security operation that led to two ISIS extremists suicide bombers detonating themselves in the Harazat area of Jeddah last Saturday. Both men were identified as Ghazi Hussain al-Sarwani and Nadi Marzooq al-Medhiani after forensic tests were conducted on their remains. Tests also proved that there were others involved in that operations, with their remains still unidentified pending further investigations. Al Arabiya has also obtained photos of what remained in the Jeddah operation in the Harazat area as well from an apartment in the al-Naseem neighborhood where one Saudi extremist and his Pakistani wife were arrested on the same day.

Saudi Arabia shuts down six explosives factories in 28 months
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Tuesday, 24 January 2017/Saudi Arabia has confirmed that six explosives factories were found and destroyed after multiple operations were conducted in the past 28 months. Saudi Arabia Interior Ministry General Bassam Attiyah confirmed the news on Tuesday when further details were revealed on the operations that killed two ISIS extremists in Jeddah last week. When asked about the improvement of Mohamed Bin Nayef Center for Counseling and Care, General Attiyah said that all the experience and expertise are the result of the establishment of this center, pointing out that counseling has nothing to do with extremist attacks or the reoccurrence of terror activities after the counseling period. “The center is an extra effort supporting the counter-terrorism authorities. Those who are charged after trials will serve their prison sentence and then be released. So which is better, to release them directly or to send them to the counseling center to treat them and rearrange their lives?” he said. “The program is fulfilling its duties and we will not give up on it. It has become one of the most important programs to combat extremism in the Saudi Kingdom. “It’s hard to be sure that all those who get enrolled in the center will come out 100% clean, similarly to those who go to hospitals. You cannot guarantee that you will get out of the hospital and be 100% healthy. We are deploying all our efforts to improve the center and we will certainly keep it open,” Major General Mansour Al-Turki said at a press conference on Tuesday. As for combating the funding of terror activities, Turki said that Saudi Arabia is doing all the necessary to prevent the exploitation of charity works that are being exploited to raise money to support extremism. “Our programs are unparalleled by any organization anywhere in the world. Our regime punishes and arrests those who commit any violation; the proof is that there are currently people in trials for funding and supporting terrorist activities in the Kingdom.”

Jubeir: Optimistic after contact with Trump cabinet
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Tuesday, 24 January 2017/Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Tuesday that Saudi-US relations are strong in all areas and that his country would respect the decision of the American people. He also said he looks forward and “optimistic” on cooperating with the US President Donald Trump’s administration. Jubeir emphasized how the relationship was multi-faceted and encompassed several areas including strategic, political, military and economic fields. “The positions that President Trump has articulated are ones that we are completely in accordance with: restoring America’s presence in the world is something we – and all of the American – welcome because the lack of an American engagement leads to a vacuum,” Jubeir said during a conference on Tuesday.
Key among the agreements between Riyadh and Washington is the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the containment of Iran’s unstable activities in the region. “The President Trump has stated as his objective the defeat of Daesh. We and every civilized country in the world support this goal. And we look forward to working with the Administration on realizing this objective,” Jubeir said. “He has spoken about containing Iran and limiting its ability to cause mischief and making sure that Iran abide to the letter with the Nuclear agreement that was signed. Exactly this is our position. And we look forward to working with them in this area,” the Saudi foreign minister added.
Full text of Jubeir’s statement below:
Let me begin by saying that the US- Saudi relationship is a very long relationship and a very strategic relationship. It is very multi-faceted. We have very strong ties and have had for decades in the area of security, in the military field, in the political field, in the economic field in the investment field, and the people-people relationship. Half of the Saudi young men and women who are studying abroad in the government of scholarships and their numbers is roughly around 200 thousands- half of them are studying in the United States. Their experience there has been phenomenal. It has been positive. They have acquired skills and knowledge that they will bring back to their country in order to further and advance our nation. I believe that the US people have spoken when they elected President Trump as their President. And we all have to respect the will of the American people. We look forward to working with Trump’s administration to further the bilateral relationship and to further and to deal positively with the challenges, numerous challenges whether we are talking about Syria or Iraq or Yemen, Libya, fighting terrorism, dealing with the global financial issues, the energy. The positions that President Trump has articulated are ones that we are completely in accordance with: restoring America’s presence in the world is something we- and all of the American- welcome Because the lack of an American engagement leads to a vacuum. And vacuum in the international system will be filled with evil forces. And we all have to work double down and fight and push back against those evil forces at great cost. So an America that is engaged, is an America that plays a positive role in the world, something we welcome. The President Trump has stated as his objective the defeat of Daesh. We and every civilized country in the world support this goal. And we look forward to working with the Administration on realizing this objective.
He has spoken about containing Iran and limiting its ability to cause mischief and making sure that Iran abide to the letter with the Nuclear agreement that was signed. Exactly this is our position. And we look forward to working with them in this area. He has made his objective to rebuild traditional alliances or alliance with traditional American allies. And this is something we also welcome. So we look forward to working with the Trump Administration. And we are very positive about the future of the Saudi-Us relationships. And we look forward as I said to working with Trump Administration.
When you look at the individuals that President Trump has appointed or nominated for key positions whether we are talking about General Mattis for the Defense Department, General Kelly for Homeland Security, Mike Pompeo for CIA, Rex Tillerson at the State Department. When we are talking about Mr. Wilbur Ross at the Commerce Department, Steve Mnuchin at the Treasury Department. These are very very impressive individuals they are highly capable. They are highly experienced and they have a very realistic and a wise view of the world and of America’s in it. So once again I say we are very optimistic about the Trump Administration. And working closely with Administration to deal with the many challenges, not only in our region, but in the world. Let me also wrap up one item to the last question that you asked. We have also—I say what I say about our positive outlook. Because we have had contact with the Trump Administration to review on these issues. And we feel very strongly.
In terms of the statements you mentioned which belongs to General Flynn. General Flynn is an individual we know from his time Defense Intelligence Agency and from his time as Central Command. He is an American patriot. He is a man concerned about the security of the United States. And he is a man who believes in working very closely with American Allies, including the United States. So again I personally look forward to working with General Flynn and with all our colleagues in the American Administration. I have no doubts whatsoever that the—that our ability to overcome the challenges will be tremendously enhanced the closer we work together.

