The New York Times on censorship in Lebanon

In Beirut, the censors have banned “The Da Vinci Code” as anti-Christian and the TV series “The West Wing” as anti-Arab. The security directorate has broad powers in other areas, too, refusing permission, for instance, for the director Francis Ford Coppola to land his private jet in Beirut in 2009 because the engine included parts made in Israel; he had to land in Damascus, Syria, instead, and travel overland.

As Lebanese filmmaker Danielle Arbid nicely puts it, “Nothing works in this country except the censorship bureau,”.

Read the full article [Here].