Watch where you point your camera

Visitor 'took pictures of armed forces headquarters'

Haneen Dajani

Nov 29, 2011 ABU DHABI // A visitor who claimed he was only taking pictures of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque appeared at the State Security Court yesterday accused of illegally photographing a public building.
The man, who was not identified in court, denied taking photographs of the nearby Armed Forces General Headquarters, claiming: "I was taking photos of the mosque."
His lawyer asked to postpone the hearing to prepare his defence. The case was adjourned until Monday.
The man's case comes during a year when there has been three similar cases.
A Korean architect was recently charged with photographing the Iranian and Syrian embassies, which he said was done for architectural purposes, as his company was building the new Korean embassy in the capital.
In February, an Iranian tourist was charged with taking photographs of the Presidential Palace in Ras Al Akhdar, near the Corniche. The man told the court he took photos of the palace out of "admiration of the structure of the building" and that he did not have any "bad intentions".
A week later, two Bangladeshi men stood in the same court accused of taking photos of the Yas Marina Circuit.

Now, I'm not going to exactly identify where the GHQ Armed Forces HQ building is (for fear of getting in trouble myself!) - but all I will say is that it would be pretty easy to have it in the same photo as the Grand Mosque if taken from certain angles. I doubt a lot of people even know what the building is and give no second thought to it being in their picture. The building is even right next door to a new high class hotel being built, where I am sure from certain bedrooms you could pretty much look right into the building! I often wonder how they authorised the construction of a hotel so close to the GHQ building. Do they value tourists more than their national security? The area is much more of a "touristy" area now, so it would probably make sense to think about moving the GHQ to a quieter, more secure area. Having said that, I did some work with the UK Ministry of Defense in their Main Building in Whitehall, which is right on the embankment in London - however, you wouldn't get arrested for photographing it, well I didn't anyway! 

Lady Gaga in Delhi

There will still be more to come from my recent trip to Delhi for the F1, but here's just a few more.

We were out one evening and had gone to visit one of the local tourist markets (Dilli Haat). It was a nice market with a good atmosphere and not too crowded.

We bought some really nice things (leather goods, shirts, ornaments etc) and then went to get something to eat from one of the food stalls. Having looked at all the food outlets we selected the one we thought looked the cleanest!

I had a really lovely curry, roti and the trimmings!

After dinner we walked around a bit more. Then I saw a bit of a kerfuffle and a lot of very excited locals. I heard someone say "I think she is a film star or something", so getting me intrigued, I asked someone else who it was. They told me it was Lady Gaga! She was in Delhi to perform at a venue after the F1 and had decided to do a bit of shopping herself. I managed to get within about 6 feet of her I guess, without upsetting her 8 foot gorillas who were guarding her! So I took some snaps, but unfortunately (some may not think so) most of them are from behind. I was most impressed with her Louboutin heels - nice!

Superb video of the Emirates

I would highly recommend a look at the video linked below. It has been beautifully crafted with some fantastic views of the country. The website has more behind the scenes pictures and info on the production.

Emirates Winter

Sign of the Thais

I thought I would share some of the interesting signs from our recent trip to Thailand....

Home from home (UK)

Not a tasty prospect

'nuff said !

McThai

Obviously a serious problem in Thailand!

Looks safe to me!

Caroline's nurse in hospital (not from SuperPussy)

Ridiculous news story of the week - so far!

http://www.7days.ae/article/news/national/censors-claws-out-film-31095

Censors' claws out for film

The animated film ‘Cat in Boots’ launching in cinemas has its title changed from ‘Puss in Boots’ by local regulators

The animated film ‘Cat in Boots’ launching in UAE cinemas tomorrow has had its title changed from the original ‘Puss in Boots’ by local regulators because of religious and cultural concerns, according to a movie industry insider.

The original title of the comic adventure film, a spin-off from the Shrek series, was taken from a popular children’s story.

However, residents who have watched trailers of the film and are familiar with the title ‘Puss in Boots’ were puzzled after seeing posters advertising the movie under the new title. “There were serious concerns about the title. They felt that it would not be in good taste to a section of the public who might find it offensive owing to their religious and cultural orientations,” an industry source told 7DAYS.

The word ‘puss’ can be used as western slang with sexual connotations. The film is being distributed in the UAE by Gulf Films, a leading film distribution comp­any in the Middle East. An official at Gulf Films said the firm received instructions from the production company Dreamworks Animations, to change the title of the movie to conform to the religious and cultural sensitivities of the region, but none of its content has changed.