Kahwagi hails cooperation with Tripoli residents
Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi praised the “exceptional cooperation” with locals in the northern city of...
Wednesday, 12 November 2014
Six Lebanese universities among top Arab schools
Six Lebanese universities among top Arab schools
The QS University Rankings for 2014 included six Lebanese universities among 50 ranked universities in the Arab world.
After Solyndra Loss, U.S. Energy Loan Program Turning A Profit
Beacon Power President and CEO Barry Brits, at the company's plant in Hazle Township, Pa. He says a loan from the Department of Energy made it possible for his company to develop its flywheel energy storage technology. Jeff Brady/NPR hide caption
itoggle caption Jeff Brady/NPR
Beacon Power President and CEO Barry Brits, at the company's plant in Hazle Township, Pa. He says a loan from the Department of Energy made it possible for his company to develop its flywheel energy storage technology.
Jeff Brady/NPR
In 2011, solar panel company Solyndra defaulted on a $535 million loan guaranteed by the Department of Energy. The agency had a few other high-profile bankruptcies, too — electric car company Fisker and solar company Abound among them. But now that loan program has started turning a profit.
Overall, the agency has loaned $34.2 billion to a variety of businesses, under a program designed to speed up development of clean-energy technology. Companies have defaulted on $780 million of that — a loss rate of 2.28 percent. The agency also has collected $810 million in interest payments, putting the program $30 million in the black.
When Congress created the loan program under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, it was never designed to be a moneymaker. In fact, Congress imagined there would be losses and set aside $10 billion to cover them.
Still, when the Solyndra case emerged Republicans on Capitol Hill had pointed criticism for the Obama administration. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., called the Solyndra case "disgusting" and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, labeled it "a colossal failure." The conservative group Americans for Prosperity produced a television ad accusing President Obama of paying back campaign contributors.
There was an FBI raid on Solyndra's headquarters and an investigation but so far, no prosecutions. Now that the loan program is turning a profit, those critics are silent. They either declined or ignored NPR's requests for comment. And with that, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz wants to change your perception of his agency's loan program.
"It literally kick-started the whole utility-scale photovoltaic industry," Moniz says. The program funded the first of five huge solar projects in the West. Moniz says before that developers couldn't get money from private lenders. But now, with proven business models, they can.
The Energy Department actively monitors all the companies in its portfolio for potential default risks, "And when there are warning flags, then the disbursements are suspended — possibly ended," Moniz says.
But he says the Energy Department doesn't want to go too far in the direction of only lending to safe investments. "We have to be careful that we don't walk away from risk, because otherwise we're not really going to advance the marketplace," he says.
Moniz points to a small company called Beacon Power as an example. It got an Energy Department loan, went bankrupt and defaulted on about $14 million in debt. Today the company is back in business, providing a valuable service to electricity grids and repaying the rest of its loan.
In eastern Pennsylvania, one of Beacon's facilities sits on four acres in an industrial park. Underground are 200 black flywheels that are each seven feet tall, three feet around and weigh 2,000 pounds. They spin faster when storing energy and slow down when releasing it.
"We're recycling excess energy that's on the power grid and then putting it back into the grid when it's needed," explains President and CEO Barry Brits. He says the flywheels are essentially mechanical batteries.
But unlike the battery in your cell phone it doesn't wear out over time. "What's unique about the flywheel is that it really is unlimited in terms of the number of times it can charge and discharge," Brits says.
Beacon Power's plant in Hazle Township, Pa., stores electricity for brief periods, making it easier for the local power grid to integrate intermittent forms of renewable generation, such as wind and solar. Flywheels located in the blue cylinders store energy and operate like a battery — pulling in power from the grid when there's too much and releasing it back out when there's not enough. Jeff Brady/NPR hide caption
itoggle caption Jeff Brady/NPR
Beacon Power's plant in Hazle Township, Pa., stores electricity for brief periods, making it easier for the local power grid to integrate intermittent forms of renewable generation, such as wind and solar. Flywheels located in the blue cylinders store energy and operate like a battery — pulling in power from the grid when there's too much and releasing it back out when there's not enough.
Jeff Brady/NPR
Being able to store electricity is important because wind and solar generators only produce power when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing. That can make life difficult for grid operators who must balance the amount of electricity produced with how much is used. Storing power — even for brief periods — gives them more flexibility and makes it easier to include intermittent forms of renewable generation on the grid.
Brits says the Department of Energy loan allowed his company to test and then improve its flywheels. "Our technology is now well-proven. We have over 7 million operating hours," he says, adding that building a plant costs half of what it did three years ago.
Despite early missteps, the Department of Energy is ready to invest in more projects that could advance clean energy technology in the U.S. Moniz says his agency has about $40 billion to lend in coming years.
President Obama Wraps Up Visit to China, Heads to Burma for Second Leg of His Trip
President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping of China hold a press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Nov. 12, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
President Xi Jinping of China presents President Barack Obama with a painting during a gift exchange between the two leaders at Zhong Nan Hai, Beijing, China, Nov. 11, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama is traveling to China, Burma, and Australia this week, underscoring his commitment to our Asia rebalancing strategy, and his firm belief that our country's trade and investment ties to Asia play a critical role in our future economic growth and generating American jobs.
The President started off his trip in Beijing, attending events for this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting. APEC -- a forum consisting of 21 member economies that works to promote trade, investment, and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.
In his remarks at the first APEC plenary session, President Obama called APEC "an extraordinarily important forum for generating ideas that boost regional and then global integration," and said that the forum "has helped to provide jobs and support growth in all of our economies."
5 Things the Comet Landing Could Teach Us About the Cosmos
Scientists have known for more than a century that comets are made of mostly rock and frozen water. Which made them wonder: Did our planet's own water come from comet impacts early in Earth's history?
Rosetta and Philae will elucidate this question by giving us a crystal clear picture of the makeup of comet C-G's ice. Because ice, just like liquid water, can be composed of different flavors of hydrogen and oxygen called isotopes, we'll soon be able to compare how much this comet's water varies compared to what researchers think was the makeup of Earth's early ocean water.