NATO seeks closer ties with Gulf, opens new center
AFP, Kuwait City Tuesday, 24 January 2017/NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday called for boosting security cooperation with the Gulf states as the Western military alliance opened its first office in the region. "It will be a vital hub for cooperation between the alliance and our Gulf partners," Stoltenberg said at the inauguration of the center in Kuwait in the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah. The center is based on the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI), which was launched by the NATO leaders in 2004 and aims to boost security links with the Middle East, in particular Gulf Arab states. Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates are members of ICI while the remaining two Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states -- Saudi Arabia and Oman -- plan to join. Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah said the region is facing serious challenges that require cooperation with international organizations. "We face common security threats like terrorism, weapons proliferation, and cyber-attacks. And we share the same aspirations for peace and for stability," Stoltenberg said. "So it is essential that we work more closely together than ever before. We have now developed individual cooperation programs with all our Gulf partners," he said.
Stoltenberg said that over the past year, NATO has trained hundreds of Iraqi officers in Jordan to better fight ISIS. "We are now extending our training and capacity-building efforts into Iraq itself," he said. NATO continues to fight terrorism in other ways, including with direct support to the anti-ISIS coalition, he said. The center will strengthen the military-to-military cooperation and the fight against terrorism and extremism, Stoltenberg said. The center will help the Gulf states by providing advanced training courses on cyber security, energy security, chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

Yemen govt objects UN envoy Sanaa meetings

Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Tuesday, 24 January 2017/The internationally recognized government of Yemen says it objects to the UN envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed’s meetings in Sanaa with the Houthi militia and their allies. The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Yemen, Abdul Malik Mikhlafi, said in a press statement the UN envoy’s meetings in Sanaa were unacceptable and inconsistent with his obligations as an envoy. During his visit to Sanaa, Cheikh Ahmed met with Hisham Sharaf, the Foreign Minister for the Houthi government. Cheikh Ahmed concluded his visit with a call for a comprehensive political settlement to the crisis and the restoration of the cessation of hostilities. “It is mandatory that the parties end the violence to ease the suffering of the Yemeni people and pave the way for a peacefully negotiated settlement,” said Mr. Cheikh Ahmed. In his meetings, Ould Cheikh Ahmed urged representatives to enter into detailed discussions on the withdrawal of forces and handover of medium and heavy weapons.
“There is an urgent need for Ansar Allah and the General People's congress to provide a well elaborated plan on security, withdrawal and handover of medium and heavy weapons,” he said, noting that the plan constitutes an essential part of the comprehensive peace agreement which is the UN is aiming to implement.

Yemen army takes control of strategic port city of Mokha
The Associated Press, Sanaa Tuesday, 24 January 2017/Forces allied with the internationally-recognized government of Yemen seized control of a strategic Red Sea port on Monday after waging an assault against Shiite militias, a top military commander said. Brig. Gen. Ahmed Seif al-Yafai said in press remarks that his forces have entered the city of Mokha, where dozens of families were seen fleeing days of clashes and bombardment. Dozens of fighters were killed as the bodies of the slain men littered streets and sidewalks, witnesses said. Mokha, one of Yemen’s oldest ports, is seen as a weapons lifeline to the militias and their allies — who control the capital, Sanaa, and much of the northern region. A Saudi-led military coalition is backing the government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and seeking to restore him to power. The assault on Mokha aims at securing the entire western coastline including the ports of Hodeida and al-Saleef — which the northern region depends on for imports of basic food necessities and which the coalition also believes are main transit points for weapons coming from Iran.

UN Security Council Wants to Keep Momentum of Cyprus Talks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 24/17/The UN Security Council on Monday pressed Greek and Turkish Cypriots to keep the "momentum" in talks for possible reunification of the island. "We urge all the parties to maintain the momentum and seize the opportunity they now have to secure a historic agreement," Swiss envoy Olof Skogg, who holds the rotating presidency this month, said after a closed-door session. Cyprus, home to about a million inhabitants, has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union with Greece. Special UN envoy Espen Barth Eide gave updates on the talks to ambassadors from the council's 15 member countries. He acknowledged there were still "key difficult issues to solve," especially concerning security guarantees. "One community traditionally sees the presence of Turkish troops as part of a solution, while the other sees it as part of the problem," he explained. Eide suggested negotiators were seeking a more comprehensive solution, without providing further details. "Security in Cyprus needs to be understood on several layers," he explained, pointing to constitutional issues, internal and external security, as well as mechanisms to ensure an eventual agreement would be respected. "We are looking for potential new answers," Eide said. He expressed hope of holding a new multilateral conference on the Mediterranean island's future in the coming weeks.

Iran: The Finger Amputation of a 70-Year-Old Prisoner Is About to Be Carried Out
NCRI/ Tuesday, 24 January 2017/According to the reports, a 70-year-old prisoner of Ghezelhesar Prison (Western Tehran) named Yousef Parvaneh was transferred to urmia in Norht Western province of Azarbayjan for the execution of finger amputation sentence. He was charged with theft. An informed source told a Persian news agency:"the case of finger amputation is related to a theft charge in 2008 in which Yosef Parvaneh was released on bail in 2010 but he was then arrested and transferred to Ghezelhesar Prison in 2011 due to another crime. He has been transferred to Urmia for a month and he was given the sentence of finger mutilation in the branch 1 law enforcement court."The source also said that the sentence was issued in absentia and Yusef Parvaneh has “appealed” the court ruling, but since one of the complainants is the brother of one of the city's influential military officials, the sentence is likely to be confirmed.

