Kuwait Airways and the World

A few members of my family are, or have been, employees of Kuwait Airways, and as a consequence, I've been privy to some of the perks of being related to an airline employee in the past (special treatment discounted tickets, etc..), but that was a different time, and the airline world was quite a different one as well. 

Back then, Kuwait Airways 'loaned' some of their aircraft to the likes of Emirates and Gulf Air, the quality and skills of Kuwait Airways' Engineers (real engineers, not licensed mechanics, although even they were quite proficient) were neck-to-neck with the most intelligent and successful people in the industry - it was that good, and it was the '90's...before the Iraqi Occupation.

An Idiot's Guide to Politics in Kuwait

Image taken from Arab Times Online

This post is actually a re-written article that I'd saved earlier, as part of my "Idiot's Guide To.." series, of which there's only been one article published so far (!). I hope you enjoy it as much as I've written it.

As with everyone else, I've watched closely the developments that took place since the Parliment was dissolved, all the vote-buying, tribal primaries, storming of the House Of Parliament, storming the Al Watan TV Headquarters, the scandals, etc., I followed every rotten political trick that was ever implemented in Kuwait during the last 12 months,  and here's my piece of mind:

Anti-Semitism and the US State Dept.

Here's a thought: How do you control how and what people think about you? You make the world's only surviving superpower to impose restrictions on everyone in the world about how you're perceived, under the pretense of 'Human Rights'! And then use that report to justify any possible future economic sanctions or even military action.

The US State Department, in it's wisdom, has apparently instructed it's embassies worldwide to publish a Human Rights 'report card' on each mission's website pertinent to the country it's in. It has references to Freedoms of Speech, Women's Rights, Children's rights, Political reforms, etc... All well and 'democratic' of them, until you come across the sub-heading "Anti-Semitism", that caught my attention!

Hayefism At It's Worst!

A while back I blogged about MP Hayef''s disgusting track record, as an MP and as a human being. Today, however, he's taken his anti-moderation antics to a whole new level. This so-called MP, and man of faith, has called for the religious leaders to 'consider sanctioning the death of the Syrian Ambassador in Kuwait'.

The End Of A Terrorist

This is the day many people in the world have been waiting for, certainly in the US and UK; The death of Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaida's mastermind. Apparently gone down fighting, he died in the way he's chosen for himself, and I'm not shedding any tears over him. Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say. In my humble opinion, he has not served anyone in his 'Jihad', contrary to some opinions. In fact, if at all, he's turned the entire world against Muslims everywhere. What was once a misunderstood religion is now one whose benevolent principles are spontaneously regarded as suspiciously terrorist-related. 

Why Bahrain Matters

The latest developments in Bahrain are as painful to me as the Iraqi Invasion, and quite frankly, everyone else in Kuwait, but not for the same reasons. Many back the legitimate government of Bahrain, and many others support the Rioters-again for various reasons. I'll be explaining my position in this post, and it will be a long one.

Let me begin by first mentioning that had it been any other GCC country (besides Kuwait) these riots wouldn't even exist, since they're mostly managed by predominantly Shiite and/or Old School Baathist Bahrainis. I'm not just referring to the recent events, I'm also referring to the events that preceded Bahrain's conversion into a Monarchy back in the late 1990's and 1980's. What many don't remember (or fail to admit) is that only in Bahrain did we see a head of state visit with the opposition figures any chance he gets, or travels to the UK in order to meet with them and invite them to participate in Bahrain's Democratic process.

Terrorism for Kids in Kuwait

I was walking in one of the streets of Downtown Kuwait City earlier tonight looking to get a toy for my kid. I walked into one of those shops that sell bicylces and other kids stuff, and I vividly remember those old days when I would ask to be driven to the Al Waleed store or the 'Kids R Us' ripoff from the US's "Toy's R Us" brand during Eid festivities. 

So there I was, enjoying myself reminiscing about what had happened to all those Lego sets and model cars I used to buy with my Eid money, when my eye caught the toy pictured below. I suddenly felt a rush of anger and disgust at what had happened to our world today, when people, responsible men and women, would carelessly allow such items of vile disgust to be sold as 'toys' to our young children!

Hayefism at it's best!!

I cannot begin to describe the disgust I felt when I read that MP Hayef tried to 'intervene' in the release of a wanted criminal with convictions that would make Teabag from "Prison Break" shiver in disgust! (A clarification my Hayef himself was printed yesterday) What disgusted me even more was an attempt by former MP, currently columnist, Mubarak Alduwailah, defending this so called Member of Parliament in today's newspaper, referring to him as "The Framed MP"...

