Tag Archives: Saudi Arabia

World’s Most Stunning Clocks (PHOTOS)

Although Saudi Arabia’s new Mecca Clock is set to dwarf many of them in sheer scope, clocks have been a focal point for many international cities for centuries.Like the 32 intricately carved figurines which “dance” around Munich’s Rathaus-Glockenspiel,… Continue reading

Posted in News, Original Content | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The War Against Iran Begins

Jeffrey Goldberg’s recently published “Time to murder the filthy Persians” musings completely skip over the parts where he perviously made the opposite claim (bombing the Iraqis actually catalyzed Saddam’s nuclear ambitions,) and the fact that the … Continue reading

Posted in News, Original Content | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

U.S. Can Tap Your BlackBerry

August 5, 2010 – Today’s most interesting stories in technology, media and entertainment:U.S. Can Tap Your BlackBerry: U.S. authorities have the ability to tap communications made from BlackBerry devices, which is the same surveillance that The UAE and… Continue reading

Posted in News, Original Content | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Iranian Scientist Shahram Amiri Answers Some Questions, Raising Others

I don’t purport to suggest that Shahram Amiri or the Iranian intelligence services read my July 13 Op Ed, in which I posed ten questions following Amiri’s public surfacing in the U.S., and then rushed to respond. That said, Amiri’s appearance on the Is… Continue reading

Posted in News, Original Content | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Moderate Saudi Voices Have Found a Home in the UAE

Over the last few years, an array of prominent Saudi intellectuals have come to call the UAE their home. As the midway point between the West and the East, the magnetic draw of the Emirates is understandable; it has become a cultural oasis for those wh… Continue reading

Posted in News, Original Content | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Afghanistan, Iran, and Petraeus’ Real Challenge

The Obama Administration’s determination to simultaneously inflict “pain” on the Taliban and on Iran to force both parties to negotiating tables on American terms will backfire. It will, in fact, accelerate Afghanistan’s descent into renewed civil war… Continue reading

Posted in News, Original Content | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Gingrich: Obama Should Withdraw Kagan Nomination

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called on President Obama to withdraw the nomination of Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court, calling her views anti-military and airing, for one of the first times, concerns that during her time as Dean, Harvard Law accepted money from Saudi Arabia.

Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Gingrich even dismissed the notion that a Senate confirmation process was needed to properly judge or vet Kagan’s credentials for the Court.

More… Continue reading

Posted in News, Original Content | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fifth Estate, Censorship Battles at Dubai’s Arab Media Forum

Citizen journalism is the fifth estate and media censorship is an exercise in futility, experts said this week at Dubai’s 9th Arab Media Forum despite objections from traditionalists resisting the inevitable.

“Citizen journalism is a popular coup d’etat against traditional journalism,” said media professor Ali Al Karni of King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. “Citizen journalism and social media have become the fifth estate in the 21st Century.”

More… Continue reading

Posted in News, Original Content | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Saudi Arabia’s Most Daring Newspaper Loses Its Top Man

Al Watan, arguably Saudi Arabia’s most daring newspaper, seems to have lost its top man after Jamal Khashoggi, the publication’s editor in chief, resigned earlier today.

In a press release which the newspaper carried on its electronic edition, Al Watan Online, HRH Prince Bandar bin Khaled Al Faisal (CEO of Asir Publishing, the newspaper’s owning group) said that Khashoggi’s resignation has been accepted so that he could focus on his personal projects, whilst stating that he (Khashoggi) will always be ‘a loyal son to Al Watan and a person who has left a clear mark it its progress’.

More… Continue reading

Posted in News, Original Content | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

After Yar’Adua’s Death

President Umaru Yar’Adua’s death on May 5 ends the crisis over the presidential succession in Nigeria that began when he was hospitalized in Saudi Arabia in November 2009. Goodluck Jonathan, who the National Assembly had extra-constitutionally designated acting president in February, is now Nigeria’s president, removing any uncertainly about possible legal challenges to his authority.

Nigerian politics will now focus on the selection of Jonathan’s vice president, and the ruling People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate for the upcoming 2011 presidential elections. The selection of a vice president can only now happen because so long as Jonathan had been acting president, he continued to serve as vice president as well. The selection will be carried out in the National Assembly–not by popular election. The political classes in Nigeria will be deeply involved because of the widespread expectation that whoever is selected as vice president will be the PDP presidential candidate in 2011.

More… Continue reading

Posted in News, Original Content | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment