LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
January 01/2018
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations
The Fate of the Shepherd Who neglects His duties and obligations
Ezekiel 34:/01-31: “1The word of the Lord came to me:  “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them. “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:  This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves.
I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them. “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.  As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.  I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.  I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord.  I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice. “‘As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats. Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water?
Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?  Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet? “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.  Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away,  I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another.  I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd.  I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken. “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of savage beasts so that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety. I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.  The trees will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them.  They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid.  I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations.  Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the Israelites, are my people, declares the Sovereign Lord.  You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 01/18
Welcoming The New Year With Prayers, Repentance and Forgiveness/Elias Bejjani/January 01/2017
What to expect from Lebanon's Parliament in 2018/Georgi Azar /Annahar/December 31
A powerful judiciary that is a bulwark against terrorism/Hassan Al Mustafa/Al Arabiya/December 31/2017
Palestinians at home and in the diaspora: Let 2018 be the year of true unity/Ramzy Baroud/Al Arabiya/December 31/2017
People Can Handle the Truth About the Environment/Mark Buchanan/Bloomberg/December 31/2017
Mass Migration: Uninvited Guests/Philip Carl Salzman/Gatestone Institute/December 31/2017
Turkish Twitter Explodes with Genocidal Jew-Hatred/Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/December 31/2017

Titles For Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on January 01/18
Welcoming The New Year With Prayers, Repentance and Forgiveness
Rahi condemns Helwan Chruch attack
Hariri Urges Unity, Says 'No Political Crisis in Country'
Hariri Inspects Nejmeh Square ahead of NYE Party
Aoun, Berri Defiant as Baabda Says Page Turned on 'Syrian-Era Taef Accord'
Berri Says Aoun Aides behind Strained Relation, Current Row
Hariri Says Working on Solution to Aoun-Berri Row
AMAL MP Slams Bassil over Israel Remarks
What to expect from Lebanon's Parliament in 2018
Georgi Azar /Annahar/December 31

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 01/18
The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy (AMCD) Urges Support for Iranian Anti-Government Demonstrators
Canada expresses support for people protesting in Iran
Protesters march toward residence of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
Protests in Iran cities resume on fourth day, social media footage shows
Iran Cuts Social Media Access as Unrest Turns Deadly
Trump on Iran: Oppressive Regimes Cannot Last Forever
Rouhani hits back at Trump saying he has no right to sympathize with protesters
Kidnapped Saudi child in Egypt rescued
Regime Forces Advance against Jihadists in Northwest Syria
Guatemala: Jerusalem Embassy Move 'Will Not Be Reversed'
Palestinians recall envoy to US for consultations after Jerusalem move
Gazan Dies after Border Clash with Israel Forces

Latest Lebanese Related News published on January 01/18
Welcoming The New Year With Prayers, Repentance and Forgiveness
Elias Bejjani/January 01/2017
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=61495
With day one of the New Year let us with faith, love and hope share a set of righteous resolutions based on repentance and forgiveness.
Let us take a solemn vow to be all through the 365 days forgiving, loving, caring, modest, and fearing Almighty God in our conduct, rhetoric and thoughts.
Let us make our resolution an on going fight against the evil inside our minds, and a promise to tame all our instincts of revenge selfishness, arrogance, lust and enviousness.
Definitely it is very difficult to tame the desires of our human nature, BUT if we belief in ourselves and trust in Almighty God, Our loving Father, shall lead our steps to be triumphant.
With a spirit of faith and self-trust, let us all welcome the New Year, with open hearts and extended hands to all others, especially to those family members, relatives, friends and acquaintances with whom we were not in good terms during the last year.
Let us close the last year’s messy pages and open new ones totally blank with full readiness for forgiveness, and a genuine willingness for recognizing our wrongdoings in a bid to come with a practical plan for repentance.
Let us all put our burdens, pains, sickness, deprivation, persecution, broken hearts, disappointments, frustrations, bereavements, injustice, abandonment, and anger in the hands of Almighty God and follow the teachings of His Gospel.
God, with his gracious wisdom and abundant generosity, shall definitely see in every way possible that we all safely overcome with faith and hope all kinds of failure temptations, hardships and difficulties.
Let us all trust in Our Father, Almighty God and recognize that we are all His beloved children and that He has created us in his image.
We should never ever doubt God’s deep love for each and every one of us.
How could He not love us when we are His children?
How could He abandon us when He has sent his only son, Jesus Christ to defeat death, give us the eternal life, suffer and be crucified so we, His children, can become purified and absolved from the original sin, and be helped to walk safely the path of eternal salvation.
Let us ask Almighty God to help us live in peace and harmony with ourselves and others, lead our steps into the righteous paths, grant us the strength of endurance and hold us back from the sin of hurting or hating others.
Let us pray that in this New Year, Our Father, Almighty God, shall grant us the graces of love, meekness, humbleness, transparency, honesty and forgiveness.
Let us pray that in this New Year, Our Father, Almighty God, shall maintain our hearts and minds pure, and free from grudges and selfishness.
Let us pray that in this New Year, Our Father, Almighty God, shall help us to remember that vengeance is evil and forgiveness is a Godly grace.
Let us pray that Almighty God shall not allow vengeance to take control of our lives.
When we trust in God and believe in His justice, we ought to leave all that is judgment to Him and only to Him.
“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear”. (Matthew 13:43)
“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” ( Romans 12:19-21)
These holy verse frees us from the burden of taking justice into our own hands. It tells us “Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ God will repay those who are righteous”..
Since God is going to take up our cause and see to it that justice is done, we should lay it down, work hard not to succumb to our human destructive and evil instincts.
With this New Year, let us pray from the depth of our hearts for all those who hate and hold grudges against us. Let us ask almighty God to cure them from these evil ailments and grant us the grace of forgiveness and the strength of faith to keep loving them.
No one should forget that our live on this earth is too short, and that we must be righteous to deserve the eternal one in Heaven where there will be no pain or fights, but happiness and peace.
With the beginning of the New Year, let us all ask almighty God to shower on every one the graces of health, prosperity, peace, faith, and hope.
Let us pray for peace and tranquility in all countries, especially where devastating wars, conflicts, and discrimination are going on. Happy New Year.

Rahi condemns Helwan Chruch attack
Sun 31 Dec 2017/NNA - Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Boutros Rahi, on Sunday strongly condemned yesterday's terrorist attack on Mar Mina church in Cairo district of Helwan, which left several people dead and injured. "We express our deep condolences to the victims and families of this heinous crime, as well as to President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi and people of Egypt," Rahi said during a mass service in Bkirki today. Commenting on the political situation in the country, the Patriarch called on all politicians to build bridges of communication between them for the sake of the country. Rahi concluded his sermon by hoping that the upcoming new year would dispel all conflicts and wars, as well as political, economic, living and social crises, putting an end to poverty and deprivation around the world.

Hariri Urges Unity, Says 'No Political Crisis in Country'
Naharnet/December 31/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri toured the capital Beirut on Sunday on the occasion of New Year’s Eve and stressed that “there is no political crisis in the country.”“We hope to remain united in order to build this country,” Hariri said from the Dar al-Aytam orphanage.
“I have chosen to be at this place because children are the future,” he added. Hariri later inspected the Helou Barracks of the Internal Security Forces. “There is no political crisis in the country and all things can be resolved,” he said, referring to the spat between President Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri. “I’m always optimistic because we went through tougher difficulties,” he noted.

Hariri Inspects Nejmeh Square ahead of NYE Party
Naharnet/December 31/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri inspected overnight the preparations for New Year’s Eve celebrations at Nejmeh Square in downtown Beirut. The NYE party, which will be open to the public free of charge, is organized by Beirut Municipality. Hariri himself had asked the municipality to hold the event at Nejmeh Square instead of the nearby Martyrs Square. “This is Nejmeh Square, which martyr premier Rafik Hariri had always loved to see it this vital and lively, and this is Lebanon, which we would like to see it regaining its prosperity,” Hariri said at the site. “We want people to believe in this wonderful country, and God willing, tomorrow we will turn the page on 2017 and begin a year full of achievements,” the premier added. Beirut Municipality president Jamal Itani has said that strict security measures will be taken to ensure that the event goes without incident. He however reassured that the measures will not cause any inconvenience to attendees. Several NYE events were held at the iconic square after the civil war, but security concerns and political circumstances had prevented such festivities in recent years.

Aoun, Berri Defiant as Baabda Says Page Turned on 'Syrian-Era Taef Accord'
Naharnet/December 31/17/As President Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri continue to lock horns over the controversial officers seniority decree, the spat between them is likely to aggravate further in the coming days, parliamentary sources have said. The row could “reach the red line of boycotting cabinet sessions as part of the gradual escalation, unless Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Hizbullah intervene to contain the crisis,” the sources told al-Hayat newspaper in remarks published Sunday. Presidency sources meanwhile told Kuwait’s al-Anbaa daily that “the Taef (Accord) of (Syrian intelligence officers) Ghazi Kanaan and Rustom Ghazaleh has ended.”

Berri Says Aoun Aides behind Strained Relation, Current Row
Naharnet/December 31/17/Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has accused President Michel Aoun’s aides of being behind the latest deterioration in the relation between the two leaders. In an interview with MTV, Berri said his relation with Aoun had been “more than excellent, especially after the crisis that followed (Prime Minister Saad) Hariri’s resignation.”“But the problem of the ruler is usually at his palace and in those who are around him,” the Speaker added, referring to Aoun’s aides. As for the disputed decree that sparked the latest row with Aoun, Berri emphasized that “the crisis over the seniority decree does not have any sectarian aspect, and is not linked to the signature of a Shiite minister on decrees.” “Let them send the seniority decree to (Finance) Minister Ali Hassan Khalil and I guarantee that he will sign it,” the Speaker added. And hinting anew that judicial authorities are biased in Aoun’s favor, Berri said: “I will congratulate them in advance if they resort to the judiciary to resolve the crisis over the decree.”“I have informed the army commander that the military institution has nothing to do with this crisis and that I do not have anything against the officers,” the Speaker went on to say. Separately, Berri said the upcoming parliamentary elections are facing an “external threat,” but reassured that the polls “will be held on time.” “I will not accept any call for amending the law, even for minor changes, because that would lead to a flurry of calls for other amendments,” the Speaker added, noting that so far he has not discussed electoral alliances with anyone, “even with Hizbullah.”The latest Aoun-Berri spat broke out after the president and the premier signed a decree granting one-year seniority to a number of officers. Berri and Minister Khalil have insisted that the decree should have also carried the finance minister's signature. Aoun and his aides have argued that the decree did not require Khalil's signature because it did not entail any “financial burden,” a point Berri and officials close to him have argued against. Ain el-Tineh sources have meanwhile warned that the decree would tip sectarian balance in favor of Christians in the army's highest echelons. The officers in question were undergoing their first year of officer training at the Military Academy when Syrian forces ousted Aoun’s military government from Baabda in 1990. They were suspended by the pro-Damascus authorities until 1993 before they resumed their officer training course as second-year cadets.

Hariri Says Working on Solution to Aoun-Berri Row
Naharnet/December 31/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced overnight that he is exerting efforts aimed at resolving the growing spat between President Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri. “Some want to blow this issue out of proportion, but it is related to one point that I’m working on and all parties will reach a solution,” said Hariri in response to a reporter’s question on the Aoun-Berri crisis. “This issue needs patience and a cordial solution. Things can be resolved and nothing is impossible. We went through much more difficult ordeals and we will not be hindered by a decree,” the premier added.
Told that Berri has said that “the solution is the finance minister’s signature” on the so-called officers seniority decree, Hariri said: “I will not go into details and God willing things will be resolved.”The Aoun-Berri spat broke out after the president and the premier signed a decree granting one-year seniority to a number of officers. Berri and Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil have insisted that the decree should have also carried the finance minister's signature. Aoun and his aides have argued that the decree did not require Khalil's signature because it did not entail any “financial burden,” a point Berri and officials close to him have argued against. Ain el-Tineh sources have meanwhile warned that the decree would tip sectarian balance in favor of Christians in the army's highest echelons. The officers in question were undergoing their first year of officer training at the Military Academy when Syrian forces ousted Aoun’s military government from Baabda in 1990. They were suspended by the pro-Damascus authorities until 1993 before they resumed their officer training course as second-year cadets.

AMAL MP Slams Bassil over Israel Remarks
Naharnet/December 31/17/MP Hani Qobeissi of Speaker Nabih Berri’s AMAL Movement on Sunday lashed out at Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil over the latter’s latest controversial remarks on Israel. “What one of the officials has said about the Palestinian cause requires a clarification, carries malicious intentions and is aimed at shifting the country to another course,” Qobeissi warned. “Someone has voiced remarks that need to be clarified because he occupies a governmental and official Lebanese post. The martyrs in their tombs cannot condone the stances that were voiced during a TV interview and we will not remain silent,” the MP added. Bassil has sparked controversy by saying that he does not reject Israel's existence and that Israel “has the right to live in security.” “We do not have an ideological problem with Israel. We do not reject Israel's existence and its right to live in security. We are only saying that we want all peoples to lives in security and to acknowledge each other,” Bassil said in an interview with the Beirut-based, pan-Arab al-Mayadeen television.A statement issued by Bassil's press office said a video circulated on social media was “taken out of context.”“This curtailment is aimed at distorting Minister Bassil's stance,” the press office said, noting that Bassil considers Israel “an aggressor entity that practices state terrorism.”“This campaign is aimed at undermining Minister Bassil's stance on Jerusalem at the Arab League,” the press office added.

What to expect from Lebanon's Parliament in 2018
Georgi Azar /Annahar/December 31/ 2017 2017 | 12:56
2017 marked an eventful year for Lebanon’s parliament, with the ratification of a new election law among other key legislation.
BEIRUT: 2017 marked an eventful year for Lebanon’s parliament, with the ratification of a new election law among other key legislation.
Observers expect this productive year to translate into the new year as well with numerous draft laws under review by relevant parliamentary committees. Annahar focuses on the most prominent draft laws that are making their way through the legislative pipeline.
BANNING UNDERAGE MARRIAGE
Lebanon is expected to soon ban under-age marriage, an important step in efforts to promote human rights after Parliament abolished in 2017 a law that allowed rapists to avoid prison by marrying their victims.
While the bill to ban under-age marriage is still being studied by the administrative and judicial parliamentary committees, it is expected to be ratified with little pushback.
REFORMING PENSION PLANS
Another bill currently being finalized pertains to pension plans, with high expectations of its endorsement by parliament within the next two months.
NEW PETROLEUM RELATED LAWS
Lebanon’s prospective petroleum sector gave citizens much to look forward to following the Cabinet’s approval of two bids for offshore oil and gas exploration by a global consortium.
After the ratification of a Petroleum Tax Law, parliamentary committees are currently reviewing three bills pertaining to promoting transparency in the oil and gas sector, establishing a sovereign wealth fund to manage oil and gas revenues and creating a national oil company.
2018 STATE BUDGET
In 2017, Lebanon's Parliament approved the first state budget since 12 years.
A few months later, the details of the 2018 state budget are being finalized by the government, with Parliament expected to approve it by March the latest.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 01/18
The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy (AMCD) Urges Support for Iranian Anti-Government Demonstrators
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=61499
Washington, DC, December 30, 2017 --(PR.com)-- The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy (AMCD) applauds the proud Iranian people’s peaceful protests over the actions of the few non-elected, self-appointed Iranian regime officials. They encourage the Trump administration to extend active support to the large and growing secular element of Iranian society in their quest for freedom and their will to embrace modernity.
“Freedom and Liberty are God given rights equally owned by Iranians who wrote the first declaration of human rights 2500 years ago,” said AMCD’s founding member Hossein Khorram. “It a shame this resourceful nation with such a rich history has become victim to the tyranny of a handful of mullahs at the head of its corrupt theocratic government.”
As the signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, AMCD insists the US must hold the Iranian regime responsible for the welfare and safety of Iranian people exercising their right to a peaceful protest.
“Before the Iranian regime expects respect from other nations it must respect their own people and immediately release all of those who have been arrested during these peaceful protects,” declared AMCD’s President John Hajjar.
“The Iranian regime’s failure to respect their citizens’ rights will only deepens the existing mistrust towards that regime and will increase the international community’s sanctions against the regime,” he continued.
“The remarkable will of the Iranian people to denounce terrorism will force the end of terrorist groups supported by Iran such as Hezbollah, Hamas and others who are fomenting instability throughout the entire region,” added AMCD’s Co-Director, Tom Harb.
We at AMCD stand shoulder to shoulder with the Iranian American Community in support of freedom and liberty for the Iranians who have enriched the world with their enormous contributions to humanity. We declare the time has come for the regime to concede their power back to the people of Iran and to allow them to determine their own destiny as full and equal members of the modern world.
Contact:http://www.americanmideast.com/
Rebecca Bynum
rebecca@americanmideast.com
(615) 775-6801
Contact Information
The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy
Rebecca Bynum
615 775-6801
Contact http://www.americanmideast.com/

Canada expresses support for people protesting in Iran
Al Arabiya/January 01/2018/The Canadian government has expressed support for people protesting in Iran on Monday as mass demonstrations enter their fifth day across the country. “Canada is encouraged by the Iranian people who are exercising their basic right to protest peacefully,” Global Affairs Canada said in a written statement that also called on Iranian authorities to “honor democratic and human rights”. “Canada will continue to support the fundamental rights of Iranians, including the right to freedom of expression,” the statement added. The largest protests to strike Iran in nearly a decade continued unabated Sunday, despite a government move to block access to Instagram and a popular messaging app used by activists to organize, with even President Hassan Rouhani acknowledging the public's anger over the Islamic Republic's flagging economy.

Protesters march toward residence of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
Al Arabiya/January 01/2018/Several media outlets have reported that a crowd of protestors began marching toward Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s residence on Pasteur St. on Sunday night in the capital Tehran. Sources have confirmed security forces and members of the Revolutionary Guards were heavily deployed in nearby streets Khamenei’s residence. According to Shahrvand-Yar, a non-profit institution that advocates for democracy and change in Iran, said on its channel on Telgram app that the crowds of protesters began marching toward’s the house at exactly 19:50 Tehran time. They added that there were orders for military commanders to “take all measures to prevent the demonstrators from reaching the house of the Supreme Leader”. Anti-government protesters demonstrated in Iran on Sunday in defiance of a warning by the authorities of a tough crackdown, extending for a fourth day one of the most audacious challenges to the clerical leadership since pro-reform unrest in 2009.

Protests in Iran cities resume on fourth day, social media footage shows
Al Arabiya/January 01/2018/On fourth day of Iran protests, in the northeastern city of Mashhad, protesters chanted: “Khamenei, have some shame, and leave the country alone!”In Tehran, according to wire reports, police used water cannon to try to disperse demonstrators gathering in Ferdowsi Square in the center of the capital, citing video footage posted on social media. Video posted online also showed a clash between protesters and police in the city of Khoramdareh in Zanjan province in the country’s northwest. There were also reports of protests in Sanandaj and Kermanshah cities in western Iran.
A semi-official news agency in Iran reported that police arrested around 200 people during protests in Tehran on Saturday. The ILNA news agency report on Sunday quoted Ali Asghar Nasserbakht, a security deputy governor of Tehran, offering the figure. Nasserbakht said that police arrested those who were planning on rioting and destroying public property.He also said that around 40 leaders were arrested. (With wires)

Iran Cuts Social Media Access as Unrest Turns Deadly
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 31/17/Iran cut access to social media on Sunday in a bid to head off further protests after days of unrest that saw two people killed and dozens arrested. The interior minister warned protesters will "pay the price" as footage on social media showed thousands marching across the country overnight in the biggest test for the Islamic republic since mass demonstrations in 2009. The spate of demonstrations began in second city Mashhad on Thursday over high living costs, but quickly spread throughout the country and turned against the Islamic system as a whole, with slogans such as "Death to the dictator". Lorestan province deputy governor Habibollah Khojastehpour told state television that two people were killed in clashes in the small western town of Dorud late on Saturday, but denied security forces were responsible. There were no signs of major protests during the day on Sunday, though officials appeared to be bracing for unrest after dark. In an apparent attempt to stave off more unrest, the authorities began blocking access to photo sharing and online messaging services on mobile phones, including Telegram, which the government accused of being used to foment violence, local media and Telegram's CEO said. After an initial silence, state media has begun showing footage of unrest, focusing on young men violently targeting banks and vehicles, an attack on a town hall in Tehran, and images of a man burning the Iranian flag. "Those who damage public property, disrupt order and break the law must be responsible for their behaviour and pay the price," Interior Minister Abdolrahman Rahmani Fazli said on state television. "The spreading of violence, fear and terror will definitely be confronted," he added. U.S. President Donald Trump said the "big protests" showed people "were getting wise as to how their money and wealth is being stolen and squandered on terrorism.""Looks like they will not take it any longer," he wrote on Twitter, warning that Washington is "watching very closely for human rights violations!" British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said he was "watching events in Iran with concern."Iranian authorities have sought to distinguish anti-regime protesters from what they see as legitimate economic grievances.
"Do not get excited," parliament director for international affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian wrote in a tweet directed at Trump. "Sedition, unrest and chaos are different from gatherings and peaceful protests to pursue people's livelihoods," he said.But there have been reminders of the continued support for the regime among conservative sections of society, with pro-regime students holding another day of demonstrations at the University of Tehran on Sunday. They had outnumbered protesters at the university the day before, although online videos showed significant protests around parts of central Tehran later in the evening.
Dozens arrested
The total number of arrests from the protests around the country remained unclear. An official in Arak, around 300 kilometers (190 miles) southwest of Tehran, said 80 people had been detained there overnight. Police have so far taken a relatively soft approach to the unrest, and there has been no sign that the powerful Revolutionary Guards have yet been deployed. Iranian authorities have blamed external forces for fomenting the protests, saying the majority of social media reports were emanating from regional rival Saudi Arabia or exile groups based in Europe.
President Hassan Rouhani has so far not made any statement since the protests started. He came to power in 2013 promising to mend the economy and ease social tensions, but anger over high living costs and a 12-percent unemployment rate have left many feeling that progress is too slow.
Unemployment is particularly high among young people, who have grown up in a less restrictive environment and are generally considered less deferential to authority."Rouhani has run an austerity budget since 2013 with the idea that it's a tough but necessary pill to swallow to manage inflation and currency problems and try to improve Iran's attractiveness for investment," said Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, founder of the Europe-Iran Forum.  "But choosing years of austerity immediately after a very tough period of sanctions is bound to test people's patience," he told AFP. Since the ruthless repression of the 2009 protests against a disputed presidential election that gave hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a second term, many middle-class Iranians have abandoned hope of securing change from the streets. But low-level strikes and demonstrations have continued, with bus drivers, teachers and factory workers protesting against unpaid wages and poor conditions.

Trump on Iran: Oppressive Regimes Cannot Last Forever
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 31/17/U.S. President Donald Trump has weighed in on protests in Iran for a second straight day, warning that the country's people want change and "oppressive regimes cannot endure forever."Trump posted on Twitter two clips of his speech to the U.N. General Assembly in September in which he took aim at the Iranian regime, which Washington has held out as its top adversary in the Middle East. "Oppressive regimes cannot endure forever, and the day will come when the Iranian people will face a choice," he tweeted, quoting from the speech.
"The world is watching!" Later Saturday, Vice President Mike Pence added his voice, saying: "The time has come for the regime in Tehran to end terrorist activities, corruption, & their disregard for human rights." And White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders added: "The days of America looking the other way ... are over." Trump's posts came as several hundred anti-government demonstrators clashed with police at the University of Tehran in a third straight day of protests. Hundreds of counter-protesters also massed outside the entrance to the university, chanting "Death to the seditionists" in a show of support for the regime. Videos shared by social media users outside Iran but which could not be independently verified claimed to show thousands marching peacefully against the regime in several cities including Khorramabad, Zanjan and Ahvaz, with chants of "Death to the dictator.""The entire world understands that the good people of Iran want change, and, other than the vast military power of the United States, that Iran's people are what their leaders fear the most," Trump said, again quoting from the U.N. speech. Trump also tweeted in support of the protesters late Friday, prompting Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Bahran Ghasemi to dismiss his remarks as "opportunistic."

Rouhani hits back at Trump saying he has no right to sympathize with protesters
AFP, TehranAl Arabiya/January 01/2018/Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday that his US counterpart Donald Trump had “no right” to sympathize with Iranian protesters who he has previously called “terrorists”. “This man who today in America wants to sympathize with our people has forgotten that a few months ago he called the nation of Iran terrorist,” Rouhani told a cabinet meeting, according to the state broadcaster. “This person whose whole being is against the nation of Iran has no right to feel pity for the people of Iran.” He added that government bodies must provide “space for criticism” as he sought to head off days of unrest, but warned protesters that violence was unacceptable. “Criticism is different to violence and destroying public property,” he said in a cabinet meeting, according to the state broadcaster. “Government bodies should provide space for legal criticism and protest,” Rouhani said in his first public comments since the protests began on Thursday.

Kidnapped Saudi child in Egypt rescued
Al Arabiya/January 01/2018/A Saudi child was rescued by Egyptian police after he was kidnapped for ransom. According to the Egyptian Ministry Interior the six-year-old boy’s mother, who is Egyptian, reported to police the disappearance of her son. His uncle told officers that he received calls from a man asking for 600,000 Egyptian pounds for his returns. The child, who is a Saudi citizen, was targeted according to Ministry sources because his father is businessman. Officials stated that the kidnapper was identified as a 30-year-old driver and resident of Hawamdiya district in Cairo. Police instructed the family of the boy to agree to the ransom and the kidnapper was caught during the money exchange, the ministry said. The suspect now has been referred to the piublic prosecutors office to await trial.

Regime Forces Advance against Jihadists in Northwest Syria
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 31/17/Syrian regime forces have advanced against jihadists on the edge of the northwestern province of Idlib, the last outside government control, a monitor and the state news agency said. Government and allied forces backed by Russian warplanes have since Monday been battling mostly jihadist fighters in an area straddling the border between Idlib and Hama provinces. The fighting, which could signal the start of a major offensive to seize Idlib province from rebels dominated by a former al-Qaida affiliate, escalated on Thursday.
On Saturday, regime troops advanced, seizing several villages and surrounding areas, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor. State news agency SANA said regime forces had taken control of five villages, areas and "strategic hills" in the northeast of Hama province.
An AFP correspondent said civilians continued to flee areas near the battle zone, heading north towards the provincial capital of Idlib with their belongings piled high on pickup trucks. "We were the target of strikes more than once -- we couldn't stay," said Abu Ahmed, a man in his 60s from the southeast of Idlib province, fleeing with his family in a pickup. "I don't know how to say how I feel, leaving my land and home at my age. We are leaving without even knowing where we're headed."In the Maaret al-Numan area, some people have put up tents, pots and pans piled at the entrance flaps. "We escaped for the sake of the children. They were terrified by air raids and strikes," said Abu Khaled, a bearded man in his 30s wearing a red and white checkered keffiyeh headscarf. The father-of-four, originally from Hama province, had already fled once with his family -- to Idlib, where they lived in a camp for the displaced.
14 killed outside Damascus
Since Thursday, the clashes have killed 32 soldiers and allied members of paramilitary units, as well as 29 rebels from Islamist groups or from former al-Qaida affiliate Fateh al-Sham, the Observatory said. Twenty-one civilians have also died. Government forces first aim to take control of the southeast of Idlib province, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. This would allow the regime to have full control of a road that links the capital Damascus to the government-held second city of Aleppo. Russia intervened on the side of President Bashar al-Assad's regime in 2015, helping it to take back control of swathes of territory including Aleppo. The forces of Syrian General Suheil Hassan, on the front lines of the battle against the Islamic State group in the east of the country, are leading the Idlib offensive, the Observatory said. "After finishing off IS, the regime's forces are concentrating their operations on Idlib's jihadists," Abdel Rahman said. Outside Damascus, the rebel holdout region of Eastern Ghouta has also come under increasing bombardment from Assad's forces in the past weeks. On Saturday, 14 civilians were killed in different areas of the enclave, among them two children and a nurse.Regime air strikes on Harasta killed eight, while six died in regime shelling of Misraba, Kfar Batna, Nashabiyeh and Outaya. At least 43 more civilians were wounded. "The regime intensified its shelling and air strikes on Saturday after Fateh al-Sham and Islamic factions attacked its positions near Harasta" on Friday, Abdel Rahman said. Eastern Ghouta has been under government siege since 2013, causing severe food and medicine shortages for some 400,000 residents. The war in Syria has killed more than 340,000 people and displaced millions from their homes since it began in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

Guatemala: Jerusalem Embassy Move 'Will Not Be Reversed'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 31/17/Guatemala's foreign minister insisted Friday that President Jimmy Morales' plan to move the country's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem will not be reversed, and called for critics to "respect" the country's decisions. "It's a decision that has been made ... it is not going to be reversed," Sandra Jovel told journalists during an event to commemorate the end of the Guatemalan civil war in 1996. "The Guatemalan government is very respectful of the positions that other countries have taken, and as we are respectful of those decisions, we believe others should respect decisions made by Guatemala," she added in response to critics including the Palestinians. Last Sunday, Morales unexpectedly announced the transfer of the embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel on social media, in the wake of the UN General Assembly's condemnation of a similar move by the United States.
The announcement made Guatemala the first country to follow the United States's controversial lead on the holy city. Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, while Palestinians, consider east Jerusalem as the occupied capital of their future state. Morales, defending his decision, said Israel is an "ally" and that Guatemala has "historically been pro-Israel."

Palestinians recall envoy to US for consultations after Jerusalem move
Al Arabiya/January 01/2018/The Palestinians said Sunday they were recalling their envoy to the United States for consultations in a move that follows US President Donald Trump's designation of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Palestinian foreign minister Riad al-Malki decided to recall PLO envoy to Washington Husam Zomlot, official Palestinian news agency WAFA said, without providing further details.

Gazan Dies after Border Clash with Israel Forces
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 31/17/A Gazan has died after being wounded by Israeli fire during a protest on the border over U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, a Palestinian health official said. Jamal Muslih, 20, of al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, had been seriously wounded by live fire on Friday, health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said. He was buried on Saturday afternoon. Muslih's death brings to 13 the number of Palestinians killed since U.S. President Donald Trump announced on December 6 that he would recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv. Eleven protesters died after clashes with Israeli troops, and two others were killed in an Israeli air strike on Gaza earlier in the month. More than 50 Palestinians were wounded in the Friday clashes on the Gaza-Israel border as part of a "day of rage" over the U.S. declaration, called for by both Gaza rulers Hamas and fellow militant group Islamic Jihad. In the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said at least 16 people were wounded when Israeli troops fired live rounds during demonstrations, while others were hit with rubber-coated bullets. Earlier on Friday, militants in Gaza fired three rockets at southern Israel, two of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome aerial defence system, with the third hitting a village near the border, causing damage but no casualties. Israeli aircraft and tanks targeted two Hamas positions near the border on Friday afternoon in response, again causing damage but no casualties. Late Saturday, the Israeli army carried out a second attack, with fighter jets "targeted an observation post belonging to the Hamas terror organization in the southern Gaza Strip," a statement read. According to the army, the Friday projectile attack on Israel proved that "Iran, through radical and rogue terror organizations, is operating to deteriorate the situation," risking lives in Gaza and threatening to cause "an escalation". The Israeli defence ministry has in recent weeks been increasingly highlighting the ties between Hamas and Iran, most notably in a series of Facebook posts by COGAT, the unit responsible for activities in the Palestinian territories. Speaking on Channel 2 television Saturday night, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman claimed that the projectiles fired from Gaza at Israel on Friday were made and supplied by Iran. Rockets from Gaza are often fired by fringe Islamist groups but Israel holds Hamas responsible for all attacks from the territory.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 01/18
A powerful judiciary that is a bulwark against terrorism
Hassan Al Mustafa/Al Arabiya/December 31/2017
The assassination of Judge Sheikh Mohammed al-Jirani, is an action through which terrorists wanted to deliver a clear message: that those who oppose us, will be killed! Betrayal, and weakening the doctrine... all these “trivial” reasons, presented by the killers to justify their crime, which was clearly rejected by the al-Qatif community. Former judge Sheikh Abdullah al-Khunizi and Sheikh Hassan al-Saffar, both issued separate statements condemning the crime. In addition, about 130 social figures signed a statement rejecting terrorism. The quick responses indicate that the terrorists’ message did not intimidate anyone, and did not succeed in silencing the national figures but rather it increased the number of those who openly oppose and reject violence. The judiciary has a respectful, and important position in the community; it had been for a long time immune from these recent abuses.
Terrorists want the emptiness that took place after al-Jirani’s death to continue, so that they can make their black propaganda that serves their goals. Thus it is important to nominate a strong successor to follow al-Jirani; the successor should be wise, a jurist and a scholar, and he should be respected by the people and the official institution. He should be characterized by awareness, openness and aligned with the 2030 vision of the country in respecting the law and reaching a modern civil society.
Easy target
Any person that does not have these characteristics will be an easy target for the extremists and their anti-stability speeches, they would be able to fail him socially and politically. Historically, the status and power of the judge has been a guarantee for the stability and a link between people and official institutions, securing people’s interests, money, and safety. Terrorists want the emptiness that took place after al-Jirani’s death to continue, so that they can make their black propaganda that serves their goals. Thus it is important to nominate a strong successor to follow al-Jirani; the successor should be wise, a jurist and a scholar, and he should be respected by the people and the official institution. He should be characterized by awareness, openness and aligned with the 2030 vision of the country in respecting the law and reaching a modern civil society. The late Judge Sheikh Mohammed Saleh Al-Mubarak, who was a jurist, remained in office for 18 years until 1974. He represents the role model of the judge who has a “firm” and “determined” decision for the majority of the people, he had good relationship with the Eastern Province at that time. King Saud bin Abdul Aziz and King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz respected him, as he was in contact with the political authority of the country, in order to fulfill the people’s needs, or solve their problems, to ensure stability and security and to strengthen the cohesion between people and government institutions. Crown Prince Faisal bin Abdul Aziz during his visit to al-Qatif, accompanied by Prince Abdullah Abdul Aziz, he visited Judge Al-Mubarak at his home, as a sign of the relationship between the regime and the judiciary, and trust and appreciation. This kind of scholar figures can be an impartial judge against the crimes perpetrate by the terrorists, because this figure would have the power to confront any extreme speeches and to build a community that is aware of the importance of the law!

Palestinians at home and in the diaspora: Let 2018 be the year of true unity
Ramzy Baroud/Al Arabiya/December 31/2017
Ahed Tamimi, a 16-year-old teenage girl slapped an Israeli soldier, who, along with other soldiers, had invaded her village of Nabi Saleh, near the occupied Palestinian city of Al-Khalil (Hebron). She was arrested with her mother, Nariman during a violent army raid at her family home on December 19.
Palestinians are embarking on 2018 with harrowing statistics of deaths, injuries, home demolitions, land confiscation and more; but also with the pride and resilience of a new generation symbolized by Ahed and many of her peers. This new generation refuses to abide by the subservient culture espoused by the Palestinian leadership, which is growing irrelevant and marginal at all fronts.
In fact, it is this obvious conflict between two cultures - one decrepit, self-serving and corrupt, and the other, daring, youthful and unadulterated - that will define the future of Palestine. 2018 promises to be a pivotal year in that looming struggle.
One of the reasons behind the certainty of an upcoming battle is that the political morphine injected into Palestinian culture – talks of ‘peace process’, promises of a ‘two-state solution’ and other deceptions – are no longer effective. In fact, the entire political discourse that sustained the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah has run its course and the future is now open to all kinds of possibilities.
How We Got Here
2017 will be remembered as the year when the so-called ‘peace process’ formulated by the United States ended. And with its demise, a political framework that has served as the foundation for US foreign policy in the Middle East also collapsed. The Palestinian Authority entered 2017 with the slight hope that the US was in the process of moving away, however slightly, from its hardline pro-Israel attitude. This hope was the result of a decision made by the Barack Obama Administration in December 2016 not to veto United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 that declared the status of illegal Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories null and void. But the new Donald Trump Administration suffocated all optimism as soon as it took over the White House, with a promise of relocating the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, thus recognizing, in defiance of international law, the Holy City as Israel's capital.
Mixed messages from President Trump made it unclear whether he would go through with his campaign and early presidency promises, or remain committed to traditional US foreign policy. The appointment of extremist politicians, the likes of David Friedman as US Ambassador to Israel, was juxtaposed by constant references to an 'ultimate deal' that would involve Palestinians, Israel and Arab countries.
The American 'regional peace', however, amounted to nothing, and Trump eventually fulfilled his promise to Israel and its allies by signing the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995. In so doing he has ended his country's once-leading role in the US-espoused 'peace process' which advocated a 'two-state solution' based on a ‘land for peace formula.’Now that Trump has downgraded his country's role, European powers, especially France, are likely to attempt to salvage peace talks. Such a possibility, however, is likely to prove equally fruitless since the rightwing Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear that freezing illegal settlements, a shared Jerusalem, or a Palestinian state are not on the Israeli agenda.Without the enforcement of international law, Israel will not willingly change its position.
Jewish Settlement Expansion
In fact, 2017 has been a year of unbridled Jewish settlement expansion with thousands of new housing units having been built - or are in the process of being completed - while brand new settlements are also looming. Israel's intransigence and the end of the US peace gambit has renewed interest in the Palestinian struggle, which has been cast aside for years due to regional conflicts and the Syrian war. This has resulted in greater support for the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Modeled after the South African anti-Apartheid boycott movement, BDS calls for direct action by global civil society to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine. However, the rise of BDS has also meant a strong Israeli-US push back to outlaw the Movement and to punish its supporters. Nearly two dozen US states have passed laws to criminalize BDS, while the US Congress is finalizing its own law that makes boycotting Israel an act punishable by a hefty fine and a prison sentence.
Indeed, 2018 promises to be a decisive year for the future of all Palestinians and it will be a difficult one too. Not only did the US pull out of the 'peace process', but it is also expected to do its utmost to jeopardize any Palestinian initiative aimed at holding Israel accountable for its 50-year-old illegal military occupation. Challenging both the Israeli Occupation and the PA, Palestinians in the Occupied Territories continued with their Intifada, although one that lacked the mass mobilization of previous uprisings. Hundreds of Palestinians were killed and wounded, including many children, in Israel's efforts to suffocate any protest against its military rule. The siege on Gaza also remained in place despite Hamas' efforts to end it through the rewriting of its constitution and the various overtures towards Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party, which dominates the PA government in Ramallah. A unity agreement between Hamas and Fatah was signed in Cairo in October. It set an election date, and allowed for thousands of PA officials to return to Gaza to man border crossings and populate various ministries and government offices.
The nearly 2 million Palestinians in the besieged Strip, however, are yet to savor the fruit of that unity in their everyday life. Although the reconciliation agreement was motivated by political expediency for both factions, the need for real unity among Palestinians is more urgent now than ever before, and not only because of Trump's decision regarding Jerusalem. The Israeli Knesset has passed, or is in the process of passing, various bills that seal the fate of Palestinians, regardless of their geographical location or political affiliation. One is the Jewish Nation-State Bill which defines Israel as the "nation home of the Jewish people" thus rendering millions of indigenous Palestinian Arabs outcasts in their own homeland. The 'Greater Jerusalem Bill" was only shelved temporarily, despite the fact that it has the support of a majority in the Knesset.
The Bill calls for the expansion of Jerusalem’s boundaries to include major illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank, thus illegally annexing swathes of Palestinian land and reducing the Palestinian population in Jerusalem into an even smaller minority.
Uniting Palestinians
The Palestinian leadership must understand that the challenges at hand are far greater than its selfish need for political validation and monetary support. There is an urgent need for the revitalizing of all institutions of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The new strategy should place Palestinians first, and must harness the energies of the Palestinian people at home or in ‘shatat’ - diaspora. This cannot be achieved through paying lip-service to Palestinian unity, but rather through a dynamic campaign aimed at re-examining the failures of the last 25 years – since the ‘peace process’ went into motion – and holding those responsible for these failures to account. A new dynamic leadership must emerge that views the Palestinian struggle and popular resistance not through factional or ideological prisms, but through a compassionate allegiance and respect to the Palestinian people, not only in Palestine but also those languishing in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and throughout the region, and the world. Through this new leadership, an entirely new social contract would have to be articulated, with new vocabulary and true commitment to specific goals and aspirations. Various Palestinian ‘leaderships’ have been playing different tunes for too long, each focused on their personal gains, without paying heed to the fact that the majority of Palestinians have suffered tremendously as a result of this disunity and confusion. For a Palestinian leadership to be taken seriously, it must truly represent its people and speak on their behalf with the kind of determination that reflects the everyday act of resistance that fuels the Palestinian struggle. 2018. Indeed, 2018 promises to be a decisive year for the future of all Palestinians and it will be a difficult one too. Not only did the US pull out of the 'peace process', but it is also expected to do its utmost to jeopardize any Palestinian initiative aimed at holding Israel accountable for its 50-year-old illegal military occupation. If the Palestinian leadership fails to transition itself into a new role, it is likely to find itself in direct confrontation with the Palestinian people who are ready to move into an entirely new type of struggle - one that is not beholden to the farce of a ‘two-state solution’, which was never truly on the agenda to begin with.

