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. They are 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.
Good one. I suspect the reason is that few people think what Berri has to say is of much consequence. Nasrallah is the star, and Berri is like a has-been supporting actor. But since reporters feel a need to report about him, each picks whatever snippet they think is relevant to their readership.
And leaving us news addicts to scour the Internet alleyways for our next high. You’d think that with our insatiable appetites, we the readers would have a more control over what the press publishes.
Berri is definitely a character. If he were to ever lose the position of speaker, I would suspect there would be fewer journalists following him around.