Originally published by Popular Mechanics
Michael Jäger & Gerald Rhemann
Salam: Iran deal could break presidential impasse
BEIRUT: A long-awaited deal between Iran and Western powers over Tehran’s nuclear program could help pave the way toward breaking the political deadlock that has left Lebanon with no president for nearly six months, Prime Minister Tammam Salam said Wednesday.
Speaker Nabih Berri, meanwhile, voiced optimism that “external signals,” an implicit allusion to the anticipated deal over Iran’s nuclear program, could eventually lead to the election of a successor to former President Michel Sleiman, whose six-year tenure ended May 25.
Salam said resolving the presidential election crisis would first require defusing regional tensions, possibly starting with a deal around Iran’s nuclear program, followed by an eventual resolution of Syria’s war.
“Everything is connected. If we are looking toward a solution for our presidency situation in Lebanon, we would also be looking for other solutions for the whole region,” he said in an interview with Reuters at the Grand Serail. “At the moment, unfortunately, there is nothing in light yet.”
Western and Iranian officials held talks this week in Oman, with a deadline for reaching a nuclear deal less than two weeks away.
“I have to admit the government is working at half steam,” Salam said, urging politicians to elect a new president soon. “Nobody can say a body without a head is a complete body, so, yes, we need a head for this country.”
Lawmakers have failed in 14 attempts since April to elect a president over a lack of quorum as March 14 and the rival Hezbollah-led March 8 remain split over a candidate for the country’s top Christian post. Lawmakers last week extended Parliament’s mandate for two years and seven months, citing security concerns and arguing that the move was essential to avert a vacuum in the legislative branch of power.
Diplomatic sources said France was making a new attempt to break the presidential deadlock in Lebanon after two aborted bids in the past few months. “France’s priority now is the presidential election in Lebanon. It has launched moves after having won a comprehensive Western mandate in the hope of opening a hole in the wall of the Lebanese parties’ unyielding stances,” the sources said.
Following the extension of Parliament’s mandate, Berri said efforts were focused on electing a new president and the approval of a new electoral law.
Asked if any progress has been made in the presidential crisis, Berri was quoted by MPs during his weekly meeting with them at Ain al-Tineh: “There are several matters which I don’t want to disclose now. I can say that there are internal contacts and external signals that raise optimism.”
Berri defended the 95 lawmakers who voted for the extension of Parliament’s mandate amid a wave of local and foreign criticism. MP Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement, which opposed the extension, said it plans to file a challenge against the extension law with the Constitutional Council.
Meanwhile, the Constitutional Council pledged to secure a quorum in the session designed to discuss the challenge against the law extending Parliament’s mandate. “I confirm that a quorum will not be thwarted again in the Constitutional Council,” Issam Suleiman, the council’s chairman, told a news conference held to celebrate its 20th anniversary. “When we receive the appeal, we will deal with it in accordance with the Constitutional Council’s law.”
The council was unable to meet last year over a lack of quorum to consider appeals submitted by Sleiman and the FPM against the first extension of Parliament’s term after Shiite and Druze council members boycotted the sessions. The council needs eight of its 10 members to convene a session.
“Once the council does not make a decision about an appeal for 30 days, the law will automatically become valid,” Suleiman said. He argued that the council’s internal laws should be amended, so that an absolute majority would be enough for a quorum.
Abu Faour set to expose Beirut’s dirty food secrets
BEIRUT: Health Minister Wael Abu Faour is set to dish the dirt Thursday on which of the capital’s restaurants and supermarkets are selling contaminated food, the second, much-anticipated installment in a week of high-profile food industry accusations that have overshadowed Lebanon’s myriad other concerns.
The minister is due to announce the results of laboratory tests conducted on samples taken from restaurants and other food establishments in Beirut, just two days after he named and shamed popular restaurant chains and supermarkets in areas across Lebanon that were discovered to be selling edible goods with traces of sewage and fecal matter.
Abu Faour’s announcement drew different reactions from industry officials and businessmen Wednesday, with some vowing to back a campaign for better food standards, and others cautioning against the defamation of the restaurant sector in light of the absence of a food safety law and clear, across-the-board standards.
Prime Minister Tammam Salam commended Abu Faour’s efforts to tighten control on food safety during a meeting with the minister at the Grand Serail Wednesday.
Salam expressed his complete support for the initiative, encouraging the minister to carry on and “take suitable legal measures against those who expose the health of the Lebanese to dangers.”
MP Walid Jumblatt, whose Progressive Socialist Party is represented in the government by Abu Faour and Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb, said the health minister had his full backing.
“The most important thing is to keep up the fight till the end,” Jumblatt said in comments published Wednesday. “This should not just create a temporary uproar because people’s health is in danger.”
But Tourism Minister Michel Pharaon cautioned that Abu Faour’s revelations about food safety violations, including a blacklist comprising well-known restaurant and supermarket chains, should be confirmed through a thorough investigation to avoid defamation.
“It is better not to name restaurants before the judiciary issues its decision, particularly given there are questions as to how samples are taken and results issued,” Pharaon said. “Establishments did not have the opportunity to defend themselves.”
“Any Health Ministry inspector monitoring public safety should satisfy certain standards and the same applies for restaurants,” he said. “There are questions about whether the food sample reaching the laboratory [for tests] was still in the same temperature [as at the restaurant].” Pharaon said restaurants in Lebanon were already enforcing health requirements by themselves and satisfied health standards stipulated by the Economy Ministry’s Consumer Protection Department and the Tourism Ministry.
“They care about this issue because they provide over 5,000 meals a day and not a single food poisoning incident has happened for years,” he said, without providing evidence to back up his claim.
The minister called for a food safety draft law, which was drafted in 2003, to be amended and passed. It was originally rejected by Parliament because some ministries argued that it infringed on their various powers.
Pharaon’s comments came after he met a delegation of tourist associations.
Tony al-Rami, the president of the Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants, Cafes, Nightclubs and Sweetshops in Lebanon, said it was unfair to defame all restaurants just because one did not meet food safety standards.
“Food safety standards requested by ministries are not the same ... particularly given the food safety draft law has yet to be endorsed,” he said.
But Abu Faour stood his ground in light of the criticism, slamming officials for putting profit and prestige before public health.
“If a certain minister considers that tourism and the economy can only thrive at the expense of the health of the citizen and his corpse then this isn’t tourism and this isn’t an economy,” the health minister said during an event in Beirut, alluding to Pharaon.
He stressed that more than one sample was taken from each tested location, and that tests were properly carried out in a governmental lab and not a private one. “Tests have revealed that some products are sound while others are unfit [for consumption] which confirms that the tests are objective.”
Charles Arbid, the head of the Lebanese Franchise Association, said Lebanese franchise restaurants had a clean record and abided by international regulations for food safety, adding that most or all of such eateries had ISO quality certificates, clear evidence that they were obeying the rules.
Abu Faour has said four franchise restaurants in Lebanon are in violation of food safety measures.
“We intend to meet the [health] minister Thursday to hear what he has to say and also explain our position on this matter,” Arbid told The Daily Star. “There could be an error in transferring the food items to the labs. We just need to understand what exactly happened.”
Food safety requires reforms, less alarmism
BEIRUT: Scientists and health experts had mixed reactions Wednesday to the announcement that dozens of Lebanese restaurants and food outlets were selling contaminated meat, with some warning that children, the elderly and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to food poisoning. But others cautioned that the Health Ministry ought to reveal more details of their inspections of restaurants and supermarkets to clarify how dangerous the food safety situation really is, pointing out that Lebanon does not have particularly high levels of food-borne illnesses.
“I would like to hear specifics,” said Alexander Abdelnour, the chairperson of the department of experimental pathology, microbiology and immunology at the American University of Beirut, who specializes in food microbiology.
Health Minister Wael Abu Faour Tuesday listed popular restaurant chains and supermarkets around Lebanon that were discovered to be selling food, especially meat and poultry, that failed to meet basic food safety standards, posing a potentially deadly risk to citizens. He pledged to reveal the list of offending outlets in Beirut Thursday.
“He may be right, but we need details,” Abdelnour said. “Who tested them? How did they test them? How did they collect the samples? I would like to know these details before I make any comments [on health effects].”
Abdelnour said that one aspect that would need to be clarified, for instance, is the level of bacteria like E Coli or salmonella in the samples. Salmonella can be found in low quantities in poultry and the amount of E Coli has to be at a certain level before concluding that the food is contaminated with fecal matter.
He said that AUB was not involved in the testing, but pointed out that the AUB Medical Center had not seen unusual levels of food poisoning cases in recent times. The university is involved in a project with the World Health Organization to analyze the genetic code of strains of salmonella obtained from patients who suffer food-related diarrhea, and did not detect unusual trends there.
“The number of specimens we got from all over the country were minimal,” he said. “They occur in practically all other countries.”
“I think in general it’s a sort of exaggeration as to the seriousness of these food-borne pathogens,” he added. “We’ve all been eating Hawa Chicken and we’ve all been going to these restaurants and buying things from these supermarkets.”
Carla Mourad, a nutrition and food science lecturer at AUB, who runs a Beirut-based health-eatery, said food poisoning is a risk as a result of contamination by fecal matter and sewage. “Food poisoning is not a joke and can lead to death,” she said. “A simple infection can deteriorate.”
Mourad said the elderly, young children and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable due to their weak immune systems. But she said the results did not surprise her, saying the lack of oversight in Lebanon’s food industry has been a persistent problem that can probably only be cured through fines and scandals.
Mourad downplayed the impact of the regular electricity outages on the food industry. “Of course the electricity problem is not helping the Lebanese food service, but we can work around it,” she said. Many businesses use generators to provide electricity during the daily outages.
Nicole Maftoum, a clinical dietician, agreed that the problem of food safety was not a new one, but said the government is mostly interested in creating an atmosphere of fear without finding fundamental solutions to the food safety problem.
“I believe that we have become acculturated to a system that breaks the silence of one of our greatest pleasures in this country: eating; creating fearful and outrage[d] reactions,” she said. “I simply wish our government could put an end to all this chaos and establish proper guidelines to be well implemented and respected in each food-related organization.”
Lebanon has few food testing facilities. One major food laboratory in Ain al-Tineh was closed down back in 2007 because it was too close to Speaker Nabih Berri’s home.
Mourad said the results would likely also be dire for produce since many farmers use sewage water to irrigate crops. “If you want my answer, I never eat tabbouleh outside my house – I am 100 percent sure they will not wash the parsley,” she said when asked if similar tests on produce are likely to yield the same results.
Maftoum said all consumers should develop an awareness that allows them to detect spoiled food, and said she generally advises them to follow a “flexible vegetarian” diet that has occasional red meat and poultry, and focuses on natural foods, grains and seafood.
Mourad said consumers should not generalize the findings to all food outlets. “It’s not general to each and every producer or food provider or supermarket,” she said.
Consumers ought to buy meat and poultry from trustworthy providers, promptly freeze them, and cook them thoroughly to fight off germs.
“When in 1 percent doubt, throw the food,” she added.
Food safety requires reforms, less alarmism
BEIRUT: Scientists and health experts had mixed reactions Wednesday to the announcement that dozens of Lebanese restaurants and food outlets were selling contaminated meat, with some warning that children, the elderly and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to food poisoning. But others cautioned that the Health Ministry ought to reveal more details of their inspections of restaurants and supermarkets to clarify how dangerous the food safety situation really is, pointing out that Lebanon does not have particularly high levels of food-borne illnesses.
“I would like to hear specifics,” said Alexander Abdelnour, the chairperson of the department of experimental pathology, microbiology and immunology at the American University of Beirut, who specializes in food microbiology.
Health Minister Wael Abu Faour Tuesday listed popular restaurant chains and supermarkets around Lebanon that were discovered to be selling food, especially meat and poultry, that failed to meet basic food safety standards, posing a potentially deadly risk to citizens. He pledged to reveal the list of offending outlets in Beirut Thursday.
“He may be right, but we need details,” Abdelnour said. “Who tested them? How did they test them? How did they collect the samples? I would like to know these details before I make any comments [on health effects].”
Abdelnour said that one aspect that would need to be clarified, for instance, is the level of bacteria like E Coli or salmonella in the samples. Salmonella can be found in low quantities in poultry and the amount of E Coli has to be at a certain level before concluding that the food is contaminated with fecal matter.
He said that AUB was not involved in the testing, but pointed out that the AUB Medical Center had not seen unusual levels of food poisoning cases in recent times. The university is involved in a project with the World Health Organization to analyze the genetic code of strains of salmonella obtained from patients who suffer food-related diarrhea, and did not detect unusual trends there.
“The number of specimens we got from all over the country were minimal,” he said. “They occur in practically all other countries.”
“I think in general it’s a sort of exaggeration as to the seriousness of these food-borne pathogens,” he added. “We’ve all been eating Hawa Chicken and we’ve all been going to these restaurants and buying things from these supermarkets.”
Carla Mourad, a nutrition and food science lecturer at AUB, who runs a Beirut-based health-eatery, said food poisoning is a risk as a result of contamination by fecal matter and sewage. “Food poisoning is not a joke and can lead to death,” she said. “A simple infection can deteriorate.”
Mourad said the elderly, young children and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable due to their weak immune systems. But she said the results did not surprise her, saying the lack of oversight in Lebanon’s food industry has been a persistent problem that can probably only be cured through fines and scandals.
Mourad downplayed the impact of the regular electricity outages on the food industry. “Of course the electricity problem is not helping the Lebanese food service, but we can work around it,” she said. Many businesses use generators to provide electricity during the daily outages.
Nicole Maftoum, a clinical dietician, agreed that the problem of food safety was not a new one, but said the government is mostly interested in creating an atmosphere of fear without finding fundamental solutions to the food safety problem.
“I believe that we have become acculturated to a system that breaks the silence of one of our greatest pleasures in this country: eating; creating fearful and outrage[d] reactions,” she said. “I simply wish our government could put an end to all this chaos and establish proper guidelines to be well implemented and respected in each food-related organization.”
Lebanon has few food testing facilities. One major food laboratory in Ain al-Tineh was closed down back in 2007 because it was too close to Speaker Nabih Berri’s home.
Mourad said the results would likely also be dire for produce since many farmers use sewage water to irrigate crops. “If you want my answer, I never eat tabbouleh outside my house – I am 100 percent sure they will not wash the parsley,” she said when asked if similar tests on produce are likely to yield the same results.
Maftoum said all consumers should develop an awareness that allows them to detect spoiled food, and said she generally advises them to follow a “flexible vegetarian” diet that has occasional red meat and poultry, and focuses on natural foods, grains and seafood.
Mourad said consumers should not generalize the findings to all food outlets. “It’s not general to each and every producer or food provider or supermarket,” she said.
Consumers ought to buy meat and poultry from trustworthy providers, promptly freeze them, and cook them thoroughly to fight off germs.
“When in 1 percent doubt, throw the food,” she added.
Could Fatah-Hamas rift harm security in Ain al-Hilweh?
SIDON, Lebanon: A new split between the rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas has put the teeming Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp on edge, raising fears that the tension might spark a new round of fighting among feuding parties in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian shantytown.
However, officials in the camp scrambled to allay fears of violence, saying Ain al-Hilweh, the scene of frequent fighting in the past between rival factions vying for influence, would not be another Nahr al-Bared camp or a theater for settling scores between Fatah and Hamas.
The Lebanese Army battled for more than three months against Al-Qaeda-inspired Fatah al-Islam militants in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon in 2007, a war that left the camp almost completely flattened.
“No return to a new Nahr al-Bared camp. Today, the Palestinian political position is united on being a positive factor in the country and not interfering in Lebanese affairs,” Munir Maqdah, deputy commander of the Palestinian National Security in Ain al-Hilweh, told The Daily Star.
“Our goal will remain Palestine and to return to our land with our homes liberated.”
Asked if the new rift between Fatah and Hamas would reflect negatively on the camp’s volatile security, Maqdah, formerly a Fatah military commander, said: “We have decided not to let this [Fatah-Hamas] struggle spread to Lebanon. We, as political parties, have agreed not to move this struggle to Lebanon’s camps. Our camps have enough problems.”
Maqdah’s remarks come as a raging war of words between Fatah and Hamas marred the 10th anniversary since the mysterious death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Tuesday accused the Islamist movement Hamas of trying to destroy efforts to broker national unity through a series of bomb blasts in Gaza last week. Abbas said Hamas had been behind the Gaza explosions, which targeted leaders of his Fatah movement. Hamas quickly hit back at Abbas, describing the allegations as “lies.”
Maqdah dismissed fears of a military flare-up in Ain al-Hilweh, which have been exacerbated by the Lebanese security forces’ confirmation of the existence of dormant terrorist cells that could target the Army.
“With the unity of Palestinian factions, which was manifested recently with the formation of a [joint] security force, and also our good relations with the Lebanese parties and our permanent coordination with the Lebanese Army, we have been able to shield our camps,” Maqdah said.
“Our political stance is clear: to serve as a positive factor in Lebanon. We will remain a safety valve for Lebanon and we will preserve our camps and our people.”
Commemorating Arafat’s death, banners and pictures showing the late leader and Abbas together were hung in the streets and narrow alleys of Ain al-Hilweh. The camp, home to around 90,000 people after its population was swollen by 10,000 mostly Palestinian refugees from Syria, is located on the outskirts of the southern city of Sidon.
Asked if he feared the Fatah-Hamas struggle would spill over to Lebanon’s camps, Mahmoud Jawhar, a school bus driver, said: “Fear [of inter-Palestinian fighting] has been haunting us since our grandfathers were forced to leave Palestine ... We have not had a single day of peace. We are fed up with the smell of blood. We do not want a new Nahr al-Bared camp.”