Iran: Devastating State of Schools in Tehran
NCRI/ Tuesday, 24 January 2017/The Head of the Education Department of the Cities of Tehran Province stated that 30% of schools and educational facilities of Tehran Province need demolition and reconstruction. As Tasnim News Agency affiliated with IRGC reported, Abdolreza Fouladvand said:"since the high school buildings of Tehran Province are old, more than 30% of them require demolition and reconstruction. One of the major problems of the Ministry of Education is that there are old buildings and educational facilities in the cities of Tehran Province. The Ministry of Education alone is not able to repair them since the current amount of budgets and credits are not sufficient."Abdolreza Fouladvand stressed that building new educational spaces is not proportional to the population and the schools face the high density of students since the population is growing rapidly.41% of schools are working in 2 shifts in Tehran Province.

Addiction Is Rising Among Women in Iran: Rouhani's Vice-President

NCRI/ Tuesday, 24 January 2017/The Vice President in the Cabinet of Hassan Rouhani in the Section of Women and Family Affairs, Shahindokht Molaverdi expressed her concern regarding women and family affairs as well as the rise of drug addiction among the Iranian women. She stated that 9% of addicts are of women in Iran. As Khabaronline News Agency reported, Shahindokht Molaverdi in the National Congress of Youth Affairs referred to the reduction age of drug use in Iran and said:"It is alarming that the patterns of drug use have transformed from traditional drugs to industrial and psychotropic substances among the girls in particular."Molaverdi stated that the levels of addiction have increased among girls since 2012. Nevertheless, this trend was declining from 2006 till 2012. She noted that the figure of social destruction in the country is rising. The ratio of married women has dropped 10.5% in the country from 1986 till 2011. She then stressed that a considerable amount of women who live on the outskirts of cities are prone to harms. According to the official figures from the Office of Research and Education of anti-drug Headquarters, the addiction of women has increased 4 times for the past 10 years. The former Director General of the Office of Addiction Prevention and Treatment affiliated with the Welfare Organization of Iran, Farid Baratisadeh confirmed the increasing figure of addiction among women and stipulated that this rise was not sudden. The Minister of Cooperatives, Labour, and Social Welfare stated that addiction among women is one of the serious issues in Iran and the prevalence of addiction among women has reached from 4 % to 10%. A member the regime’s parliament, Rasoul Khezri, had earlier announced that the number of addicts in Iran reached to 10 millions in 2013 at a minimum. The Head of the Office of Addiction, Mental and Social Health of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education of Iran, Ahmad Hajebi estimated that there are about 2 million addicts in Iran.

At Peace Talks, Syrian Opposition Demand Iran Regime Leave Syria
NCRI/ Tuesday, 24 January 2017/The Syrian opposition delegation attending peace talks in the Kazakh capital, Astana, has rejected a plan for the Iranian regime to play a role in monitoring the ceasefire in Syria, Britain's Guardian reported on Monday. Mohammed Alloush, the head of the opposition delegation, said in his opening remarks that the presence of Iranian-sponsored militias alongside regular Syrian government troops made peace more difficult to achieve, and called for them to leave the country, according to the Guardian. He also called for the release of prisoners from government jails, saying 13,000 women were being held arbitrarily. Alloush insisted the political process would begin with the departure of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, Iran's regime, and their militias. The Syrian opposition believes militia linked to Iran's regime, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, are – along with the al-Assad regime – systematically breaching the ceasefire agreed on December 29, 2016. The Syrian fighters believe the Iranian regime, as perpetrators of innumerable ceasefire breaches, cannot credibly monitor or enforce a ceasefire. Alloush said the rebels were prepared to keep fighting if no deal was possible, and while a political solution to the civil war was the rebels’ preferred choice, it was not the only one. “We came here to reinforce the ceasefire as the first phase of this process,” he said. “We will not proceed to the next phases until this actually happens on the ground.” He described the Syrian government as a “terrorist entity”. The National Council of Resistance in December 2016 revealed detailed information regarding the role of the Iranian regime and its proxies in the carnage perpetrated in the city of Aleppo.

