Obama told me so: 12/20/14

Saturday, 20 December 2014

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North Korea Has An Interesting Offer. And Another Threat

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A banner for The Interview is posted outside Arclight Cinemas, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles on Wednesday. The theatrical release of the film has been cancelled following cyber attacks and threats believed to originate in North Korea. Damian Dovarganes/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Damian Dovarganes/AP

A banner for The Interview is posted outside Arclight Cinemas, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles on Wednesday. The theatrical release of the film has been cancelled following cyber attacks and threats believed to originate in North Korea.

Damian Dovarganes/AP

North Korea, which denies that it had anything to do with a hack against Sony Pictures Entertainment, now wants to help the U.S. root out the real culprit. But true to form for Pyongyang, the dubious offer comes tinged a threat of "serious" consequences should Washington decline.

An unidentified Foreign Ministry spokesman says his country can prove it had nothing to do with the cyberattack against Sony that was directed at an upcoming release of the satire film The Interview, about an assassination plot on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. But the spokesman says the U.S. must accept an offer for a joint probe of the breach.

"The U.S. should bear in mind that it will face serious consequences in case it rejects our proposal for joint investigation and presses for what it called countermeasures while finding fault with" North Korea, the spokesman said in a statement carried by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency.

Sony Pictures this week said it was cancelling the Christmas release of the film, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, a move that President Obama has called "a mistake," citing the precedent it sets and the implications for free speech. Sony's CEO Michael Lynton, in an interview with NPR, responded to the president's remarks on Friday, insisting that the studio "did not capitulate" to hackers. Lynton said Sony is looking into releasing the film on "a different platform."

The controversy first bubbled to the surface in June, when the trailer for the film was released and Pyongyang said its release would constitute "an act of war."

The Associated Press writes: "U.S. officials blame North Korea for the hacking, citing the tools used in the Sony attack and previous hacks linked to the North, and have vowed a response. The break-in resulted in the disclosure of tens of thousands of confidential Sony emails and business files, and escalated to terrorist threats that caused Sony to cancel the Christmas release of the movie "The Interview." The comedy is about a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un."

Lebanese singer auditions for France's The Voice

BEIRUT: Lebanese singer Hiba Tawaji, who shot to fame after collaborating with renowned composer Oussama Rahbani in 2007, is among the 100 talents vying for the title in the newest season of France's The Voice.

According to French paper Le Figaro, Nikos Aliagas, the show's presenter, introduced Hiba by her first name during a private press screening of the talents for the show's fourth season.

Standing behind a screen for her blind audition, Tawaji sang a French song by Michel Legrand, "Les moulins de mon cœur (The Windmills of my Heart)."

Tawaji is widely known in Lebanon for her sultry voice and has three albums produced by Rahbani; the most recent album was released in 2014 titled “Ya Habibi.”

Tawaji surfaced in 2007 when she collaborated with Rahabni on several songs. She also showcased her acting skills during an acclaimed musical play in 2011 "Don Quixote," by Marwan, Ghadi and Oussama Rahabni.

Tawaji is not the first Lebanese to audition for The Voice in France. Aline Lahhoud, a singer, auditioned for the third season in 2014 and won the judges over with her rendition of Lebanese song “Khdne Maak.” Lahhoud, the daughter of prominent singer Salwa al-Katrib, was eliminated in the second round.

Before Lahhoud, Anthony Touma, a French-born Lebanese, also auditioned for the show and reached an advanced round but did not win the title.a

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Electoral law would only be passed after presidential election: MP

BEIRUT: Parliament will only approve a new electoral law once a president is elected, the head of the parliamentary committee studying a new election law said in remarks published Saturday.

“When a president is elected, we will head to the assembly to vote on an election law. This is a commitment,” MP Robert Ghanem told An-Nahar.

“After we approve it, we would shorten the extension period of Parliament to hold the election.”

Ghanem’s remarks come days after the Lebanese Forces said it was suspending its participation the subcommittee until a date was set for a legislative session. Disputes lingered last week during the subcommittee meeting, with electoral districting emerging as the major point of contention.

Ghanem, an independent allied with the March 14 coalition, said that the Lebanese Forces MP said during one of the meetings that his party would vote in favor of a law formulated by the LF, the Future Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party.

The committee is studying several proposals including a hybrid law presented by Speaker Nabih Berri that combines proportional representation and a winner-takes-all electoral system.

If the committee fails to agree on a single law, the speaker would put all proposed draft laws up for a vote in the legislature only after a new president is chosen, Ghanem said.

“We work on the basis that electing a new president is the priority in parallel with formulating an electoral law,” he said.

The lawmaker said that approving the law without a president would be futile since the person chosen would have to agree to the new system.

“I think the committee will resume its meetings after the holidays if certain circumstances become available, especially given that we are anticipating the dialogue between Hezbollah and Future Movement, which could clear the sky.”

“If we agree on an electoral law and refer it to Parliament, we would have had to wait until a president is elected to implement it."

Obama told me so