Say no more… found via Frontline blogger Mike Hills who is in Beirut and blogs with us here.

The Daily Show take a tour of the offices of the New York Times. If you want to know what’s black and white and red all over… watch the video above.

Al Zeidi, the now infamous journalist who threw his shoes at outgoing U.S. President George W. Bush, is honoured in artistic fibreglass and copper in Tikrit this week. Artist Laith al Amari has created a giant shoe in honour of Al Zeidi and the Iraqi people. The sculpture is inscribed with a poem paying tribute to the journalist who still awaits trial more than a month after his attempt to shoehorn Bush. He is reportedly seeking political asylum in Switzerland. Meanwhile the alleged Turkish maker of Al-Zeidi’s shoes says sales are up 250%.

Kino-Plasmat 1,5/1/2 Inch, Wollensak f.3,5/1,5 Inch, 2,8/3 inch Trioplan Meyer new York, Wollensak 2,5/1/2 inch include wide Angle Attachment and Elgeet 1,9/1/2 inch
Very interesting and Rare military Gun outfit delivered for Vietnam War reporter, with case and 5x lenses Kino-Plasmat 1,5/1/2 Inch, Wollensak f.3,5/1,5 Inch, 2,8/3 inch Trioplan Meyer new York, Wollensak 2,5/1/2 inch include wide Angle Attachment and Elgeet 1,9/1/2 inch link via Cinematical

I said I wouldn’t say anything more about Joe the War Correspondent. And I won’t. But, CNN’s Rick Sanchez does have something to say to the war correspondent who thinks “media should be abolished from reporting”.

I really do not know what to say about this guy… Why don’t we all just give up and go home? Joe the plumber/war correspondent/all round idiot says War is no place for journalists. You’ve got to admit, this is probably the first, the last and the only time you’ll ever hear a “war correspondent” say these words. Watch his words, read them and weep for humanity,

I’ll be honest with you. I don’t think journalists should be anywhere allowed war. I mean, you guys report where our troops are at. You report what’s happening day to day. You make a big deal out of it. I think it’s asinine. You know, I liked back in World War I and World War II when you’d go to the theater and you’d see your troops on, you know, the screen and everyone would be real excited and happy for’em. Now everyone’s got an opinion and wants to downer-and down soldiers. You know, American soldiers or Israeli soldiers.
I think media should be abolished from, uh, you know, reporting. You know, war is hell. And if you’re gonna sit there and say, “Well look at this atrocity,” well you don’t know the whole story behind it half the time, so I think the media should have no business in it. link

This will be the last word you’ll hear in these parts of Joe the War Correspondent. The combined weight of Sarah Palin and Joe are too much for this blog. And for me…

In seasonal quiz news for foreign correspondents… How many countries can you name? I had three attempts, the best result I managed was my first attempt – a pretty pathetic 74 out of a possible 195. Happy new year one and all. If you’re finding the time limit’s a wee bit tight on this game, try an alternative.

In Kabul, blazing hot, need to cool down, head to the local ice cream parlour and order yourself a Shir Yakh. No idea if it tastes any good, but SBS reporter Yalda Hakim got to try one as she returns to her birthplace, Kabul and blogs in words, pictures and video what she finds there,

The heat was oppressive as I walked across the runway to the airport building; the sights and sound were bombarding my ears as I tried to make sense of the language and people. Yes I speak Dari, but it was immediately obvious that I was a foreigner in my country of birth. This was not the greeting I had anticipated, I was viewed with suspicion and distrust, especially when I identified myself as a journalist. link

And, if like me you’re pretty intrigued by the Shir Yakh, this appears to what a local vendor looked like in 2003. But does it taste any good? Alex?

BBC World Affairs Editor and Frontline Club regular, John Simpson, was talking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival when he turned on his paymaster of the last 42 years,

“The future? Well, I don’t think that it’s going to look very good for the BBC. I think the BBC we have known, for good or worse, is now in its last stages. It pains me after 42 years of working for it to think that, but I alas do. I think the standards will be there, just as they are with other organisations which have been built on the BBC model, but it takes money. link

He went on to talk about his departure from the corporation and how maybe, just maybe, his speech at the festival might precipitate it,

“I shall no doubt be sacked under horrible circumstances. Things will be absolutely dreadful. I’ll hate the so and so’s – I hate them pretty much anyway, but I’ll hate them even more. Then I’ll be tempted to say that standards have definitely dropped, when what I mean is that I’m not around any more! I just hope – and I hope you’ll keep me to it – if I were to get the boot from the BBC, perhaps after what I’ve said this evening, and I pop up and start denigrating it, I do hope you’ll remind me how I despise that tendency among people. link

Image above taken from the Daily Mail.

“I must apologise for the time it took for us to taxi across the runway,” announced the pilot once we had touched down in Khartoumâ€s airport – already, his voice was dripping with sarcasm. “There were only two planes on the runway and it seems that control got confused. So sorry about that folks.” link

Not sure if the video above is of the flight Blake mentions, but it is supposedly at Khartoum International Airport and suitably shaky.