Gavinsblog.com

Category: Middle East

  • The National editorial salaries

    Someone is in big trouble. The pay of 250 staff at the recently launched “The National” newspaper in Abu Dhabi have been leaked online via Wikileaks. You can have a read of the list here. Or here (Right click on the link to save to your desktop) As a guide, divide the sums by five…

  • Burj Dubai 2008 (Google Earth)

    I see Google Earth have updated some of their satellite imagery of Dubai. The update included recent photos of The World island complex, the Burj Dubai and the Palm Jumeirah (with the Atlantis hotel half built). The Burj Dubai is pretty tall in this photo, with the newly completed Dubai Mall to the north. It…

  • Decency in Dubai

    You really have to laugh. Authorities in Dubai are cracking down on lewd behaviour by Westerners, after a British woman was allegedly caught having sex with a colleague on a beach. One of her fellow expats writes in the Guardian: The Friday brunch that Michelle enjoyed, for example, has been an institution among Middle East…

  • Internet censorship in Dubai

    This leaked internal document details the kind of websites that are censored in the UAE. Interesting reading.

  • Alan Johnston released

    Thank god for that. BBC correspondent Alan Johnston has been freed from kidnappers in Gaza after almost four months in captivity. Television pictures showed Mr Johnston, 45, leaving a building and entering a white car, accompanied by armed men. He said he was tired but in good health. During his time as a hostage, three…

  • Reutersgate

    I was following the alleged staging of photos at Qana story, but this new scandal is much more straight forward. The picture was obviously photoshopped, Reuters has apparently apologised for the photo. That’s some pretty bad photoshopping. LGF has the expose. More Reuters oddities here.[via Samizdata]

  • Beirut before and after

    These satellite photos provide an interesting view of the intensity of IDF bombing: Note the lack of traffic, and the missing blocks of buildings.

  • Israel bombs UN post?

    It looks like a fuck up, but it seems the IDF bombed a UN observation post, and then shelled a rescue team sent to retrieve 4 reported casualties. This kind of thing is to be expected in warfare, however unfortunate it is.

  • Caught in the action

    A Fox reporter in the wrong place at the wrong time. He alleges later that the IDF tanks were firing warning shots to get him out of the area. The reaction of the Fox panel is quite funny.

  • Israel claims Iran link to crisis

    It looks like some of Steve’s speculation this week has proven to be largely true. Olmert is now saying that the cross-border raid to capture the two Israeli soldiers was coordinated by Iran. It makes the rest of Steve’s thesis all the more interesting.