Iran: High Ranking MP Says If We Stop Fighting in Syria, We Have to Fight in Iranian Cities
NCRI/ Tuesday, 24 January 2017/In a speech in the city of Birjand in Iran on January 23, the spokesman for the Security Commission of the Iranian regime’s Parliament Seyed-Hossein Naghavi Hosseini acknowledged that some within the regime are having doubts about the continuation of the war in Syria. He said that “it’s quite surprising how some people, who believe in the system, sometimes say such things as why should we be concerned about the war in Syria and that our national interests should be sought within our own borders.”
“If today the Islamic Republic stops fighting in Syria, tomorrow it will have to fight in Iran’s Kurdistan”, said Naghavi Hosseini. He added that Syria and Iraq are regarded as the Iranian regime’s frontline and if it stops fighting there, then it will have to fight in the Iranian provinces of Khuzestan, Kurdistan or South Khorasan. "So, it must be said that our borders are now right there.”In response to the regime’s President Hassan Rouhani, Nagahvi Hosseini then said in a mocking tone that “I quite agree with what Mr. Rouhani has said that those who can’t see the nuclear deal’s achievements need to wear glasses. That’s quite true since the nuclear deal’s achievements are so small that they can’t be seen without wearing glasses, and not any kind of glasses but a thick one, or maybe we could borrow his own glasses so as to see the achievements.”On January 13, IRGC Brigadier General Iraj Masjedi, who was speaking on the anniversary of the death of another Revolutionary Guard in Syria, said: “Yesterday the frontline of our fighters was Abadan, Khorramshahr, Mehran and… and now the frontline is Mosul, Lebanon, Aleppo and Syria.”In June 2016, he had said that fighting in Syria and Iraq means defending Iran’s borders. Revolutionary Guard Masjedi is one of the most senior and oldest commanders of the terrorist Quds Quds Force and his responsibility in these years was mainly to facilitate the regime’s meddling and terrorist attacks in Iraq in which he has played the main role. In recent years, his mission was to prepare and provide mercenaries forces and dispatching them to Syria. In September 2007, Masjedi was the head of Ramadan Base and he was in charge of preparing plans for training Iraqi militias. Commandment of Ramadan base has been and is the main position of the Iranian regime for meddling in Iraq. Another responsibility of Iraj Masjedi in Iraq is to dispatch Iraqi militants to Syria. In mid-June 2015, Masjedi, in a trip to Iraq and during a meeting with the terrorist groups and militias affiliated to Iran regime, set a quota for each for each group to send troops to Syria before the start of Ramadan, to dispatch about 4 to 5 thousand Iraqi militants to Syria. This project was carried out after the regime suffered heavy human casualties and losses in Syria.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 24-25/17
Yazidi Girls Sold as Sex Slaves while Women March against Trump
تباع اليزيديات كجواري وعبيد في حين تتظاهر النساء ضد ترامب
Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/January 24/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2017/01/24/uzay-bulutgatestone-institute-yazidi-girls-sold-as-sex-slaves-while-women-march-against-trump/
Some Yazidi girls were "sold" for a few packs of cigarettes.
"Some of those women and girls have had to watch 7-, 8-, and 9-year-old children bleed to death before their eyes, after being raped by ISIS militia multiple times a day. ISIS militias have burned many Yezidi girls alive for refusing to convert... Why? Because we are not Muslims..." — Mirza Ismail, chairman of the Yezidi Human Rights Organization-International.
"This is genocide against women." Zeynep Kaya Cavus, leading Alevi activist.
Sadly, many of the organizers and participants of the "Women's March" in Washington chose to ignore women being tortured and exterminated by Islamic terrorists, and in other parts of the world, not being able to to receive an education or even leave the house without the permission of a male.
If only these women felt as motivated to protest about the enslavement, rape and torture of Yazidi women and children, as about the cost of tampons.
On January 21, some women's rights groups organized "Women's Marches" in many cities across the Unites States and around the world. The rallies largely targeted recently-inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump.
There were many speakers and participants. One, the actress Ashley Judd, read a poem in Washington D.C. that asked why "tampons are taxed when Viagra and Rogaine are not".
As Ms. Judd talked about her devastating tragedy, thousands of Yazidi children and women were being forced into sexual slavery in Iraq and Syria at the hands of Islamic State (ISIS), and available for purchase at sex-slave markets.
While actress Ashley Judd complained at a Washington D.C. "Women's March" that "tampons are taxed when Viagra and Rogaine are not," thousands of Yazidi children and women were being forced into sexual slavery in Iraq and Syria at the hands of Islamic State.
ISIS attacked the Yazidi homeland of Shingal in Iraq on August 3, 2014; more than 9,000 Yazidis were killed, kidnapped, or sexually enslaved. Yazidis are a historically persecuted religious minority in the Middle East.
The Islamic State has institutionalized a culture of rape and sex-slavery. ISIS is waging a literal war against women. It has even published a "price list" of Yazidi and Christian girls -- as young as one to nine years of age.
Middle East scholar Raymond Ibrahim wrote about one Yazidi girl enslaved when she was 15 years old and endured months of captivity before she managed to escape:
"I remember a man who looked at least 40 years old coming and taking a ten-year-old girl. When she resisted him, he beat her severely, using stones, and would have opened fire on her if she had not gone with him. Everything against her will. They used to come and buy the girls without a price, I mean, they used to tell us Yazidi girls, you are sabiya [spoils of war, sex slaves], you are kuffar [infidels], you are to be sold without a price," meaning they had no base value. Some Yazidi girls were sold for a few packs of cigarettes.
"Every day I died 100 times over. Not just once. Every hour I died, every hour. ... From the beating, from the misery, from the torture," she said.
Mirza Ismail, founder and chairman of the Yezidi Human Rights Organization-International, said in his speech at the U.S. Congress:
"According to many escaped women and girls to whom I spoke in Northern Iraq, the abducted Yazidis, mostly women and children, number over 7,000.
"Some of those women and girls have had to watch 7-, 8-, and 9-year-old children bleed to death before their eyes, after being raped by ISIS militia multiple times a day. ISIS militias have burned many Yezidi girls alive for refusing to convert and marry ISIS men. Why? Because we are not Muslims, and because our path is the path of peace. For this, we are being burned alive: for living as men and women of peace."
In December 2015, reports disclosed that ISIS was selling Yazidi women and children in the southeastern city of Gaziantep (or Antep), Turkey. Gaziantep has come to be known for the widespread Islamic State activities in the city.
However, this and many other threats did not stop women's rights defenders in Gaziantep from protesting the Turkish government's inaction in the face of IS activities.
An activist from the group "Gaziantep Democratic Women's Platform", Fatma Keskintimur, read a statement to the press, which said in part:
"That the jihadi gangs fighting in Syria has received the biggest support from Turkey and that the cell houses they use... [are] known by everybody. Given what kind of a danger this situation creates for those who live in Antep, the uneasiness of people is intensifying every day."
Even under these conditions, women's rights defenders in Turkey -- particularly Kurds -- kept struggling and protesting the government.
Last year, for example, the "Yazidi Women's Assembly" commemorated August 3rd as "the day of international action against massacres against women and genocide". Members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) organized protests in many cities across Turkey to condemn the Yazidi genocide and show solidarity with the victims.
Safak Ozanlı, a former MP from the HDP, said that ISIS still held 3,000 Yazidi women as sex slaves: "ISIS sees women in Shingal and Kobane as war booty. The women who remain alive are sold to Arab sheikhs. We -- as women -- will stand united against ISIS and all dictators."
Members of the Alevi religious minority also supported the protest in Mersin. Zeynep Kaya Cavus, a leading Alevi activist, said that the Yazidi women are "kidnapped and enslaved as war booty and exposed to systematic sexual assaults and this is genocide against women".
There are a few Americans, too, that are doing their best to help Yazidis, such as Amy L. Beam, a human rights activist who has been living with and advocating for Yazidis full time since 2014. Her book The Last Yezidi Genocide, is to be published shortly, and she is the executive director of "Amy, Azadi and Jiyan" (AAJ -- "Friend, Freedom, and Life"), a humanitarian organization in Iraqi Kurdistan.
"Thousands of Yezidis have a long list of dead or missing family members under ISIS control in Iraq or Syria," she wrote. "Their psychology is very bad as they see very little international help on the one-year anniversary of the attack.
"Yazidi girls and women with their children ... are subjected to repeated beatings and rape by ISIS fighters who each was given one girl as a war trophy. Over 1,000 of these girls and women have escaped independently or been liberated from ISIS".
One wishes that the women activists in the U.S. would raise their voices against the genocidal attacks on Yazidi women and children. But they have not. "Women's rights groups in the U.S. have not supported the women in Iraq and Syria who really are oppressed, kidnapped, and raped," Beam told Gatestone.
Some of the participants of the women's march in Washington claim that Trump will take away their rights -- an accusation that many women who suffer under Islamist governments or organizations would find laughable. They are worried about being able to get an abortion, and their concern is justified. But it is not ayatollahs that have come to power in the U.S. Moreover, Trump seems determined to fight radical Islamic terrorism, the greatest threat to the dignity and freedom of women all around the world. That already shows his commitment to liberty -- especially liberty for women.
Radical Islamic ideology is a universal threat. Wherever it is weakened or defeated, this helps liberate victims in other parts of the world, as well.
To so many persecuted peoples in the Middle East, Trump's presidency represents hope for a positive change.
On November 7, the Yezidi Human Rights Organization-International issued a public statement titled "Yezidis look forward to a Trump presidency to help them wipe out ISIS." A Yazidi woman in Iraq has recently named her newborn baby boy "Trump."
The women's march, for all the good intentions on the part of many, violated the core principle of human rights: "The worst first."
Sadly, many of the organizers and participants of the march chose to stand by and ignore women being tortured and exterminated by Islamic terrorists, and in other parts of the world, not being able to receive an education or even leave the house without the permission of a male.If only these women felt as motivated to protest about the enslavement, rape and torture of Yazidi women and children, as about the cost of tampons.
Acting like self-serving, delusional fanatics, whose sheer hatred of an elected president blinds their eyes to the real problems of the world, does not help anyone. There have been just as many people who might have hated other presidents.
Let us with our actions remind women in the Middle East that we take their plight to heart.
**Uzay Bulut, a journalist born and raised a Muslim in Turkey, is currently based in Washington D.C.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute. https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9824/yazidi-sex-slave-women-march