Sources in Hamas, which is part of the joint elite force deployed in the camp to maintain security, said that the movement’s representative in Lebanon Ali Barakat had contacted Fatah’s strongman Fathi Abu Ardat, and the two had agreed to distance the Palestinian camps from the ongoing struggle in Gaza.
A spokesman for Osbat al-Ansar, one of the militant Islamist organizations based in Ain al-Hilweh, dismissed fears of a new Nahr al-Bared-style war in the camp.
“The Nahr al-Bared camp war is behind us. We have succeeded in distancing ourselves from the battles between the Lebanese Army and gunmen in Tripoli and [the Bekaa town of] Arsal,” Sheikh Abu Sharif Akel told The Daily Star in an interview at his office in Ain al-Hilweh.
He dismissed a bomb that was thrown recently at an Army checkpoint outside Ain al-Hilweh as an isolated incident.
“The [security] situation in the camp is better than in many areas even in Lebanon,” Akel said. “In addition to politicians, security and intelligence personnel are now saying that Ain al-Hilweh no longer poses a danger to the Lebanese state and the Lebanese people.
“Ain al-Hilweh camp will not be transformed into Nahr al-Bared camp. This camp is a storage of Muslim and mujahed youth.”
Watching the camp’s activity through CCTV, Akel blamed Israel and America for foiling attempts to bring about a reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas.
“We see that the recent bombings in Gaza that targeted Fatah leaders aimed primarily at deepening differences and ending the inter-Palestinian reconciliation efforts,” he said. “We hope that these differences will not spread to the diaspora camps, especially Lebanon’s camps.”
Akel, whose group once labeled the Lebanese Army an “infidel” army, praised the military for its ideology in fighting Israel.
“The fact is that the Lebanese Army is one of the armies that still say that Jews are enemies and is still behaving on this basis,” he said. “Therefore, efforts should be combined to confront the Zionist enemy in support of our people, our Al-Aqsa [Mosque] and our cause.”
He called on Islamist youths not to target the Lebanese Army, which he said has “a fighting ideology against the Zionist enemy.”
Akel said representatives of Palestinians factions were in contact with the Lebanese Army through a Palestinian liaison committee to avoid frictions between the two sides. The Army is deployed around Ain al-Hilweh’s entrances.
Akel denied media reports that fugitive Salafist Sheikh Ahmad Assir was hiding in Ain al-Hilweh, following deadly clashes between his gunmen and the Lebanese Army in Abra, east of Sidon, in July 2013. At least 18 soldiers and 28 gunmen were killed in the clashes.
“My information says that Ahmad Assir is not in Lebanon,” he said. “He was in Lebanon for some time following the Abra battles. He is now outside Lebanon. He did not enter the camp.
“The [Lebanese] state knows where he headed after the Abra battles and he stayed for a period of time before leaving Lebanon.”
A military judge has indicted 57 individuals, including Assir and former pop singer Fadel Shaker in the Abra battles and demanded the death penalty for all of them.
Lebanon and Egypt are brothers, Machnouk says from Cairo
BEIRUT: Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk Wednesday praised the “brotherly” relationship between Lebanon and Egypt after meeting his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo.
“[The minister] promised to visit Lebanon soon to hold discussions with the various political factions on how Egypt can help in easing the many problems facing Lebanon,” Machnouk told reporters after meeting with Egyptian Interior Minister Sameh Shukri.
Machnouk highlighted the longtime friendship between Egypt and Lebanon, saying Egypt is a “big brother” to Lebanon and all other Arab countries.
Machnouk was accompanied by the head of the Internal Security Forces Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous and the Lebanese Ambassador to Egypt Khaled Ziada.
Machnouk later in the day also met with the U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, with whom he discussed the developments in the region.
According to the National News Agency, Egypt’s foreign minister and its head of General Intelligence Mohammad Farid al-Tahami will visit Lebanon soon.
Machnouk also said he commended Egypt for making progress in three areas: politics, religion and economy.
Upon kicking off his visit to Cairo, Machnouk said that Lebanon and Egypt would cooperate in fighting terrorism and extremism.
“We came to learn from the Egyptian experience,” Machnouk told reporters after a meeting with Egyptian Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ibrahim. “We have a joint enemy and it is terrorism and extremism, and we coordinated and will coordinate more and more.”
“Egyptian security and intelligence services have a track record of excellence,” Machnouk said. “So far Egyptian officials have shown utmost generosity and have been extremely responsive to [our requests] to train Lebanese officers in Egypt.”
Machnouk also met with the imam of Al-Azhar, the leading Sunni center of Islamic learning. After his meeting with Al-Azhar’s imam, Ahmad al-Tayeb, Machnouk said the institution has a major role to play in supporting moderation.
He said the fight against terrorism is a “confrontation between moderation and extremism, and is not a religious matter.”
Mitch McConnell's Mission: Making The Senate Work Again
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky walks to his office to meet with new GOP senators-elect at the Capitol on Wednesday. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption
itoggle caption J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky walks to his office to meet with new GOP senators-elect at the Capitol on Wednesday.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
At 72, after 30 years in the U.S. Senate, Mitch McConnell has finally realized his life's ambition.
He never wanted to be president — he just wanted to be Senate majority leader. And when he ascends to that perch come January, McConnell will finally have a chance to shape the chamber he says he deeply loves. McConnell declared his first priority will be to make what's been called a paralyzed Senate function again. But the politician who became the face of obstruction over the past four years will have to persuade Democrats to cooperate.
Channeling Henry Clay
When you walk into McConnell's front office at the Capitol, the first thing you see on your right is a looming portrait of Henry Clay, the legendary Kentucky senator. Take a few more steps, and you'll notice that same portrait reflected in the mirror above the fireplace on your left — so his face is on either side of you.
Clay surrounds the visitor standing in the center of McConnell's space.
Two years ago on Kentucky Educational Television, McConnell paid tribute to the famed orator who helped broker pre-Civil War deals with states that had diametrically opposed interests.
