Piecing Together Nabih Berri’s Speech

Commemorating the 32nd anniversary of the disappearance of Imam Moussa Al-Sadr – the founder of the Shiite Amal Movement, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri mentioned work will soon begin on Litani River project. According to the Kuwait News Agency:

The project aims to construct a canal, a tunnel and a pipeline to carry the waters of the river from Lake Qaraoun in the Beqaa Valley to 76 southern towns at a 800 meter high baseline.

All fair and well, right? We’ll here’s the problem – 3 different news media seemed to have taken what they want from his speech and left the remaining to rot.

Naharnet only focused on this aspect of the speech:

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Tuesday said he rejects attempts to deem Shiites as “rebels against the Lebanese regime and that their weapons are a threat to the State.”

No mention at all of the Litani River project. Kuwait News Agency (as mentioned earlier), carried the Litani project information but not the “Shiite rebellion” comment. They picked the part that suited them best:

Berri expressed gratitude to His Highness the Kuwaiti Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for his contribution to “this national achievement.” The State of Kuwait pledged USD 200 million to the first and second stages of the project which costs up to USD 450 million.

And now the icing on the cake. Israel National News. According to their website, this is what Nabih Berri had to say about the Litani River project:

In a statement on the project, the speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabi Berry, praised Israel’s efforts in water desalination and conservation. Berry also praised the recent effort in Israel to distribute water-saving faucet heads, and said that Lebanon should do something similar.

If Nabih Berri did praise Israel, why wasn’t it mentioned in the other two sources? Any ideas? It almost seems like the reporters attended separate speeches on the same day. I wouldn’t give to much into Israel National News’ report. There the same ones that brought us Lebanese President Emile Lahore.

Piecing together Nabih Berri's speech: Attacked suggestions of "Shiite rebels", thanked Kuwait for funding project, and praised Israeli conservationism.

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“You Go Out Sometimes and it’s like Beirut in Town.”

That’s how emergency care practitioner William Berkley describes the regular scene of drunks Brits on the streets of Plymouth hitting, falling and fighting with each other:

By 1.30am the police cells are almost full and the city centre’s ‘field hospital’ is busy dealing with the fallout from Union Street. The nightclub strip is usually quiet in the early hours of a Monday morning, but bank holiday drinking means an upsurge in crime and injuries. Ambulance staff and police use the Shekinah Mission, on Bath Street behind the Pavilions, as a base to help deal with people at the scene.

[...]

The emergency services juggle resources around fights breaking out as bars close, head injuries from assaults and drunken falls, and criminal damage. Staff on duty say people drinking all day on bank holiday has a “massive impact” on crime and health — as well as hitting the public purse due to a need for extra resources.

[...]

William worries resources are taken away from people in need. [...] “There are sometimes genuinely poorly patients who have to be held back, they have to wait, because you go out sometimes and it’s like Beirut in town.”

I would have said that something like, “it looks like a circus is in town”. Unless William believes we wear red rubber noses or he’s taking about the band, I really have no idea what he is trying to describe. Nevertheless, a looks like Beirut certificate will be dispatched.

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Israeli Interior Minister: Lebanon War was a Divine Loss

Israeli Minister of the Interior Eli Yishai believes that Israel lost the July 2006 war because Israelis have turned their back on God:

“But here we come to the Second Lebanon War, without Syria, without Jordan, without Libya – just 2,000 Hezbollah men. 2,000! And look at what happens. Do you know why? Because we said, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth’. What do you think? That you can succeed without help from God? Without the Torah of Israel? Without the learned of the Torah?” he commanded.

With Hassan Nasrallah declaring a “divine victory” and Eli Yishai declaring a “divine loss”, it seems that both Hezbollah and Israel are on the same page.

Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai: Lebanon war lost due to distance from God

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Interior Minister Baroud Recognized for Championing Democracy

The International Foundation for Electoral Systems has named the three recipients of its 2010 IFES Charles T. Manatt Democracy Awards: US House Representative David Obey, the former USAID Administrator M. Peter McPherson, and Lebanon’s Minister of Interior and Municipalities Ziad Baroud:

The awards, which recognize extraordinary efforts to advance electoral participation and democratic values, are given yearly to a Republican, a Democrat and a member of the international community to highlight the fact that democracy work transcends political parties and national borders.

[...]

Ziad Baroud, a longtime lawyer and prominent civil society activist who currently serves as Lebanon’s Minister of Interior and Municipalities, has dedicated his life to civil society and government service. Mr. Baroud is recognized worldwide for his significant contribution to enhancing the electoral process in his country.

The award ceremony will take place on September 28 in Washington DC. Congratulations to one of our favorite ministers!

Ziad Baroud - Receipient of the 2010 IFES Charles T. Manatt Democracy Awards

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“Kabul is the new Beirut”

Well, its not really a “Looks Like Beirut” as characterized by destruction but rather the literal meaning of “looks like Beirut” in an article from The Guardian titled Getting drunk in Kabul bars? Pass the sick bag:

“Kabul is the new Beirut.” This frivolous drivel fell from the mouth of a journalist in Afghanistan. She was effervescent with excitement about the prospect of Kabul’s expatriate bars being even more hip than those in Beirut. Beirut – where they dance to the beat of the bombs, where alcohol flows freely and women are freer still. Yay! Kabul has finally left the dark ages and now offers expat bars for journalists and diplomats alike, where alcohol serves as the lubricant for self-congratulatory war stories and chest-beating.

The rest of the article by Seema Jilani is an extended rant of how Western culture is overtaking Afghanistan’s lifestyle.

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