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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“Tash ma Tash” Tests Saudi Tolerance Towards Christianity

As you are probably aware, Al-Manar and NBN have both dropped their Ramadan series on Christ following complaints from the country’s Christian community. However, that is not the only controversy in the region concerning Christians on TV:

A popular Saudi holiday sitcom [Tash Ma Tash] has drawn the ire of conservative clerics over an episode portraying Arab Christians in a positive light after the kingdom sought to sell itself as a leader of dialogue between faiths.

[...]

A two-part “Uncle Boutros” episode of the sitcom showed the two main Saudi characters, both Muslims, being advised by their dying father to visit the brother of their deceased Lebanese mother, about whom they know next to nothing.

After a tearful reunion, the pair discover their mother’s relatives were Christians and Uncle Boutros was a priest. Despite their initial shock, the brothers slowly come to respect their uncle’s Christianity, although they try to convert him to Islam and give him a Koran.

The duo are pleased when their uncle hands them a box of jewelry that had belonged to their mother and which he had held for them for years. They also respect their uncle’s charitable deeds toward a Lebanese Muslim neighbor.

So what is all the commotion about? Well, simply the show, according to Saudi scholars, shows Christians as worshipers of God whereas they should be burning in hell:

“A Muslim is allowed to praise only the one true religion — Islam,” said Eissa al-Ghaith, a judge at the Justice Ministry, in remarks carried by al-Madina newspaper on Sunday.

Independent Islamic scholar Abdulwahab al-Salhi said the “indecent lot of ‘Tash Ma Tash’ … used drama to destroy Muslims’ stable religious principles by portraying Christians as believers and not apostates.”

All this from a country that is trying to sell itself as a leader in religious dialogue.

Tash ma Tash Tests Saudi Tolerance Towards Christianity

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OTV Cries Foul Over “Lebanese” Porn Channel

MEMRI has translated a news report presented on OTV on July 9 concerning the “immoral” porn channels using counterfeit Lebanese to sell sex. According to the OTV reporter:

It is not unusual for a TV viewer to accidentally come across channels broadcasting porn films and nude images. What is peculiar is that one of these channels is called ‘Lebanese Women TV.’ The channel is broadcast via the European Hotbird satellite, and it airs porn films and sex ads – free-of-charge and unencrypted – showing girls imitating a Lebanese accent, although they are not Lebanese, thus exploiting the good reputation of Lebanese women for marketing and distribution purposes.

This whole issue is harmful to the image of Lebanese women, and constitutes an affront to their pride and honor, and by extension, this is an affront to Lebanon and all Lebanese. It constitutes a character assassination of an entire society and country, for the whole world to see.

You can see the clip (with English translations) yourself – but be forewarned, its simply shows phone sex ads taken from the channel with focused pixelization. Though I kind of wonder how many hours that reporter spent staring at porn and Photoshopping the images.

From MEMRI: Lebanese Porn Channel – "Character Assassination" of All Lebanese – July 9, 2010

I did some research into the channel but could not determine where it broadcasts from. Although other “pornatizement” channels such as Arab 69 TV, Arab XXX, and Al Jameela Jins all broadcast from Israel.

According to OTV, the channel damages Lebanon’s reputation. Apparently, they are oblivious of Lebanon’s “boobs and booze” tourism. Nevertheless, OTV tried to bring the issue to the attention of the authorities who were too busy poking through Facebook for attacks against the President:

When [OTV] contacted the head of the office for fighting IT and copyright crimes, the answer we received was that the office is aware of this issue, but is not dealing with it at present, because the issue of the president and Facebook is of higher priority.

Is anyone surprised? I mean as Tarek Chemaly pointed out, decency is quite nonexistent when it comes to the local media. And does anyone remember in the 90s, local broadcaster Sigma TV (I think that’s what it was called), which in the early hours of the morning used to show soft porn?

From Beirut/NTSC: Photo was taken from LBC

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Martha Stewart Mags to Hit Lebanese Stands

Martha Stewart is extending her media claws across Europe and now has her eyes set on the Middle East:

US lifestyle guru Martha Stewart is planning to expand her magazine publishing empire into the Middle East with the launch of several of her namesake titles in several countries across the region, according to Stewart’s official website.

[...]

“The launch of the UK edition of Martha Stewart Living further expands MSLO’s growing portfolio of international magazines. In addition to the new UK edition of Martha Stewart Living, MSLO will also be introducing editions of Everyday Food and Martha Stewart Weddings in Dubai beginning in July and October respectively, with distribution in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt and Syria,” according to a statement on MSLO’s website.

And with that, I leave you with Martha’s very own Middle Eastern Platter:

Martha's Middle Eastern Platter - Canned Hummous and Pita Bread

Originality at its best.

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Join Lebanon’s Mini Cabinet Meeting

OK, its not really a cabinet meeting but the attendee list does read like one. Here’s the background: I received this email last night from ArabianBusiness.com:

You are invited to join the Economist Conferences’ Lebanon Business Roundtable. Join Prime Minister Saad Hariri alongside other top ministers and business leaders, at this important and unbiased debate on the future of the Lebanon’s business and investment climate.

The other ministers are:

• Mohammad Safadi, Minister of Economy & Trade
• Raya Haffar El Hassan, Minister of Finance
• Riad Salameh, Governor, Banque du Liban
• Charbel Nahas, Minister of Telecommunications
• Gebran Bassil, Minister of Energy and Water

Apparently there are very limited seats and the event will put you back about US$1200 unless you are subscribed to the Economist magazine (the organizers of the event) which would entitle you to a 15-25% discount. The topic of the event: Can the country afford not to reform?

(Yawn!) I would love to attend but unfortunately I have to groom my cats.

The Economist: Lebanon Business Roundtable

Update – June 15, 2010: Today is the start of the event and if you are interested to know what is going on, then I recommend checking out Beirut Spring – Mustapha is on the scene and has blogged his first report.

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