"Clay obviously has a special place in the lives of many Kentuckians, and particularly somebody like me who ended up being in the Senate and looks to a person like Clay for guidance," McConnell said in the interview. "The way Clay operated — a marvelous combination of compromise and principle — is a lesson for the ages if you're a public official."
It's a lesson McConnell says he wants to bring back to the Senate.
"The Senate in the last few years basically doesn't do anything. We don't even vote," McConnell said in a press conference one day after the election.
Many blame McConnell for that. He did, after all, once declare that his top priority was to make Barack Obama a one-term president. Now, he says he wants to see the Senate become the chamber of deliberative debate. He wants to see it pass bills, not resort to procedural gamesmanship.
"This is the last rung of his political aspirations, and perhaps he has an incentive to make the place work — to make senators proud of it again," said Sarah Binder of the Brookings Institution.
But Democrats who suffered under McConnell's tactics over the past six years might be a little suspicious of Mitch McConnell, the sudden institutionalist.
"It really takes two cooperative parties to make the Senate work in this sort of fluid, collegial way. And we don't have two cooperative parties," Binder said.
Finding Areas Where Everyone Can Win
As the story often goes, Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr. grew up as a fighter. He fought off polio when he was 2, fought off bullies later in childhood, and became a fierce lover of sports. His former Chief of Staff Hunter Bates said that's why McConnell was drawn to politics.
"Because politics was a game where there were winners and losers and you kept score. And every play mattered," Bates said.
But friends say the relentless competitor always kept the bigger picture in mind, never wasting energy on minor skirmishes.
"He often says that the most important word in the English language is 'focus.' And I've never been able to see anyone maintain that focus no matter what's going on," said another former chief of staff, Billy Piper.
As Piper remembers it, McConnell was never a yeller — even if a staffer deserved it. Piper would walk in with bad news, and there would be no perceptible reaction.
"And I'd walk in another time, thinking that I had really wonderful news and couldn't wait to see his positive reaction. He was just as placid," said Piper. "Because his view is, you're up one day, you're down the next, and you just got to keep moving forward as best you can."
But moving inexorably forward now means something else to the man who has gotten his dream job. He wants to make his imprint on the Senate. And if he truly intends to channel someone like Henry Clay, McConnell will have to find areas where everyone can win.
That's precisely his gift, says retired Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas. "He's very smart. He's very strategic. And he can find a common ground between warring factions and also has the knack for letting people have their say," said Hutchison, who watched him operate over her two decades in the Senate.
But he also knows how to push people toward a consensus, she says. McConnell has been a deal-maker at times — he helped forge the 2012 fiscal cliff deal, and more recently helped end the October 2013 government shutdown.
Democrats are quick to point out, however, that he has also led more than 500 filibusters against them since Obama took office. Binder says McConnell can only hope they don't retaliate in kind.
"Henry Clay hated the filibuster! He knew that it was preventing his Whig majority from getting anything done," Binder said.
So ironically, if Democrats do get their revenge on McConnell with filibusters, he'll have one more thing in common with his Kentucky hero.
As U.S. Leads Growth, It Wants Others To Step Up
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew says the global economy is relying too heavily on just the United States for growth. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption
itoggle caption Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew says the global economy is relying too heavily on just the United States for growth.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The global economy rolls along more smoothly when it's not riding a unicycle. It needs additional wheels for momentum and stability.
That is, in effect, what Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is telling leaders of other advanced nations.
In a get-rolling speech Wednesday to the World Affairs Council, Lew said the U.S. economy is moving at a good pace these days, but needs support from the flat economies of Japan and the European Union.
Other countries cannot "rely on the United States to grow fast enough to make up for weak growth in major world economies," he said.
When Europe and Japan get too weak, then demand drops for made-in-America products and services, and the U.S. dollar gets too valuable, making life tougher for U.S. exporters.
"The world is stronger if we all take steps to bolster domestic demand," Lew said.
He spoke in Seattle, where he was doing a warm-up act ahead of the main event this weekend in Australia. In Brisbane, he will join President Obama and other world leaders for a G-20 summit, focused on spurring global growth.
Lew says the United States has a huge stake in the success of its first-world trading partners.
"The United States exports more than $2 trillion of goods and services to the world," he said. "It is very much in our economic and national interest when the rest of the global economy is growing."
The Obama administration is in a strange position. Just last week, it suffered big political setbacks in domestic elections. But on the world stage, Obama leads the most impressive economy. In the most recent quarter, this country grew at 3.5 percent — a very robust pace for a mature economy.
In the United States, the stock market is booming, budget deficits are melting away, corporate profits are breaking records and the unemployment rate is falling, down to nearly half the level set five years ago.
U.S. success shows "the resilience and determination of the American people," Lew said. "It also reflects the ease of starting businesses, our highly competitive product markets, and the ability to reap rewards from entrepreneurship."
Meanwhile, Japan's economy is stuck, with its inflation-adjusted growth rate running at less than 1 percent over the past decade. Europe may be on the brink of its third recession in six years.
Lew says that to grow, countries need a "comprehensive policy approach" that involves not only better fiscal and monetary decisions, but "structural" changes. When he talks about "structure," he's referring to the policy frameworks that hold back growth.
So, for example, in Japan, structural reform would mean: changing laws that prevent young immigrants from replacing retired workers; helping women with children stay in the workforce and allowing more competition among companies. In Europe, it would mean making the banking sector less secretive.
In addition to speaking in Seattle, Lew talked with NPR's Robert Siegel, host of All Things Considered, by phone. Lew said that while he is offering advice to other countries, he knows this country still has many of its own problems to solve.
For one thing, "wages are not growing," he said. To help fix that, Congress should raise the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, he said. For low-income families, "the minimum wage makes a big difference," he said.
In addition, Congress should start spending more on rebuilding infrastructure, which would boost construction jobs, and pass laws to reform the tax code and increase trade, he said. "We still have work to do," he said.
White House Student Film Festival: The Sequel!