People Can Handle the Truth About the Environment
Mark Buchanan/Bloomberg/December 31/2017
Some scientists think that humans can’t handle the truth about the damage they are doing to the environment -- that findings must be sugar-coated lest people lose the hope needed to act. They should listen to psychologists and stop holding back. Earlier this year, the journalist David Wallace-Wells examined some of the more extreme possible consequences of climate change, including collapsing food supplies, perpetual war and extreme heat making cities uninhabitable. Climate skeptics were predictably outraged, but some scientists also criticized the article for scaring people. "The most motivating emotions,” they claimed, “are worry, interest and hope.” Fear, they argued, tends to make people disengage and dismiss the issue. Is that true? Not really. In a recent paper, the psychologist Daniel Chapman and co-authors argue that this oversimplifies how emotions influence our actions. They aren't like buttons that can be pushed to trigger a certain behavior. Rather, they act in a subtle way, tagging information in our memory with emotive tones, or influencing how we might seek out further information. As a result, any simple recipe for emotional persuasion -- say, being negative or positive -- is unlikely to have the desired effect.
Finding a way to communicate is crucial, because the situation is in many ways dire. Researchers in Germany, for example, recently reported that flying insect populations in some 63 protected nature zones had declined by 75 percent over the past few decades, with no obvious cause in weather or other conditions. If, as ecologists expect, this reflects changes in the insect population more broadly, then a large component of the biosphere on which we depend could be collapsing before our eyes. Although the cause isn’t certain, it appears likely to be a combination of widespread pesticide use and loss of wild areas. One ecologist interpreted the finding as evidence we’re “on the path to ecological Armageddon.” Arguably, this is not overstatement, as some 80 percent of wild plants depend on insects for pollination, and 60 percent of birds rely on them for food.
So how to get the message across? In an interview, Chapman said it would be a big mistake to downplay frightening issues just because the public might not like to hear about them. What’s important is to provide other information that can help readers relate the news to their own lives, and to identify practical avenues by which they might respond. People tend to care more about issues that have repercussions locally, both in time and geography. So if such potential repercussions exist, communications should emphasize them.
To US readers, for example, ecological Armageddon sounds far off, as do insects in Germany. Yet the findings suggest that states such as California, Iowa or Nebraska could face similar declines in insect populations, with severe consequences for agriculture. In addition, people need some feeling of agency: Strategic changes in agricultural policy and practice, for instance, could help the insects recover. Chapman mentioned one final thing, perhaps the most important: authenticity. People want to be treated with respect and given balanced information, and they’ll turn away if they feel they’re being sold something. Granted, balance won’t necessarily change the minds of the most ideologically fixated readers, but they’re in the minority. “A much larger portion of the public,” Chapman said, “is either disinterested, unaware or inundated with too much other information.”
These people can handle frightening news, no softening needed, if offered some help in seeing how it might touch their lives and what they can do about it.

