Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James: Purchased right here in the UAE, at Kinokuniya in Dubai Mall

Doesn't anyone think that is a little odd? You know, when they normally do this?

Bagged it: Naked Kate Walsh Shape cover too hot for UAE

I read this issue on my iPad on vacation in Bali a couple of weeks ago, where things are different from here and I didn't give it a second thought. (Other than 'wow does Kate Walsh look good for any age, let alone 44' and 'where are my shoes I am going for a run now')

But then I was in Spinney's this morning gazing at the magazine rack and caught myself wondering why Shape was in a plastic bag.

The cover uncovered after the jump...

Abu Dhabi censors are nothing if not thorough

I thought the latest issue of Women's Health had passed muster, and I was about to close it up when I noticed it had not escaped the black marker after all:

Crikey! Censorship in the UAE! The thick black marker strikes again

I get magazines sent over from the US via Aramex, a not-very-sustainable practice that I am ending this month with the acquisition of an iPad. All that to say, I still find it quite jarring when I do buy a magazine here and see the censors work first-hand. I can't help picturing a man in a massive warehouse somewhere. For some reason, in my imagination, he is sitting on a stool and wearing a green jumpsuit and a baseball hat. And I only ever picture one man, as opposed to the team of more than a dozen people whose job it is to to flip through all the publications that come through here daily.

I'm not sure exactly what the censors took issue with in the above photo, it seems to be some sort of device with which I am definitely not familiar. More of their work can be seen here and here.