Nearly 50 years ago, the American Film Institute (AFI) was born in the White House Rose Garden. Standing just outside the Oval Office, President Lyndon Johnson spoke to the need to bring together “leading artists of the film industry, outstanding educators, and young men and women who wish to pursue the 20th century art form as their life's work.”
Since that day, new tools and platforms have allowed remarkable voices of a new generation to speak with this art form, and we are proud and honored to partner with the White House in encouraging the young people of America to tell their inspiring tales.
It is in this spirit that I am happy to announce that submissions are now open for the second-ever White House Student Film Festival -- open to U.S. students, grades K-12. The theme of the festival this year is "The Impact of Giving Back." Short films entered into this year’s festival should offer a take on that topic, and be no longer than 3 minutes.
Congress' Newest Members Come To Washington
The newly elected members of Congress arrived in Washington today to begin orientation for their new jobs.
Supreme Court Weighs Race And Politics In Gerrymandering Case
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court took up the question of what kind of political gerrymandering is acceptable and what is not. The question is whether black voters were packed into some Alabama districts in 2010 on the basis of race rather than party.
Obamacare Architect Apologizes For Remarks On The Law's Passage
One of the main architects of the Affordable Care Act is being criticized for comments made last year in which he said the "stupidity of the American voter" was critical in getting the law to pass.
Video surfaced this week of Jonathan Gruber, an MIT economist who also helped create "Romneycare" in Massachusetts, speaking at a health care forum at the University of Pennsylvania in October 2013. His comments during that forum have incensed many critics of the federal health care law, which is also known as "Obamacare."
"This bill was written in a tortured way to make sure CBO did not score the mandate as taxes," he said. "Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage. And basically, call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically that was really, really critical to getting the thing to pass."
Criticism of the remarks was swift. As The Washington Post reported, conservatives said the remarks "served as an admission of intentional deceit by the Affordable Care Act's architects."
In an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday, Gruber apologized, saying he had been "speaking off the cuff."
But Tuesday evening, Fox News reported on another video from last year that featured Gruber. In that video, he discusses the tax on high-end health plans.
"They proposed it and that passed, because the American people are too stupid to understand the difference," he says.
Rich Weinstein, the man who unearthed the first video, tweeted Wednesday:
Weinstein, as Bloomberg Politics points out in a profile, is "also behind a series of scoops that could convince the Supreme Court to dismantle part of the Affordable Care Act." Here's more:
"Weinstein has absorbed hours upon hours of interviews with Jonathan Gruber, an MIT professor who advised the Massachusetts legislature when it created 'Romneycare' and the Congress when it created 'Obamacare.' Conservatives had been looking for ways to demonstrate that the wording of the ACA denied insurance subsidies to consumers in states that did not create their own health exchanges. Weinstein found a clip of Gruber suggesting that states that did not create health insurance exchanges risked giving up the ACA's subsidies; it went straight into the King v. Burwell brief, and into a case that's currently headed to the Supreme Court."
Small Business Administration Accelerator Winners Apply Silicon Valley Model Across the Country
Silicon Valley is synonymous with ground-breaking innovations and market-shaping exports, and I’m not just talking about gadgets and social media apps. The world’s global capital of high technology also produced a game-changing model for empowering entrepreneurs who wish to transform small smart-ups into "the next big thing."
This morning at the White House, I met with a group of leaders who are exporting the Silicon Valley-style incubator to America’s heartland and beyond. They are the winners of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) first-ever Growth Accelerator Competition.
As SBA Administrator, I talk a lot about "entrepreneurial ecosystems," because we know successful new enterprises aren’t created in a vacuum. Incubators, or accelerators, create a multi-faceted support structure to help startups quickly launch and commercialize their ideas.
They offer entrepreneurs a physical infrastructure to work during their infancy; hands-on mentoring; peer support; expert help developing business plans; opportunities to network with funders, angel investors, and venture capitalists; and introductions to potential customers, partners and suppliers.
The research is clear: Entrepreneurs supported by strong ecosystems scale up faster, create more jobs, and have a greater chance at success. Accelerators minimize entrepreneurial growing pains and turn cool new ideas into job-creating enterprises. As a native Californian, I saw their transformative impact in the Silicon Valley, and I’m confident this model can work in communities across America.
The U.S. and China Just Announced Important New Actions to Reduce Carbon Pollution
Today in Beijing, President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping made history by jointly announcing the United States’ and China’s respective targets for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change in the post-2020 period.
This announcement is a unique development in the U.S.-China relationship. The world’s two largest economies, energy consumers, and carbon emitters are reaching across traditional divides and working together to demonstrate leadership on an issue that affects the entire world.
By making this announcement well in advance of the deadline set out in the UNFCCC negotiations, the two leaders demonstrated their commitment to reducing the harmful emissions warming our planet, and urged other world leaders to follow suit in offering strong national targets ahead of next year’s final negotiations in Paris.
Ex-minister slams Abu Faour, eats ashta from Hallab
BEIRUT: Former Minister Faisal Karami posted on Facebook Wednesday an image of him eating a kanafeh sandwich from Tripoli’s Al-Hallab sweets shop, dismissing the Health Minister’s warning about the shop’s food safety standards.
Karami posted the picture with a text slamming Health Minister Abu Faour’s news conference on Tuesday.
“My breakfast today was kanafeh with ashta from the Hallab... to express how much I trust the strange and reckless show by the Health Ministry yesterday,” Karami said.
On Tuesday, Abu Faour revealed the names of restaurants, supermarkets, bakeries and sweet shops that had violated food safety principles in the storage or processing of one or many of their products.
Al-Hallab Sweets, which is one of the most prominent in Lebanon and certainly the most famous in Tripoli, was on Abu Faour’s list of shame. The shop’s ashta, according to the laboratory results published by the minister, contained microbes or diseases that pose a risk on the consumer’s health.
“When the preliminary examination results say that the ashta in such a large establishment does not meet the standards, it is out of modesty and wisdom that the Health Ministry repeats the tests and verify any information before publishing them to the public opinion,” Karami said.