Mass Migration: Uninvited Guests
Philip Carl Salzman/Gatestone Institute/December 31/2017
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11625/mass-migration-uninvited-guests
Refugees and immigrants bring their own cultures, their own assumptions, beliefs, values, fears and hopes from their homelands. One cannot just assume that they wish to integrate or assimilate into the Western culture. Willingness to assimilate might well vary from individual to individual, and from culture to culture.
A society can only function smoothly if there is a large degree of agreement and commonality regarding to what language people shall speak, what rules they should follow in dealing with one another, and how government is to be established. Where is it written that all cultures are necessarily compatible with one another?
The success of immigrants in North America is a result of immigrants assimilating to Western culture and society, not due to immigrants clinging to the laws and practices of the lands they have left behind. We welcome them to become Americans and Canadians; we welcome to them to the West.
In our desire to insure an inclusive, humane, and tolerant society, we seem to have constructed a simplistic and inadequate picture of refugees and illegal immigrants.
Perhaps the majority of Americans and Canadians do not approach the question of refugees and immigrants with an open mind, but with a set of "progressive" assumptions:
The idea that all cultures are equally good and equally valuable, sometimes known as "cultural relativism." When faced with an uninvited influx of outsiders, we do not worry about what culture the incomers are bringing, because, whatever it is, it supposedly must be fine.
That multiculturalism, the coexistence of a variety of cultures, is desirable. The more cultures in a multicultural society, the more cultural diversity, the better.
That in our society, and in the world generally, each person falls into the category of either oppressor or oppressed. our simple classification of oppressor and oppressed can generally class refugee claimants and illegal migrants as oppressed, because they are leaving a place of conflict or poverty or despotism, are people of colour, are Hindu or Muslim or Buddhist or from a smaller, non-Christian group, or are homosexual. We therefore define refugee claimants and illegal refugees as oppressed, as victims, desperate, and in need. We view them through a humanitarian lens, with generosity and sympathy.
If we open our hearts to the oppressed, we must view the oppressors with disdain. Who are the oppressors? We are quite certain that women are oppressed by men, that homosexuals are oppressed by heterosexuals, that people of colour are oppressed by whites, that the poor are oppressed by the well off, and that Muslims are oppressed by Christians and Jews.
So while our inclusiveness, tolerance, and rejection of hate furthers multiculturalism, our society is rife with villains to be attacked and suppressed: whites, men, heterosexuals, the financially well off, Christians and Jews. We do not wish to hate, but we righteously hate oppressors. Gender, race, religion, and sexual preference have once again become reasons to reject whole categories of people, just different categories of people than before.
Framed primarily by our humanitarian intentions, we reduce refugees and immigrants to no more than people in need for whom we should have sympathy. But perhaps we should hesitate to reduce people to such empty general categories, and dehumanize them by ignoring the culture that they carry with them. Refugees and immigrants bring their own cultures, their own assumptions, beliefs, values, fears and hopes from their homelands. One cannot just assume that they wish to integrate or assimilate into the Western culture. Willingness to assimilate might well vary from individual to individual, and from culture to culture.
Immigrants from South Asia have grown up in a hierarchical caste society, in which higher castes are pure and lower castes polluted. Sharing food or marrying is forbidden between low castes and high castes. Violators of these rules may suffer penalties of beating, gang rape, and even execution. There are cases of Canadians from South Asia who have been convicted of murdering a young family member who grew up in Canada, and who married into a low caste.
Immigrants from the Middle East have grown up in societies where men are in charge of women, and it is women's duty to obey and maintain modesty in demeanor and behaviour. There are cases of Americans or Canadians originating in the Middle East whose female family members become "too American" or "too Canadian," too immodest to protect family honour. Their family members, to defend family honour, commit murder, especially of their women. We call these as honor killings, because they are motivated by the desire to defend family and community honor, and are commonly approved of by many members of the ethnic community.
Muslim immigrants have grown up in a tradition defined by sharia law, which forbids, on pain of death, a Muslim leaving Islam; criticism of religion, and homosexual acts. Women who have suffered rape are considered to have engaged in adultery, in some Muslim countries subject to death by stoning. Non-Muslim Christian or Jewish "infidels" must pay protection money, called a jizya, annually to be considered inferior dhimma, tolerated fourth-class citizens, with whom Muslims should not become friends. Other infidels, such as Yazidis, who are not "protected" are subject to murder, capture, gang rape, and sexual slavery, all legitimate under sharia law.[1]
Many of these rules and penalties are totally inconsistent with Western law and with human rights as defined by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the US Bill of Rights, and the UN's Universal Charter of Human Rights.
Canadians and Americans presumably do not wish to see their rights replaced by sharia law or caste law. Some immigrants, however, hold their caste and religious law above Western law, and would like to see caste and religious law replace Western law. In the meantime, they act as a fifth column, attempting to undermine Western law and custom, whether by electoral pressure or violent attack. Some Western legislators, in the face of immigrant and minority pressure, back pedal, in the name of multiculturalism and diversity, and withdraw support for free speech, for the right of criticism of religion, for freedom of sexual choice, and other individual liberties.
There is, unfortunately, no simple policy solution. Policies directed at categories of people based on origin or religion are prejudicial and illiberal. You cannot know someone's beliefs, values, and propensities from labels indicating their origin, ethnicity, or religion. Immigration policy needs to be directed toward individuals, welcoming those whose values and attitudes are consistent with Western culture. Close scrutiny of applicants is in our collective interest. We should accept those immigrants who are willing and able to respect American and Canadian law and Western culture, and who wish to join other Americans and Canadians in building a society based on human rights.
Are all cultures around the world equally good and equally valuable? The evidence indicates that cultures are often very different and have very different results for those living under them. While North American, Western Europe, and many English-speaking countries are all, for example, highly democratic, elsewhere in the world, such as the Middle East, all countries (but Israel) are despotic. While there is political freedom in the West, all Arab countries are regarded as "unfree," with the exception of Morocco, which is "partially free." In the non-Arab Middle East, all are "unfree," except Turkey, which, at least for now, is "partially free."
Some countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, have rejected the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the grounds that it is inconsistent with their culture and religion, and instead wrote the Cairo Declaration Human Rights, ratified by the Organization of Islamic Conference (now the 57 member Organization of Islamic Cooperation) on August 5, 1990. In it, human rights are subordinated to Islamic law, Sharia If something is permitted in Sharia, such as stoning a woman to death for adultery or rape, it is a human right; if it is not permitted in Sharia, it is not a human right.
Development, measured by a wide variety of indices, varies greatly among the regions of the world. The UN Development Program Arab Human Development Reports places the Arab world at the bottom or second to the bottom in most indices of human development, while Europe and North America are at the top. If all countries are equally good and valuable, why should a vast number of people be trying to escape the Middle East and Africa to come to North America and Europe? Is that not testimony to which countries and cultures they judge as "better" and which they judge as "worse"?
Is "the more the merrier" in multiculturalism sensible? Can all cultures, all ways of life, coexist happily? A society can only function smoothly if there is a large degree of agreement and commonality regarding to what language people shall speak, what rules they should follow in dealing with one another, and how government is to be established. Where is it written that all cultures are necessarily compatible with one another? The success of immigrants in North America is a result of immigrants assimilating to Western culture and society, not due to immigrants clinging to the laws and practices of the lands they have left behind.
Finally, the culturally empty category of "oppressed" is also not necessarily helpful in deciding which potential immigrants would make a positive contribution to the receiving society. Societies are built on common sentiment, not on sentimental sympathy for alleged "victims."
Immigrants built Canada and the United States, but not by flying the flags of their old country and lobbying for the ancient laws. Immigrants joined in with others to build a common culture, a unified government and legal system, and a vibrant economy. We are multicultural in the sense that we welcome people from all over the world, but we welcome them to share our rights and freedoms, our challenges and opportunities, and to benefit with us. We welcome them to become Americans and Canadians; we welcome to them to the West.
Immigrants built Canada and the United States by joining in with others to build a common culture, a unified government and legal system, and a vibrant economy. Pictured: Newly naturalized U.S. citizens recite the Pledge of Allegiance during a naturalization ceremony November 23, 2016, on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Benjamin Gonsier)
**Philip Carl Salzman is professor of anthropology at McGill University, Middle East Forum Fellow, and Frontier Centre Senior Fellow.
[1] Bat Ye'or, Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide, Madison, NJ: Associated University Presses, 2001.
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Turkish Twitter Explodes with Genocidal Jew-Hatred
Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/December 31/2017
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11619/turkey-twitter-jew-hatred
The statements of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan -- and those of Turks who share his worldview – are further evidence that fundamentalist Muslims oppose Israel's very existence as a sovereign Jewish state. Their ire over Trump's Jerusalem declaration has nothing to do with U.S. or Israeli policies.
