Did Hariri have one of these?
If the rumors are to be believed, Ex-PM Rafic Hariri had recorded his whole conversation with Syrian President Bashar Assad (the one where Assad had famously threatened him of “Breaking Lebanon on top of his Head”) using some sort of high-end recording pen device offered to him by president Jacques Chirac of France.
The Lebanese Man-on-the-street and housewives are buzzing with similar news.
Most of these largely unfounded tidbits are originating from sources like Elaph or Kuweiti newspapers, some respected (like alraialaam), and some not so respected (like alseyassah.)
Since in a war, the first victim is the truth, The Hariri Media is relaying those unproven rumors and is ignoring the foundations of responsible Journalism.
Take the Hariri pen for instance. All I had to do to find such a device was to google “James bond pen”. I realized that they’re widely available and they’re made in China.
So much for high-tech technology that can trespass its way across a President’s security system.
But I confess, since, as a Lebanese I am not isolated from this war, I find it very difficult to take a neutral stance. Besides, what’s so wrong about your mom telling you how cool Hariri’s gadgets are?
Hello, my name is Mustapha and I've been blogging about Lebanese society, business and politics since February 2005.
My mother would never comment on Hariri’s gadgets. What a man keeps beneath his clothing is his business, and my mother is too conservative to even think about what lies there.
BTW, how do you track the IP addresses of your commenters? Like Tony at Across the Bay who recently had this problem, I think there are some people commenting on my blog using false names.
“…originating from sources like Elaph or Kuweiti newspapers, some respected like Al-Rai-al-‘Aam…” [sic]
Sure dude: we can definitely trust “information” peddled by a London-based Saudi website famous for its links with “honest and disinterested commentators” such as Richard Perl and Ahmad Chalabi, not to mention a “respected” [yuk!] Kuwaiti newspaper” notorious for having leaked “in exclusivity” in 1990 to gullible US journalists the uber-grotesque canard on the alleged “propensity of Iraqi troops to unplug incubators in Kuwaiti maternities before drinking babies’ blood”
Since we’re at it, another Saudi-engineered rumor has it that Qardahan Colonel Assouff Shawkatayyn-bitizi-aw-tlâteh-Idontreallyremember, was secretly sent to Paris by UN Kommissar Mehlis himself…
Reliable Kuwaiti, Javanese and Uzbek sources all tell me he even had secret meetings with Chief-Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the Sureté Générale- the French equivalent of what the Lebanonese people call “Al-Amnn-al-‘Aam”!
See link below for more details on what is fast becoming “L’Affair(e)” in the corridors of power of Paris and the Beltway
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_Clouseau
Steve,
Here you are mistaken. No one from Hariri News are claiming that such a pen exists!!
Pleas advice of one article in which they did………
regards
Khaled
Lebop, Tony is using haloscan comments. I don’t think that you can’t do that with a blogger account (but Mustafa seems to have a paying account so I can’t say).
Concerning this post: people are inventing rumors in Lebanon! It’s just too much. There’s a collective hysteria.
Did you know Hariri had an invisible car that he could drive with his watch?
Khaled,
I wasn’t specifically refering to the Pen. But a lot of anonymous “trusted sources” are becomming the staple of Future TV news.
Mustapha,
FTV is referring to these sources but not supporting them directly, they are trying to play the innocent reporter.
FTV for example refers to Elaph and Alseyassa articles that are attacking Lahoud. (Note that Elaph and Alseyassa can not be prosecuted in Lebanon for infringing the makam rease law)
I will not be surprised if it was found later that FTV is feeding those two with news/ rumors so that they can use those articles later in a legitimate way in their news