A member of one of Tripoli’s most prominent political families, Karami accused Abu Faour of “shaming one of the most experienced and respected establishments in terms of quality and international standards.”
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Berri defends pro-extension lawmakers amid criticism
BEIRUT: Speaker Nabih Berri Wednesday defended the 95 lawmakers who voted to extend Parliament's mandate by more than two years amid an avalanche of criticism.
“We were always and still are with freedom of the press media and its national role. ... But freedom of the press must not take away [peoples’] dignities,” he stressed during his weekly meeting with lawmakers.
He said the parliamentary extension was the result of the circumstances “that are known to everyone.”
Last week, Parliament approved a law to extend its own mandate by another two years and seven months, after a similar move in 2013, when it renewed its term for 17 months.
Ninety-five of the 97 MPs attending the session voted yes, with the Free Patriotic Movement and Kataeb Party boycotting the vote.
The vote prompted rebukes by a number of local officials including former President Michel Sleiman and Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, as well at the United States, European Union and United Nations.
The FPM said it plans to file an appeal against the law with the Constitutional Council.
Berri said that efforts were currently focused on electing a new Lebanon president and approval of a new electoral law.
The speaker expressed optimism and said “internal and external signs are encouraging” when asked whether any progress has been made in the presidential election crisis.
Lebanon has been without a head of state since May with lawmakers botching several attempts to elect a new president.
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Arslan: Druze bound to fight plots against Syria
BEIRUT: Lebanese Democratic Party leader Talal Arslan Wednesday said that Druze were compelled to fight the "plots" orchestrated against Syria.
“The Druze’s mission is to confront all the plots aimed at targeting the region and its unity,” Arslan told a news conference.
He stressed, however, that the Druze in Mount Hermon, Syria and the Golan Heights did not [initiate any] attack, but rather their dignity was assaulted.”
“Syria’s Druze,” he said, “are defending the homeland, the identity and unity as well as the Syrian state and Arabism.”
He paid tribute to the Druze killed in the Syrian side of Mount Hermon and Jabal al-Arab.
“Defending Syria is our duty,” he insisted.
Arslan also stressed that the predominantly Sunni Arqoub region of southern Lebanon near Syria will not create a supportive environment for jihadists, stressing “there is no room for sectarian strife between the Druze and their brethren.”
"Residents of Shebaa and Hebbariyeh are our people and they are concerned about their region’s security.”
In related news, Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt discussed developments in Mount Hermon, Hasbaya and Rashaya with the head of the Arab Tawhid Party Wiam Wahab, the National News Agency said.
No statements were made following the meeting at Jumblatt’s residence in Beirut.
But last week Jumblatt called on Syria's Druze to sever all ties with the Syrian government and join the rebels.
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Lebanese hostage families visit Turkish ambassador
BEIRUT: The families of the captive soldiers and policemen met Wednesday with the Turkey's ambassador to Lebanon who pledged to communicate their demands to his country’s president.
“The ambassador promised to pass our demands to the Turkish President Recep Tayyep Erdogan,” the families’ spokesperson told reporters after their meeting at the Turkish embassy in Rabieh.
The families said Ambassador Suleiman Inan Ozyildiz appeared to take the matter seriously, saying that Turkey “can play a role in the hostages matter.”
The spokesperson, who spoke to television reporters but did not give his name, said that the families trust Prime Minister Tammam Salam and General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim who are overseeing negotiations for their release.
“We truly trust the state and its cooperation with us, but our duty is to act for our cause,” the spokesperson said, defending their decision to meet with Ozyildiz.
More than 30 soldiers and policemen were abducted by jihadists militants during a five-day battle in the northeastern town of Arsal more than three months ago. Seven have since been released, and three executed.
A committee joining top security officials and ministers has been following up on the matter on behalf of the Lebanese government, while a Qatari-appointed mediator intervened to communicate the kidnappers’ demands.
The militants are demanding the release of prisoners being held in Lebanon and Syria in exchange for the 27 hostages.
The Nusra Front gave the government three choices: either to release 10 Islamist detainees from prison for each captive; to release seven detainees and ask the Syrian government to release 30 women from its prisons for each captive; or to release five men from Lebanon and 50 women from Syria for each captive.
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EDL urges government to 'liberate' headquarters
BEIRUT: Electricite du Liban's administration called Wednesday on the Lebanese government to forcibly expel contract workers staging a three-month sit-in at its Beirut headquarters and prosecute them for "raping" the facility.
In a statement in which it slammed the ongoing strike, the company urged Lebanon’s prime minister and its ministers of interior and justice to “liberate the institution from its occupiers and put an end to this deviant situation, the price of which is primarily paid by the Lebanese citizen.”
The statement said that the Lebanese penal code calls for punishing with a six-month jail term and a fine those who attempt to “rape” a water or electricity public sector facility by halting its operations.
“If EDL has not yet reached the stage of total collapse, and has succeeded to prevent total blackout, it is due to the great efforts by the administration, the executives and the employees,” the statement said.
The contract workers’ have been preventing company employees and executives from entering their office since launching their strike in August.
The workers, who had been employed by private service providers since 2012, are demanding full-time employment at EDL, or a promise of full-time employment after the private companies’ contracts end in 2016.
The strike erupted after EDL announced that it will only recruit 897 of the nearly 2,000 contract workers. EDL says it cannot absorb all the workers with full-time positions.
The company recently announced it will start distributing bills for some subscribers after printing them using machines outside their headquarters.
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Lame-Duck Congress Gets Back To Work After Midterm Elections
On the to-do list is a spending bill to continue government funding past Dec. 11, and a tax bill to preserve some long-standing breaks. First up, are leadership elections.
Senior Iraqi Shiite ayatollah in Beirut
BEIRUT: A senior Iraqi Shiite religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Bashir al-Najafi, arrived in Beirut Wednesday.
He was met upon arrival at Beirut airport by representatives of Speaker Nabih Berri and Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah as well as the ambassadors of Iraq and Iran.
The ayatollah's itinerary was not made public.
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