Germany's New 'Ministry of Truth'/War against Free Speech
Stefan Frank/Gatestone Institute/January 24/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9822/germany-ministry-of-truth
It seems that all ideas suspected of being "populist" -- or simply those ideas without the blessing of the elites -- will now be banned in Germany. This restriction applies to criticism of the government (especially regarding immigration and energy policies), of the EU, of Islam, of government officials and of the media.
As in communist dictatorships, the more obvious the failings of the government, the more aggressively the establishment attacks those who speak out about them.
Large companies such as Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile), BMW, Mercedes-Benz and the supermarket chain REWE obeyed straightaway and promised to place Breitbart on the blacklist immediately, and never to advertise there again.
A plucky little pizza delivery service responded to the blacklisting demand by declaring that it was "not the morality police". The company was denounced by Der Spiegel as "inept", and after "protests from customers", it ended up capitulating, as the newspaper reported with much satisfaction.
The elites and intellectuals are apparently now counted among the German minorities in need of protection.
Toward the end of last year, Germany experienced a previously unheard-of boycott campaign – funded by the German government, no less -- against several websites, such as the popular "Axis of Good" ("Achse des Guten"). The website, critical of the government, was suddenly accused of "right-wing populism".
The German government's efforts at thought control seem to have begun with the victory of Donald J. Trump in the US presidential election -- that seems to set the "establishment" off. Germany's foreign minister and the probable future federal president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier -- one of the first to travel to Iran after the removal of sanctions there to kowtow to the Ayatollahs -- called America's future president a "hate preacher".
Germany's newspapers were suddenly littered with apocalyptic predictions and anti-American fulminations.
For hard-core Trump-haters, however, a witch hunt by itself is insufficient; they want activism! Since November, Germany's left-wing parties have had a strong increase in membership, as reported by Der Spiegel. At the same time, the federal government evidently decided, at least regarding the federal elections taking place in 2017, that it would no longer count on journalists' self-censorship. The German government, instead of merely hoping that newspapers would voluntarily -- or under pressure from the Press Council -- refrain from criticising the government's immigration policies, decided that it, itself, would inaugurate censorship.
The Federal Government's "Ministry of Truth"
To this effect, as reported by Der Spiegel, the Federal Interior Ministry, intends to set up a "Defense Center against Disinformation ("Abwehrzentrum gegen Desinformation") in the fight against "fake news on social networks". "Abwehr" -- the name of Nazi Germany's military intelligence agency -- is apparently meant to demonstrate the government's seriousness regarding the matter.
"It sounds like the Ministry of Truth, 'Minitrue,' from George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984", wrote even the left-leaning daily, Frankfurter Rundschau.
Frank Überall, national head of the German Association of Journalists (DJV), bluntly stated: "This smells like censorship."
It seems that all ideas suspected of being "populist" -- or simply those ideas without the blessing of the elites – will now be banned in Germany. This restriction applies to criticism of the government (especially regarding immigration and energy policies), of the EU, of Islam, of government officials and of the media.
The Federal Agency for Political Education -- the information agency of the Interior Ministry – is quite open about it: "Anti-elitism", "anti-intellectualism", "anti-politics" and "hostility toward institutions" are the "key characteristics of populism".
"Fat, Stupid White Men"
Toward the end of 2016, one of the biggest German media scandals in recent memory erupted when Gerald Hensel, undoubtedly a member of Germany's elite, tried to introduce a new form of internet censorship with the help of a team of media agencies and political players. Until recently, Hensel was "Director of Strategy" at Scholz & Friends, one of Germany's two big advertising agencies. The firm counts among its clients multinational corporations such as General Motors, the German federal government and the European Commission; so one might say the company is close to the state.
Apparently in anger over Trump's election victory, Hensel demanded: "Let us freeze the cash flow of the right-wing extremist media!" He had previously written a strategy brief declaring debate to be useless; instead, the political enemy -- the "populists" – needed to be fought, even with questionable methods:
"The liberal center must, especially in these new digital and information-based wars, take off the kid gloves. We have to turn the tables and learn about populism, particularly on the Internet... Thus, we have to respond in a more wide-spread digital manner and with explicitly less sympathy to those people who want to force their own future on us -- and do this long before the next federal election... Political storytelling, targeting the political enemy, influencers, forums, rumours..."
"Measures," he added, have to be taken against the "new right" – measures that:
"are 'Below the Line' and also digital. We need 'good' troll factories in our fight against Frauke Petry, Beatrix von Storch, Geert Wilders, Marine Le Pen and the fat stupid white men behind them. Ideally, as quickly as possible. Starting in 2017, they will continue to dismantle the EU and thus our future and that of our children."
Advertising Agency as Thought Police
Toward the end of November, Hensel appealed to his colleagues in various advertising agencies, under the banner of "no money for the right", to boycott all those who fit the description of his bogeyman -- because they were "hostile towards the EU," or because they might even harbour sympathies for Donald Trump. He was jumping on a bandwagon. A witch hunt was already under way against the American website Breitbart, due to the closeness of its former executive chair, Steve Bannon, to Donald Trump. Without providing any kind of proof, countless German newspapers and broadcasters claimed that Breitbart was "racist", "sexist", "xenophobic", "anti-Semitic" and "Islamophobic", and a "hate site". The state-owned German television station ARD described Breitbart as an "ultra right-wing" platform for "white supremacy". Other journalists followed suit.
Those Not Reading Newspapers are Suspect
Hensel went one step farther. In the style of a prosecutor during the Inquisition, he called to break the "dominance of right-wing micro media". He seems to consider particularly dangerous and subversive, anyone who reads articles that do not originate from one of Germany's media empires:
"While I may satisfy my thirst for information with my subscriptions to ZEIT or Le Mode Diplomatique, the brave new-right freedom-fighter likes to stay informed via online media such as the Axis of Good or Breitbart News."
This alone raises several suspicions. Hensel, whose website (which since December can only be accessed with a password) is graced by the display of a Soviet red star, likes to eliminate his opponents swiftly. Breitbart, for example, is deemed fascist ("salon-fascists"). Why? Because the blog -- and here he, supposedly for simplicity's sake, quotes an article from the Süddeutsche Zeitung -- "covers all the topics of German right-wing populism"; Breitbart reports about "the migrant and refugee policies of the German federal government, as well as of supposed criminal acts conducted by migrants and Islamic activities."
Hensel's solution? Boycott!
"There is freedom of speech in my stupid little world. Undoubtedly, websites such as Breitbart News and the Axis of Good... are legal media. Nevertheless, one could ask brand names whether they... are aware that their banner ads appear on these particular websites and represent their brand there."
This type of "asking", of course, roughly corresponds to the mafia "asking" the pizzeria owner if he has fire insurance.
Alliance for Censorship
Hensel also considerately provided detailed instructions for his readers. Those employed by an enterprise should check whether the websites that he deemed "right-wing" are registered on a blacklist. Employees of advertising agencies should form a team, with Hensel and other authoritarians, for internet censorship:
"If your career in a media agency has propelled you a little higher up the hierarchy, you might be able to bring up the topic at the next media get-together with colleagues. 2017 is an election year. You, dearest colleagues, clearly have a part in determining who receives our advertising dollars."
Hensel also suggests that consumers put direct pressure on companies or approach them via social media, to dissuade them from advertising on "hate publishers" and "destroyers of the future".
This manifesto was only published on a private blog -- one that barely anyone had ever heard of before. But the power of which Hensel boasted -- the networks in the advertising agencies and editorial offices -- is real. On Hensel's command, big newspapers and websites reported on the operation with much sympathy, along with the hashtag #NoMoneyForTheRight.
Companies Submit to Pressure
Large companies such as Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile), BMW, Mercedes-Benz and the supermarket chain REWE obeyed straightaway, and promised to place "Breitbart" on the blacklist immediately and never to advertise there again. Der Spiegel cited Hensel's "resistance" (!) and pilloried one business that did not follow suit: A plucky little pizza delivery service that responded to the blacklisting demand by declaring that it was "not the morality police". The company was denounced by Der Spiegel as "inept", and after "protests from customers", it ended up capitulating, as the newspaper reported with much satisfaction.
Breitbart will cope with missing out on a few hundred dollars of advertising revenue from Germany. Hensel, however, was successful in his attempt to motivate his ad agency colleagues against German websites such as the Axis of Good. Within a few days, none of them advertised there anymore. Advertising revenue, equally important for websites as it is for newspapers, came to a halt. Hensel had achieved his goal.
State-Financed Boycott
For this campaign, Hensel also received support from the group Network Against Nazis ("Netz gegen Nazis"), which receives financing from by Germany's federal government, the German Football Association and the newspaper Die Zeit, and which, until recently, also counted Scholz & Friends among its supporters. In the tried and true Orwellian fashion of calling things their opposite, the definition of "Nazi", for Network Against Nazis, encompasses anyone who is "Islamophobic" or "hostile toward the media".
Shortly after Hensel's call for boycotts, the Axis of Good was place on a list of "popular right-wing blogs" by Network Against Nazis -- together with the liberal publisher Roland Tichy and the evangelical civil rights activist Vera Lengsfeld (who is a thorn in the side of communists, because she fought against the East Germany's dictatorship in the 1980s). The Amadeu-Antonio Foundation, which runs the Network Against Nazis website, receives almost a million euros per year from the federal government. Not surprisingly, it demonstrates its gratitude with character assassinations of critics of the government.
"The Trend of Denouncing People as Right-Wingers"
Within a short time, Hensel had put together a kind of mafia, bent on economically ruining whoever rejected his ideological commands, by using libel and slander to scare away their customers.
As the Frankfurter Allgemeine daily newspaper commented:
"It is very fashionable right now to stigmatize people and denounce them as 'right-wing' if they do not share your views.
Companies want nothing to do with that label, and, as you can see on Twitter, they quickly change direction if they are aggressively made aware that they support the wrong side with their ads (which are often automatically activated and run on the internet)."
In response to the boycott campaign against it, the Axis of Good showed how a business can defend itself: the editors raised a public alarm about Hensel's campaign in a series of reports and commentaries. Thousands of readers complained on the Facebook page of Hensel's employer, Scholz & Friends, which, after its initial support, began to distance itself from its employee's campaign and finally severed ties with him.
According to Hensel's version, his campaign was "so successful" that he wanted to take his employer "out of the line of fire".
"My former employer and I became the victims of a massive hate storm consisting of countless of tweets, emails and comments on social media... This is a systematic campaign."
Propaganda Offensive ahead of the Federal Election
Of course, it was Hensel himself who initiated a systematic campaign, including dirty tricks, which were waged with an eye to the government's apparent plans to consolidate the population ideologically. As research by the Axis of Good has revealed, Hensel's boycott operation was closely tied to the plans by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs to conduct an advertising campaign in support of an open-door immigration policy in 2017. For this, an advertising agency was necessary, as reported in September by an industry journal:
"As revealed by a Europe-wide announcement, the Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth is looking for an agency to advertise the brand 'Living democracy! Actively against right-wing extremism, violence and inhumanity'."
Ad agencies were invited to submit their suggestions by the middle of December. The Axis of Good concluded:
"There is a suspicion that this [boycott] operation was a hurried pilot project for the bid for the million-euro project by Schwesig's Family Ministry. A free trial run for the so-called 'advertising pitch'."
Regarding the question of how much economic damage was caused to the Axis of Good by the boycott campaign, Henryk M. Broder, the website's publisher, told Gatestone:
"It is significant, but how big it really was, we will only know in a few months. After all, it is not the companies themselves that stopped advertising, but the agencies. The damage for Scholz & Friends could be even bigger, but they do not talk about it."
The Hamburger Abendblatt daily referred to Hensel's campaign as an "attack on the freedom of the press," adding: "It seems as if the shot from the activists backfired."
As in communist dictatorships, the more obvious the failings of the government, the more aggressively the establishment attacks those who speak out about them.
Stefan Frank, a journalist and writer, is based in Germany.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Wilders to Prime Minister Rutte: Stop Deceiving the People
Geert Wilders/Gatestone Institute/January 24/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9823/wilders-rutte
Prime Minister Rutte ran an election advertisement in today's newspapers.
And I have a message to this prime minister.
Stop with the deceit of the Netherlands. Stop deceiving your own people.
There is absolutely no-one who still believes you.
It was you, who caused the loss of our freedom, our security, and our culture.
It was you, who governed with the Labor Party; you, who conducted dangerous open borders policy.
You, who even allowed terrorists to freely travel in and out of the Netherlands.
You, who have given Islam free rein.
Why don't you talk about that?
Four years of Mark Rutte means four years of, every day, a little less Netherlands.
Why do you not talk about Islamization?
Why do you not talk about terror?
Why don't we hear you about the billions that are spent every year on Africa, Brussels and all those fortune-seekers, rather than on our own people?
Why don't you mention the hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers and immigrants whom you've allowed into our country?
That is the biggest threat to our country.
That is what you, as prime minister, should never have allowed to happen.
It is your fault and no-one else's.
And if we continue the way you are doing now, then the Netherlands will soon cease to exist.
Then there will be only one standard in this country: Islam. And we will have lost our beautiful country.
But we will not allow that to happen, because this is the land of all those millions of Dutch whom you have let down.
The millions of people whom you have cheated and robbed of their own country.
But, together with them, we will reconquer the Netherlands from the elite, from Islam, and from you, Mr. Rutte.
It's time that you leave.
And, on March 15th, the Netherlands will become ours again.
*Geert Wilders is a member of the Dutch Parliament and leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV).
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

