A Very Dry Town

Welcome to Riyadh, where slowness rules everything. If you will be in town for a few more days, maybe I can buy you coffee and have a little chat...

Conservative it may be but there are plans afoot for a 1km (as in Kilometer) high tower to be built in Jeddah.

http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?id=37860&t=1&c=35&cg=4&mset=1011

I seem to remember Kuwait suggesting that they were going to do the same in their Silk Road venture. Both seem to be gargantuanly over the top, but then it is the Gulf, after all.

Also, I've got to say that I've no desire to live in or within roughly 1 km of said towers. With building going on in the Gulf year round and throughout the day* when the temperatures are regularly +47 degrees C, concrete does not set awfully well. One good shake (the Bam-Turkey plate isn't a million miles away) and there's a school of thought that maintains that it'd be best not to be in downtown Kuwait or Riyadh khaaaalis, as the Egyptians would say.

*This is despite there being laws dictating that no one must be outside working if the temperature tops 50 Degrees C. Would you have guessed it but the official temperature never does quite top 50 degrees C. Many other people's mercury does, but that is clearly socialist-inspired, lazy mercury, and not of the hard-working Gulfie sort.

http://www.thegulfblog.com

Dear TIME Bloggers,
Please blog more about what is happening in Iran. I am wholly amiss as to why that important human rights movement is not being discussed here as it pertains to life in all areas of the Middle East. I want to hear your analysis of the events, not just a recap of the news. This blog should have been alive with discussion !

I second that.

great picture. now if only Saudi Arabia can get the whole issue of religious freedoms solved.
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@persianadvocate: I agree with the remissed news on the issue but this blog was about Arabia not Iran, not to mention the supreme leader keeping foriegn reporters out of the country.

"Basij shot to death a young woman in Tehran's Saturday June 20th protests At 19:05 June 20th Place: Karekar Ave., at the corner crossing Khosravi St. and Salehi st. A young woman who was standing aside with her father watching the protests was shot by a basij member hiding on the rooftop of a civilian house. He had clear shot at the girl and could not miss her. However, he aimed straight her heart. I am a doctor, so I rushed to try to save her. But the impact of the gunshot was so fierce that the bullet had blasted inside the victim's chest, and she died in less than 2 minutes. The protests were going on about 1 kilometers away in the main street and some of the protesting crowd were running from tear gass used among them, towards Salehi St. The film is shot by my friend who was standing beside me. Please let the world know."
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=89928823259&ref=nf
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Lostepic, I understand that this blog had nothing to do about Iran. However, it has remained the featured blog over the past few weeks leaving me with no other forum to vent my frustration. There is no excuse for lack of information as millions are feeding us with data from the ground in Iran right now.
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I have seen the blog authors write virtuously for human rights (particularly for the Palestinians) in the past, but suddenly now there is complete silence. What is going on? Show the world the atrocities being committed, the evidence is all over the internet for you and these blogs are a major source of ME discussion on the internet.

why dont you write about latest events in Iran? here,in Tehran, the Regim have already made a militarinanism space. in this crucial sitioation thay are killing democracy and civil sicity... a new Dictatorship,a new totalitarianism, is about to begining... have you think about it??

Dear Andrew, Scott, and Tim,
I have spent nearly two years supporting your blogging efforts and I am asking you -- perhaps begging you -- as a long time reader, avid supporter, TIME subscriber, and fellow human being to write a word or two about the Iranian situation. Your valuable insights have always been a service to the downtrodden in the Middle East. I am dismayed that you have remained silent thus far. Are you speechless? Is there nothing to say? Where have you gone?
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The world is coming to an end--once again I agree with Nick.
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The three most significant events in the ME in the past 4 years are Israel's invasion of Lebanon, Israel's invasion of Gaza, and this Iranian election. The first two events produced daily blog posts on the ME blog. The current event has produced very little? Why? Proxmity to the event? The fact that this event presents no opportunity for Israel bashing? Laziness?

@cgtx: harsh, funny and potentially true.
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@persianadvocate: there are other articles and reports on the situation despite the lack of legitimate access to the situation. However, I agree that it would be very appropriate for someone at the ME desk to write something. Perhaps, a special article that is broad and detailed to the best they can be with such limited access would be great verses the current method of bits here and there. I do advise some sympathy for the ME desk. They do answer to an editor and perhaps can publish anything in the usual manner, or they are out gathering information to write a blog. There could be any number of reasons they cant respond in the fashion desired, some legitimate and some not. I am hoping that the ban on foreign media is lifted so that the truth is more easily accessed and verified.

I understand that the bloggers may have restraints beyond mention -- and, indeed, I hope they do. I've always dreamed of being a journalist and it shocks me that these three talented individuals have nothing to say about such an important moment as this. I pray that when the news of Iran becomes "old", that these authors, who I admire, will do the millions in Iran some justice by bringing their voice back to the forefront.

Restraints?
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Every major paper and journal has been reporting daily on the protests in Iran. There has been commentary aplenty to fell more than one forest. Political cartoons, round-table discussions, points and counter-points from every corner of the globe. Even TIME's Joe Klein continues to comment on the subject even after leaving Iran.
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So what are the restraints? Political? Threats of violence by Hizballah? Threats of imprisonment by Egypt's government? Certainly Tim McGirk doesn't face any of those restrictions and yet he too remains silent.
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Or is it outright ambivelence?

Let's wait for an explanation before we jump to conclusions. It seems odd that these three journalists would just suddenly go silent at such a pivotal occasion as this. Also, none of their previous blogs tends to suggest that they would be emotion-less about a human rights movement the entire world is watching. One thing is for sure: everyone is expecting something on this ME blog soon, if even from their assistants, correspondent friends or that mysterious fourth blogger we never hear from.

Dear readers,

My sincere apologies for not posting further on Iran developments since my initial post after Election Day. I'm in the U.S., for medical treatment (minor), and have been unable to keep up with the rolling developments well enough to offer much useful comment beyond the terrific pieces on the site by Nahid Siamdoust, joe Klein, Tony Karon, Robin Wright and others. Will put something up later today. Your loyalty to the blog is greatly appreciated, sorry to have let you down.

Why bother waiting,
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here are links to two articles that highlight some of the behind the streets battles between the various factions of clergy in Iran.
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http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/06/18/irans_worst_clerics
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http://www.slate.com/id/2221256/

One more on Iran's economy.
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http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/11/mousavi-iran-ahmadinejad-markets-face-elections.html

BTW, just pass over the title of the Foreign Policy article. What's interesting about it, are the names, their philosophies, and their political factions.