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Lebanese Community News Journal
at www.lcnj.com
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Bookmark This Page
http://www.lcnj.com/Lebanese-Newsletter.htm
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Lebanese Community News Journal
at www.lcnj.com
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November, 22,
2007 |
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Freedom of Speech
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Every single person, of any religion, of any nationality and of any political affiliation, who has true love for Lebanon... who works in Lebanon's best interest and who sincerely works on preserving the "Lebanese way of Life" is a friend of LCNJ |
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Publishers' Note: Her eyes filled with joy and gratitude when I offered her a simple ride from Manhattan to New Jersey at the end of a small party at her place of work. She saved 2 hours of commute by bus for what took us 25 minutes by car. She was a beautiful, smart and well spoken young Sunni-Iraqi woman who just arrived to the U.S. less than a month ago, as a refugee!... Her life story is a long one, so I will keep this short... Her father was a "civilian causality" who was injured and rendered severely disabled by a US bomb during the liberation of Iraq in 2003. Since then, and at a tender age, she suddenly became the bread winner of her family of eight. As that was not enough, in her early 20's, she found out that she had cancer in the lymph nodes of her neck. A Lebanese gentleman working with the US troops in Iraq helped her with a safe passage to Jordan. In Jordan, no hospital would offer her treatment until she came up with the money "upfront". She endured radiation and chemotherapy that cost her over $60,000 that came out of her family's life savings. She came to the U.S. under the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program that allowed about 7,000 Iraqi refugees to resettle in the United States this year. Although she is a highly experienced and talented hair stylist, the salon owner overworked her and expected her to be also her cleaning lady. After I dropped her off, I reflected on all that she told me... and my eyes suddenly were opened to a little known reality. While it is reasonable for us to support the U.S. in its legitimate war against terror, one cannot overlook the plight of the Iraqi people. We hear about the senseless terrorist bombs that kill and maim Iraqi civilians... we hear about the economic disasters... we hear about the growing refugee crisis... But we rarely hear that, in Syria and Jordan, Iraqi girls as young as 12 are forced into prostitution. We rarely hear that Iraqi Christians now fear going to churches. We rarely hear of the senseless kidnapping and killing of Iraqi priests. Even when the U.S. facilitates refugee status to Iraqis in the U.S., the Iraqis who arrive to the U.S. face enormous challenges in receiving the basic social assistance promised to them. Many of them do not speak good English. They arrive to a new culture uprooted from their family and land leaving their families and loved ones behind... with no cross-cultural preparation and no family support. They find it extremely hard to find gainful employment. Those who are able to find the most menial of jobs, are made to work 12-14 hours a day for 16 hours in violation of Labor laws. Such social injustice is something we all should be aware of... We all should open our hearts and offer help to such Iraqis in America. We all should voice our outrage in support of the Iraqi people.
To read more of Your Letters Society 2,600 people attended the Wael-Najwa-Fadl Concert at the Ritz, NJ LCNJ took great pride in having implemented a very powerful and successful strategic advertising campaign for this Mega Concert at the Ritz at the request of our friend Atef Kamel.
2,600 audience members flocked to Elizabeth, NJ to attend this great Lebanese concert that featured three of Lebanon's most loved superstars like Wael Kfoury, Najwa Karam and Fadl Shaker.
The contagious energy and fun atmosphere were unmistakable... The audience made up of Lebanese, Palestinians, Egyptians, Iraqis and so many of our fellow Arabs and non-Arabs was reveling in celebrating our unique culture and music.