It’s Going to Be a Hot Summer for Oil Prices
Jason Schenker/Bloomberg/Asharq Al-Awsat/January 24/17
Oil prices have been falling since the New Year. After a bullish announcement from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and production cuts by non-OPEC nations, the narrative has become bearish, focused on drilling for U.S. shale oil, as well as the failure of some nations to observe calls to cut output. Yet market participants are missing something fundamental: WTI futures and energy equities have not priced in the potential upside risks to oil prices during the 2017 U.S. summer driving season, which is likely to be record-breaking. And that season — roughly the period between late May and early September — is approaching on the New York Mercantile Exchange much more quickly than it is in real time. NYMEX contracts trade ahead of the calendar, so higher prices may be closer than they appear.
While it may be only the third week of January, March crude oil contracts on the NYMEX become the new trading benchmark when February contracts expire on Jan. 20. This shift puts refineries, hedgers and traders one month closer to the high-demand summer, the biggest seasonal driver of global oil prices of the year. Because of the timing of NYMEX contract trading changes, refiners are likely to significantly increase their oil hedging and purchasing when April crude oil contracts on the NYMEX become the trading benchmark on Feb. 21. That means upside surprises to oil prices in 2017 may be only a month away.
This year, the seasonal upside could be even greater than normal. With the lowest U.S. unemployment rate since before the recession of 2008, and two consecutive years of record SUV and light truck sales in 2015 and 2016, the coming summer driving season is likely to show records for miles driven and gasoline demand. In fact, there has been a record number of miles driven every month since December 2014. And a continued trend higher in the 12-month moving total of U.S. miles driven is likely to continue throughout 2017.
Although there are upside price risks to WTI crude oil prices when the NYMEX contract rolls to April on Feb. 21, there are downside risks for oil prices when the summer driving season ends on the NYMEX. Just as the summer starts early on the NYMEX, it has a premature end, too: September WTI crude oil becomes the benchmark after the contract roll on July 20. Significant price declines accompanied similar contract rolls signaling an end to the summer driving season in 2014, 2015 and 2016 — though some of the downside risks in 2016 were mitigated by anticipated OPEC oil production cuts. With upside risks to global and U.S. growth in the second half of 2017, the story is likely to be different this year. Oil prices are likely to find more support — with or without OPEC compliance — even after the coming driving season ends, with a potential for the smallest post-driving season price declines on the NYMEX since 2013.
Oil traders watch a number of technical trading indicators, including moving averages, trading volumes and relative strength. These technicals are somewhat mixed for WTI crude oil prices. In addition, fundamentals are being unduly influenced by concerns about higher rig counts and the lack of compliance by OPEC oil production cut compliance. But upside risks to NYMEX WTI prices are increasing with each contract roll that brings the driving season closer. That driving season will dominate the headlines, support price increases engendered by fundamental demand and trigger additional technical buy signals. These factors are likely to send oil prices significantly higher ahead of and during the summer — even if it is tough to imagine now, in the dead of winter.