Friedman Gets it Right all the Time

I've been following Thomas Friedman's writings for some time now, and I've come to the conclusion that many of his writings should be 'required reading' for some of our MP's and Ministers. Set aside his forward-thinking books on the flatness of the world's economy for a minute, and consider how this man's opinions are clear and applicable not only to the U.S.A., but for our own tiny Kuwait.

Take a recent example; Some of those MP loudmouths that preach the necessity for religious tolerance, openness and the virtues of Islam should closely read his article on New York City's decision to build a mosque two blocks away from Ground Zero. It's not about showing off your will and message as a Muslim in a land that secures your rights to follow any religion you chose while your own country refuses to even expand an existing Church, nor is it about spreading the word of the One True God as you know it while you curse and condemn anyone that follows any other religion. It's about setting an example for everyone in the world, that while you may differ on many issues, you have a right-as a human being-to express your beliefs openly and freely, without fear of repercussions.

The new Islam

The man in this picture is called Yousif Al Ahmed, he is a lecturer in the College of Jurisprudence, or religious law at the Saudi "Imam" University.

He called in to a tv talk show and made the most ridiculous recommendation ever; Demolish the Sacred Mosque in Mecca and rebuild it in a way that would prevent the mixing of the sexes! Of course, he based his opinion on a former edict by Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti, the late Bin Baz, who decreed that the mixing of unmarried men and women is forbidden in Islam.

Bestiality finally banned in the Netherlands!

Just click on this link (http://link.reuters.com/pag37h)
and laugh your heart out!

What made me decide to post this piece of junky news was the final part:

"Sex with animals had been legal in the Netherlands, as long as it could be proven the animals were not injured."

So many things wrong with that piece of information, i just dont know where to start!!

Funny thing, people like these call us "backwardly & retarded"

Hayef VS Lesbians

 

I waited for a day to see what would the reactions be, but I couldn't find any notable ones, aside from one on Frankom's Blog, so I decided to write my own

This MP, who considers himself as the protector of Islamic Principles, and has concocted himself his own political party, loosely translated to be called "The Ummah Principles Movement" has lodged what turned out to be a false complaint with the Police Department two nights ago. This was reported by a couple of Twitter services, the Burashed SMS News service and the Al Qabas newspaper, as far as I'm aware.

Apparently, there was a large gathering of women at a party hall in Surrah, and MP Hayef thought, or was led to believe, that it was a gathering of Lesbians, so he complained to the Police, who sent out a squad to investigate, only to find that it was a normal, well-disciplined 'Women Only' party. Now, I have a couple of issues here;

Merry Chirstmas & Seasons Greetings!

On the occasion of Christmas 2009, and in order to prove that not all Muslims in Kuwait are closed-minded fanatics or self-centered bigots, I would like to wish everyone all over the world a very

Merry Christmas!

Quotes to Remember (And some to live by!)

In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant. ~Charles de Gaulle

Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber. ~Plato

Liberalism is trust of the people tempered by prudence. Conservatism is distrust of the people tempered by fear. ~William E. Gladstone, 1866

Truth is not determined by majority vote. ~Doug Gwyn

Opinions & Response to the "Hayef" Doctrine

Effects of MP Hayef's latest vocal attempts at using logic (which suspiciously resemble those made by a can of beans negotiating their way through a Cow's digestive system) have been strong, to say the least. Skimming through today's newspapers alone, I found many articles & opinions that are against this recent attempt by the MP at dehumanizing and patronizing the Kuwaiti Society. I choose these words deliberately, since a human is representative of 'free will', the elimination of which  would ultimately reduce the average human to an automaton, unwillingly obeying rules & laws without question or opinion. I also mentioned 'patronizing' because, when all else failed, MP Hayef is attempting to either force his issues or otherwise force his will onto the mass, in a very clear attempt at reigning in it's freedoms and rights.

The Importance of Culture to the Average Kuwaiti (Part 4-Conclusion)

One could write complete volumes on this complex make-up that is the society of Kuwait today and still not conclude the complete picture accurately, at least not in so many ‘polite’ words!
Finally, consider the needs of this social mosaic as a whole; Economic factors of society like Land, Labor, Capital and Enterprise; The basic social needs like education, health, safety, security, all in all, confined within the responsibility matrix of the current system of government, throw in a few outside influences like political parties, religious zealots and economic disruptions, and you’ve got yourself one great cauldron of trouble brewing on a very large fire.

The Importance of Culture to the Average Kuwaiti (Part 3)

Now, consider the repercussions of a completely consumer-based society, where the business-centric PK utilizes the many loopholes and ‘blind eye’ arrangements within the legal framework that regulates and (one hopes) polices the society-caters to the consumer base with wanton disregard for future generations. By the same token, the PK and the CK alike are fighting & maneuvering to obtain as much as they can from the State’s resources and privileges, inevitably, some voices of reason and resistance will arise from these two sub-cultures, but they will not be as loud as the voices of sedition and animosity.