Congratulations on a job well done in NJ by our fellow Lebanese Yousif Harb, Maroun Abi-Aad, Atef Kamel and their charming staff... Thank you for bringing a wonderful taste of Lebanon to New Jersey!... Click Here for Video Clips from this Concert
Friday November 16, 2007 - at 6:30 pm
“It is
easy to say that many of those who speak loudly about patriotism,
nationalism, and love for Lebanon do not even represent themselves; they
represent “other people.” They represent “people” who want another
Lebanon, not our Lebanon. They represent a Lebanon different from the
Lebanon we want. For this reason we say that what is needed is not an
agreement among the parties, but an agreement of the Lebanese people on
the identity of the Lebanon they want. If we were optimistic and if the
unexpected actually happened, that is if the Presidential elections took
place within the expected constitutional time frame, what we need is not a
consensual president, but a conciliatory one….We want a President
“It is no secret that the war has raged and continues to rage because of the failure of the political and civil leadership to advance a new vision for Lebanon. The war erupted and has continued to thrive due to the absence of a genuine political and civil leadership in the true sense of the word. Indeed the war was a manifestation of the total lack of leadership. The people of Lebanon have always been great, but their leadership has always been frail and corrupt…Isn’t it time for us to dare and answer the question “What Lebanon Do We Want?” Many LCNJ Discounts working for You!...
With 15,000 – 32,000
visitors a day,
It
is very easy for you to explore how many Lebanese, Arabic and Middle
Eastern (and other) restaurants, bakeries, doctors, beauty salons, events,
concerts, businesses, grocery stores, etc… are offering 15% OFF to
So, whenever you go to your regular shopping place, anywhere you are, just ask the
owner if he or she has started offering
Many owners
will readily offer you 15%
For those owners who do not
offer them yet, just remind them that they can start offering 15%
OFF to
One example, for lovers of fine Indian cuisine,
is
the
"best kept secret in Cherry Hill"; the Indian Restaurant
The
Palace of Asia
in Cherry Hill, NJ, that has the most extensive
and mouthwatering Indian Buffet in the entire United States, who, like many
other businesses, have started offering 15% OFF to Previous Online Newspapers in 2007:
October
Economy
On
Click Here for Details & Videos |
National Security
Married
3 times in the U.S., Nada Prouty (aka Nada Nadim A
"He was young and dumb and he
needed the money,"
Prouty After obtaining her bachelor's
degree from the Detroit College of Business, she moved to Berwick, PA, and
worked as a receptionist in a medical clinic. She eventually married the
owner's son, Andrew Alley.
After obtaining a master's degree, she landed a job at the FBI in 1999, partly because of her foreign language skills, authorities said. Prouty, a CPA, was a mid-level employee of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2003 until she resigned last week. The Justice Department said the investigation is continuing and Prouty has agreed to cooperate with the CIA. This case raises serious questions about security screening by the CIA and the FBI who, to date, still base their national security clearance partly on the "useless" polygraph. It highlights the importance of conducting stringent and thorough background investigations.
Tell A Friend You can let your Lebanese friends worldwide know about www.lcnj.com by Telling A Friend
The election had already been postponed from November 12 to November 21 and is most likely to be dragged until November 30, 2007. Lebanon's government has threatened to use its simple parliamentary majority to elect one of its own members if the factions do not agree on a candidate. Although Lebanon's politics
change 180 degrees from one day to another, General Aoun lost all hope of
being elected President this year.
If
no agreement is reached, the 14 March will convene for the 50+1, and elect
Nassib Lahoud.
If an agreement is reached for the 2/3 votes, then Boutros Harb may be elected President.
If no agreement is reached,
and no President is elected before Emile Lahoud departs, that will put Lebanon in a
potentially explosive political vacuum leading to Such unnecessary war will not be
in Lebanon's best interest. It will be a war-by-proxy between Lebanese
Sunnite and Lebanese Shiite supported by divided Christian Lebanese on behalf
Shiite Iran and Syria on the one hand and the U.S., Sunnite Saudi and
The Lebanese Christian politicians have a choice between serving their self-interests and the interests of external forces that will push Lebanon over the precipice... or doing what is right and following a calling greater than their self interests, unite, even fake union, agree on a President and refuse to be the stooges that will pave the way to that upcoming war-by-proxy.
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brought
to you by
The
Lebanese Community News Journal at 
As
if Lebanon needed more bad rap at this point in time!...
Nada
was a former LaShish waitress.
The Presidential
Election is postponed again until
Michel Edde was proposed by Patriarch Sfeir and is likely to be
the one elected President. However, the 14th of March coalition are
opposed to his election. So, Lebanese Army Commander General Michel
Suleiman may more likely to be the compromise candidate after all.
Télé Lumière / Noursat Fundraiser