Their fury stems from Jews existing in Israel as a powerful nation – not as dhimmis (second-class and persecuted people). Fanatic Muslims cannot get over the fact that Jews still live in, and are in charge of, supposedly their Muslim holy land.
To justify their rage, these radicals rewrite history. Their claims that Jerusalem is a Muslim holy city, for example, are false. While Jerusalem is mentioned 850 times in the Old Testament, it is not mentioned once in the Koran.
Although U.S. President Donald Trump's December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital drew condemnation from much of the Muslim world, one reaction stood out -- that of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
"Those who think they are the owners of Jerusalem today will not even be able to find trees to hide behind tomorrow," he said, during a Human Rights Day event in Ankara on December 10.
Erdoğan was referring to a hadith (a reported saying by Islam's prophet, Mohammed) about Judgement Day:
"Abu Huraira reported Allaah's Messenger (sall Allaahua layhiwa sallam) as saying: The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allaah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews."
Although U.S. President Donald Trump's December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital drew condemnation from much of the Muslim world, one reaction stood out -- that of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Radical Turks echoed Erdoğan's sentiment on social media. Under the hashtag #KudüseSahipÇık ("Safeguard Jerusalem"), which quickly became a trending topic, Turkish Twitter-users expressed a seething Jew-hatred -- not hatred of Israelis, but Jews. Here are some examples:
"I hope this will be a cause of war for us. I will spit on the blood of Jews."
"[With each] Jew massacred, the world will get more relaxed, and say 'I have got rid of those filths'."
"The ummah [Islamic community] is ready for an intifada. They can exterminate the Jew."
"To declare Jerusalem the capital [of Israel] means to start a new war in the Middle East. We have no fear of war. [The question is] Where will we bury millions of Jewish bodies? To touch Jerusalem means an end to Jews."
"The Jew is cowardly. He cannot fight. He trusts his money, and recruits soldiers. But what we need is unity and livelihood."
"For Jerusalem to belong to Muslims, not a single Jew should be left alive in Palestinian lands. It is either victory or victory."
"Oh Allah! Do not take my soul before you grant me the privilege to engage in jihad against Israeli Jewish dogs."
"There is only one thing to be said about Jews: There has never been a more cowardly, dishonorable, and peasant nation like them. The victory will definitely be ours."
Some Twitter-users praised Hitler for killing Jews, while others condemned him for not doing a sufficient job. Then there are those who suggested persecuting Turkish Jews. Tagging Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, one user tweeted:
"Synagogues, the Israeli consulate and Jews... If we burn down, destroy and kill all of these things, will we be considered criminals now?"
Other Tweets in the same vein included:
"Close all synagogues in Turkey. Either arrest or deport all Jewish citizens. Close all the water lines to Israel. Then they will croak automatically."
"What if we shut down synagogues and churches? And open Hagia Sophia [Christian Basilica in Istanbul] to [Muslim] worship?"
"Chain all the synagogues in Istanbul. Tolerance has limits. Jerusalem is the capital of Muslim believers."
Erdoğan's statements -- and those of Turks who share his worldview -- are further evidence that fundamentalist Muslims oppose Israel's very existence as a sovereign Jewish state. Their fury over Trump's Jerusalem declaration has nothing to do with U.S. or Israeli policies. Their fury stems from Jews existing in Israel as a powerful nation – not as dhimmis (second-class and persecuted people). Fanatic Muslims cannot get over the fact that Jews still live in, and are in charge of, supposedly their Muslim holy land.
These reactions are also the most observable examples of Islamist genocidal hatred of Jews and extreme Islamist intolerance of a non-Islamic faith's religious sensibilities and its national history.
To justify their rage, these radicals rewrite history. Their claims that Jerusalem is a Muslim holy city, for example, are false. While Jerusalem is mentioned 850 times in the Old Testament, it is not mentioned once in the Koran. Ever since King David made Jerusalem the capital of Israel some 3,000 years ago, the city has played a central role in Jewish existence. It only became a focus of Muslim agitation in 1980, when Israel adopted a Basic Law -- equivalent to a constitutional provision -- declaring united Jerusalem as its capital.
Muslims never declared Jerusalem their capital, even when they controlled the area later called "Palestine," after their invasion in the seventh century. Instead, in the beginning of the eighth century, they built the city of Ramla and named it their local capital. Jordan also did not declare Jerusalem a Muslim capital when it controlled the city from 1948 to 1967. Moreover, during those 19 years, the only Arab leader who even visited Jerusalem was King Abdullah I of Jordan -- who was assassinated there in 1951 by an Arab nationalist associated with the former mufti of the city.
It is true that Al-Aqsa Mosque is located in Jerusalem; the first reference to the mosque appeared in the 12th century. Yet, the common perception that the Temple Mount, where Al-Aqsa is situated, is the "third-holiest site in Islam" is based on a rhetorical ploy: Mecca is Islam's holiest place; Medina is its second-holiest. For Jews, Jerusalem is the holiest city and the Temple Mount the holiest site; Judaism's second-holiest site is the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, which Muslims usurped when they conquered the city in the 7th century and re-named it the Ibrahimi Mosque. If Muslims are entitled to have control over the city that hosts their so-called "third-holiest site," why do they oppose Jewish control over the city that contains Judaism's first- and second-holiest sites?
Many Muslims also often purposely muddy that Jerusalem's status as the capital of Israel does not compromise the religious freedom of Muslims and Christians. In fact, the city has never in its history been as open to pilgrims from all religions as it has been under Israeli rule. By contrast, during the 19 years when the Old City and its holy sites were under Jordanian occupation, Jews -- regardless of the origin of their passports -- were prohibited to visit and pray there. Still today, Jews visiting the Temple Mount are prohibited from praying there.
Since the advent of Islam, Muslim regimes have destroyed -- or converted into mosques -- synagogues, churches, Buddhist and Hindu temples, and other non-Muslim places of worship. Accusing Israel of engaging in such behavior is both a projection and a propaganda device.
The false narrative about Jerusalem is part of what Moshe Sharon, Professor Emeritus of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, calls the "Islamization of History." The basic attitude, he says,
"is that ... all major figures of history basically are Muslim -- from Adam down to our own time. So, if the Jews or Christians are demanding something and basing it on the fact that there was a king called Solomon or a king called David, or a prophet called Moses or Jesus, they say something which is not true or, in fact, they don't know that all these figures were basically Muslim figures."
He further explains:
"Anywhere which was connected with these people or with these prophets who were all Muslims becomes a Muslim territory. And therefore, when Islam was not in ...the Middle East or other parts outside of the Middle East which are now Muslim... any place like this had to be freed, not to be conquered. ... Islam appeared in history in the time of Mohammed -- or reappeared in history from their point of view -- as a liberator..."
...presumably of an Islamic religion that existed since forever and was distorted by religions which came along later: Judaism and Christianity.
That is why the struggle of Israel is also the struggle of the West against sharia-imposed historic revisionism and the slavery of dhimmitude, the second-class, "tolerated" status assigned by Islamists to Jews and other non-Muslims. It is a struggle for freedom in which the Jewish people take back their history and freedom from Islamist and other dictators and preserve them in their own ancient homeland.
The Islamist understanding of history and geography, however, is completely different from scientific and historical facts.
According to Islamists, all prominent figures beginning from Adam and Eve were Muslim, therefore all the lands where they lived were Muslim lands. Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Yazidism, and others are not belief systems which could also be respected. The believers of all those religions are occupiers in Muslim lands. They are not natives or honorable residents. They are not even communities whose rights and religious liberty should be respected as much as that of Muslims. They have, in fact, according to this view, abandoned the only true religion; they have therefore been cursed and will be punished by Allah unless they convert to Islam. If they are allowed to live despite that, it is all because of the "mercy" of Islamists -- but they are always to remain inferior to Muslims.
This is what Islamists assert and have acted on in the lands they rule. But science -- including real history, archeology, and objective theological studies, among others -- would disagree with the Islamists' revisionist understanding of history.
It is natural that a religion claims that it is the only true one. But most do so by still recognizing and respecting other faiths and their histories. What is destructive and intolerant is if one religion denies the authenticity of other religions and dehumanizes and demonizes their believers. This distorted and misleading understanding of world history has also helped to create extremely oppressive and violent Muslim regimes that have never treated non-Muslims as equals.
An ideology that asserts that all of human history is actually its own history, and other faiths are just inventions created by frauds that led their believers astray, and that misled people who will burn in hell forever because they do not believe in the only eternal, true, and perfect religion, is not fit to create a tolerant culture that is respectful to, and accepting of, other faiths. That is why this denialist, supremacist, and totalitarian ideology has not been able to promote religious, cultural, or intellectual diversity at any time in history in the lands that it took over.
This denialist view on history, which recognizes nothing but Islam, is what mainly creates the enormous differences in understanding between the Islamists who falsely claim ownership of Jerusalem and the Jews of Israel who rebuilt their homeland and wish to live there in dignity.
The Islamists attempt falsely to Islamize history, by combining it with the hate-filled teachings in Islamic scripture openly claiming that Jews and other non-Muslims are "cursed by Allah" and "shall be killed off." This revisionist history is how and why fundamentalists such as Erdoğan -- and the Turkish Twitter-users who follow his lead -- have no compunction about disseminating genocidal vitriol.
Their lies need to be exposed for what they are: anti-Semitism and falsehoods disguised as legitimate criticism of U.S. and Israeli policy.
**Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist born and raised a Muslim, 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.