The Importance of Culture to the Average Kuwaiti (Part 2)

The educated Kuwaiti will, at one point in his or her life, be responsible for a family, and will begin to think about how to sustain this family for the years to come. Of these educated Kuwaitis, the CK will strive to suck out as many concessions as possible (and in some cases, with wanton disregard for the law!) in order to sustain life and shelter, while the PK will strive to keep working ethically as hard as possible towards the same goal. The PK will resolve to employ his or her hard-earned academic qualifications in order to obtain the required basic needs of job security and all that follows, while the CK will turn to the loudest voice of mistakenly-assumed ‘opposition’ who depend on nods & winks of assurances from shadowy figures within the Government Apparatus, to bravely attack members of the very same Government.

The Importance of Culture to the Average Kuwaiti (Part 1)

DISCLAIMER: For someone who fluently speaks and writes in two languages, understand (to an extent) two more and can follow detailed instructions on how to assemble a PC machine from scratch, I consider myself a fairly bright enough person to be discussing and concluding on this subject, so my apologies to those of you who think otherwise. I will be ranting on about some stuff that will hopefully summaries a lot of issues that popped up since the last time I complained about the state of the nation, so here goes;

Vote with Caution, You're Voting for Your Future!

May 16th is just a few days away, this is when I will be voting for my representative that will be speaking in my name to the government. I took interest in many of those new TV channels and newspapers to see what options are available to me, just in case my initial choices are clouded. Apparently, many, of not all of the candidates speak (or shout!) about the same issues:

-Education

-Economy

-Social Development

-Loan write-offs

So I tried to filter them down into groups:

-Independants: They have their own agenda and their own reasons

-Liberals: They have a case to make, but very few followers

-Islamicists: Their agenda is dictated by their own interpretations of their religion

-Tribalists: They want to scoop up Kuwait's wealth in order to catch up with Kuwait's Merchant Families

-Fortune-Seekers: They just want to be paid off and get their 2 months' vacation.

The independants want to make a difference, but don't have the right backing, so they gradually veer towards one or more of the other group.

The Liberals assume to absorb all factions of society, but their views are in direct contradiction (deliberately so in some cases) with those of the other groups, namely the Islamicists.

The Islamicists, depending on whether they're Shiite or Sunni, are an obvious choice to their followers, but depend mostly on their ethnicity (Arab-Persian), and may at times collaborate with others from the Independants or the Liberals.

The Tribalists will ally themselves with either another tribe or a Sunni Islamic faction for more votes, and not much else, but with the promise of collaboration within the Parliament, feeble as it may be.

The Fortune-Seekers are just there to make noise (and a few KD's for their summer vacation) and scatter real votes around.

I listened to all of these groups' speakers, (nearly all, I can't stand some of them!) and concluded that they're all depending on people like me to vote for them, because once they get voted into office, they have the power to bring down an entire government...imagine the power?!

This is the power that I possess as a registered voter, the power to bring down a government by proxy....think about this for a second, and remember that not too far south there are governments that have been in office for years and decades, stealing, plundering and jailing (and killing!) with no remorse and no retention.

I, for one, do not want to give this power to someone just because he picked up the phone and gave me a job, or expedited my son's scholarship or even convinved a bank to loan me a bunch of money to plunder away, and then ask him to pressure the government to write it off! 

I want to give it to a candidate that knows about the heavy weight of it's responsibility, someone that can do something to stop the government from passing a bill that would destroy my economy for years to come. 

While I sometimes refrain from endorsing anyone or any particular group, I make no secret of the fact that Islamicists and Tribalists are off my list! Their views are in direct conflict with those that I have, and indeed of a true Democracy, since their agenda-by it's very nature-imposes restrictions on how I think and how I live my life. Which brings me to the Independants and the Liberals.

Now, here are a bunch of people I can relate to: They have an agenda of social development, they are fully aware (and have a proven track record) of the resonsibilites pertinent to running a country in the 21st Century, they let me go about my business, and they move to uphold the constutition as it is and regard it as a sacred document-not to be amended to suite anyone's agenda, and they leave me to my own choice as to how I practice my religion, live my life and educate my kids.  

That, to me, is a true Democracy, I hope and pray that I'm right. I have the power to vote them into office, and as the saying goes, "With Power comes Responsibility". I therefore am responsible for the choices I make, and Pray to God that I would be able to fathom this responsibility on May 16th. 

What about you?