Rarely does one read an essay by a head of government, even if it is Lebanon, groveling in praise of a monarch. Today the Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Saniora did it in an article published simultaneously in the Saudi-owned daily Asharq Alawsat and her sister satellite TV station Alarabiya website (both media are owned by Saudi princes). It is in the worst tradition of mercenary journalism that still persists in the Gulf region, especially in the offshore Saudi media. I have translated from Arabic a few pararaphs only of the extremely long piece- The king seems like a simple and amiable fellow personally, but some of the words set my skin crawling.
Warning: the reader may want to have a barf-bag (sick bag) nearby- by the time one gets to the last paragraph one may need a whole bucket and proximity to a.....facility (the very last paragraph is a treat, you'll need a whole bucket for that one alone):

"Writing about King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, and he being a leader and policy maker, is different frm writing about just a famous person or a friend. But knowledge and impressions about His Majesty the King have been available since he was a crown prince and haed of the national guard.....I have talked to him many times, and I have talked to many who know him- all impressions were the same: a straight personality, with the characteristics of leadership and governance, prefers thr truth and openness over any other, prefres action over words.....but when he talks, the words come from his heart....It is known that Saudi Arabia does not join axes (not even axes of goodness?), and does not participate in inter-Arab and regional disputes.....

"The Saudi leadership has visions and goals related to Arab stability and enabling Arabs to regain control of their own affairs and causes. The KIngdom has deployed energies and resources into unitiatives and abilities to solve internal Arab problems, to correct inter-Arab relations, especially with her neigbors (well, perhaps excluding Iraq?), and to change American policies in the region (is that what has been happening in iRaq lately?)......

"As for King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, the big human being, the great leader, the noble knight. may God smile upon him, extend his reign, allow us continuance of his existence, as a reward for what he has given and offered and what he has struggled for, toward the glory and progress of his kingdom, the impenetrable castle of Arabs and Moslems, and for the good of the Arab nation, and for the peace and Arab identity of Lebanon, and oits sovereignty and the stability of its democratic system...." Vive le roi!
It must be the King's birthday, it can't be his bar mitzvah. Maybe it is part of a periodic polishing of the image orchestrated by minions, because one or two other papers in the Gulf ragion published similar gusing tracts about the King today. It did not polish the image of Mr. Saniora much, though.

Cheers
Mohammed