From Beirut to the Beltway

Nada Bakri in a "special" article written for the Daily Star headlined her 4 January opus as follows:

Christians: Siniora represents all of us
Leaders say they are not being excluded from decision-making process

Huh? After Naharnet’s blunder and generalization about the Shia and Hizbullah, poor editing strikes again, this time at Lebanon’s only English-language daily.

So world Christians are speaking with one voice these days, ay?

The Christian political community denied on Tuesday they were being excluded from dialogue over the country's decision-making process, saying that Prime Minister Fouad Siniora represents all Lebanese and stressing the importance of resolving national issues inside Parliament. "There is a crisis in the government and Siniora is holding talks with the different political players to resolve it and is representing the Christians," said Social Affairs Minister Nayla Mouawad.

The article then quotes another “Christian” , former president Amin Gemayel, as saying "the government has the right framework..." etc

And then:

But several Christian MPs believe a chasm has opened between them and other political players, and are demanding to be included in the dialogue.

So much for ALL Christians claiming “Siniora represents all of us.” But wait, it was not all Christians who said that, it was one Lebanese Christian who is an ally of Siniora. And guess what, some "leaders" did say that they ARE "being excluded from decision-making process."

The piece descends into chaos and goes on tangents, which are characteristics of many Daily Star articles these days.

I understand deadlines. I also understand the difficulty of editing the work of novice writers with poor English skills. But that's why soda and coffee are popular in newsrooms! Drink up or hire better editors (and reporters)!