Opinion: Trump’s No 1 Enemy
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/January 24/17
The playwright Bernard Shaw once said “I learned long ago not to engage in a quarrel with the media. It’s like wrestling with a pig. You will get dirty if you win or you lose. I apologise to my colleagues in the profession.” The American President Donald Trump has been the best at deceiving the media and he used it for a year, during the election period. Trump was the media’s favourite subject because he was an unusual candidate and did not adhere to the rules of traditional competition. He is incredibly popular and does not care much about intellectuals’ opinion of him. There is no doubt that Trump rose on the media’s shoulders for the cheapest price and invaded television screens for free after channels competed to broadcast him in order to gain more viewers. While his rival Hillary Clinton spent more than $1 billion dollars on the media, Trump had only paid a very small amount until last September. Despite this, his presence dominated the media. I don’t believe that any major media strategist imagined that Trump’s luck would take him to the final stages and it was completely ruled out that he would win the elections.
Underestimating Trump made his pro-Democratic Party opponents, such as CNN, give him their microphones in an unprecedented manner and they pampered him in order to entertain people, not out of love for him or in order to promote him.
When there were a few weeks left till the elections and everyone began to realise that he was one of the two candidates to win the presidency, media outlets loyal to the Democrats turned against him. However, it was too late as he had built his name, established a plan and had gained popularity and followers.
Trump’s victory ended the electoral competition but it seems that the media war has just begun. Media figures are well aware that the president is an easy target because he is the first to be held responsible. His administration will undoubtedly commit mistakes, have shortcomings and will sometimes be unable to fulfil its promises. There may be developments against him that he cannot influence. In addition to this, there are endless possibilities and embarrassments. All of this will provide the media with ammunition to weaken him.
Trump, the man who looks like a tough Roman wrestler, will tire because, as Shaw said, a public figure cannot win against the media which considers criticism as its task and source of power.
In a country like the United States, its constitution expressly states that freedom of expression must be respected regardless of its aim and style. As a result, the president cannot do much to curb media outlets that oppose him. It appears that a big percentage of them oppose him and their attacks on Trump will be fiercer than their attacks on the former president Barack Obama who had a good relationship with the media.
Obama succeeded in subduing most of the media although, from amongst all American presidents, he was the most sensitive to criticism and journalists. It is said that he was the president who punished journalists the most by preventing those who disagreed with him or criticised him from participating in covering his activities and trips.
Trump’s problem is that, apart from being impulsive, he likes confrontation and believes that it is his weapon to discipline journalists. However, this will exhaust him and cost him a lot in the years to come, and it may even destroy him.
His Democrat rivals are influential and popular in society and they are favoured by the media which mainly consists of liberal movements that are affiliated to them. They are followed by Women’s groups, minorities, the LGBT community and the disabled. The list is long and includes rich organisations that have many supporters, and institutions that will keep Trump busy during the next four years with protests. They will use the weapon of popular and qualitative media against him on a large scale.
Therefore, the threat that President Trump made publicly against journalists a few days ago is mere talk and expresses his anger and frustration at the media’s attacks on him. He can shout in their faces but he can’t actually do much against them except deprive those who do not like him from accompanying him and keeping his personal information private. Trump may retreat and accept that the only way of dealing with the bullying media is to co-exist with it as part of a long and slow relationship, or be patient with it.