Diwaniyya Where No Candidates are Welcome
LOL, he is making his point in such a gentle and delightful way!
Staff Writer
From today’s Al Watan
KUWAIT: Kuwait”s newspapers have been covering the opinions of various former MPs and candidates about the elections and their programs, but the real news and discussions are available in one Kuwait”s oldest traditions, the diwaniya.
Diwaniyas are frequently targeted by political hopefuls to discuss various issues of concern. However, not Bu Hamad”s diwaniya, a retired Kuwaiti customs official who worked at the Salmi and Abdali ports.
Bu Hamid says that that politics is no longer a concern of his after so much disappointment, so it is little wonder that in his own diwaniya in Bayan, Bu Hamid has a large poster clearly saying” “Welcome honorable guests and apologies for not receiving any candidates. May God bless Kuwait. Bu Hamid”s Diwaniya.”
One cannot ignore the sign and equally not be intrigued by its curious message.
Asked about the reasons behind his ban of candidates, Bu Hamid said that in the previous election he discussed an issue of traffic safety near his home, which many candidates promised to sort out.
“I had previously asked candidates who became MPs later to set up speed bumps and traffic lights in front of my diwaniya which overlooks the highway in Bayan, which is notorious for traffic accidents.
“None had carried out their promise after they became MPs. They were only seeking their own interests and the interests of their close circle,” he explained.
“They are good for nothing. They are good for nothing,” he declared.
Bu Hamid expressed his amazement at the MPs whom he has voted for since the 1960’s that continually failed to meet the public’s demands. He is now “fed up with them and their tactics,” adding that when candidates need the voters they are available, “but the minute they become MPs they hardly recognize voters or even bother to meet them, as if they don”t remember them.”
He therefore decided to keep away from candidates and their campaigns.
“I will not cast my vote. I will never vote for any candidate. I have been casting my vote since 1960 and I have seen nothing from them.”
Last updated on Monday 6/4/2009
Cursing Around the Neighborhood
Staff writer Al Watan Law and Order:
KUWAIT: A police patrol car is reported to have been badly damaged in Shuwaikh’s residential area while security forces were chasing an unidentified man believed to be a drug addict. It has been gathered that the chase was prompted by a tipـoff received by police that an unruly person was cursing around the area.
Reportedly, as police officers approached the man’s vehicle he was asked to pull over, but he failed to comply. The security forces accordingly engaged him in a chase which caused the patrol car to crash. The chase is reported to have ended in Jiwan area where the suspect was eventually arrested. He has been since referred to the concerned authorities for further action.
This is Kuwait. I honestly have no idea whether this man was believed to be a drug addict because he was “cursing” around the neighborhood, or “cruising” around the neighborhood. This is Kuwait – it could be either!
Drama Queens of the Economic Downfall
Thanks, KitKat, for a hilarious look at the economic downturn. Cats are such drama queens!
The Newest Mac Attack Ad by Microsoft
LLLLOOOOLLLLLL!
“Macs are more about the aesthetics” (and oh-by-the way, avoiding viruses, ease of use, etc etc etc!)
“I’m a PC because I’m really picky.”
LLLOOOLLLLL!
Brilliant Sunrise, 5 Apr 09
Goooooooooooood Morning, Kuwait! 🙂
It is going to be another gorgeous day in Kuwait. Don’t let this “heavy fog” deter you. When I got up, the sunrise was so bright, I couldn’t see the sun, it was refracted all over the sky. I was only able to get the shot by focusing on the reflection of the sun on the water.
It is going to be a fantastic week – sweet warm days and cooling off evenings, perfect for sitting outside and drinking coffee, visiting with friends – and a little later in the week, a chance of more rain:
AdventureMan and I saw Journey to Mecca yesterday, along with about 500 others living in Kuwait. The movie is still packing people in! The audience was about 3/4 full with children, and I thought “oh this is going to be great, crying children and people talking on their cell phones.” I was SO wrong. Although the movie theater was full, I did not hear a single phone, I did not hear a single crying child – the movie held us all spellbound. We loved the movie, and we loved seeing it in the IMAX theatre.
(There are special headsets for non-Arabic speakers, with the dialogue in English. We didn’t know; they just spotted us as probably-non-Arabic and handed us the headsets.)
Sometimes, I am just slow. My niece, Little Diamond, had recommended a book called Travels with a Tangerine: From Morocco to Turkey in the Footsteps of Islam’s Greatest Traveller, but it was not until yesterday that I got it – that Ibn Batuta was from Tangiers! Sometimes, I am just slow . . . sometimes I can grasp subtleties but the obvious escapes me totally.
You can buy this book from Amazon.com for a mere $10.17 plus shipping. Yes, I own stock in amazon.com.
You can also probably find it at the Kuwait Bookstore, that amazing store in the bottom of the Al Muthanna Mall, near the Sheraton Circle downtown.
What Dreams Mean
Today on AOL heath: I was reading this article out of idle curiousity until I came across my own dream – below. I had college exam dreams for years – I had dropped a Shakespeare class but somehow it hadn’t been registered so I had to take a final I was not prepared for.
Later in life, one night I woke up groping the bed, scared my husband to death, and when he asked what was the matter, as I desperately searched the sheets, I said “I’m looking for the baby!” I was a brand new mother, and for me, it was very stressful.
Now, most of my really bad dreams come when I have a move coming up – panicked dreams of the movers arriving and I an not ready, or a flight to catch and I have not packed. Recently, I had a dream where I was stressed over not being ready for a flight and the airline called and asked me “Are you coming? We are ready to close the gate!” and (although I was not packed) I said “I’m on my way! Hold the plane!” and I woke up gasping.
It never occurred to me I would see my worst nightmare in print. Go Here read through and tell me if you see yours. . . What’s your nightmare?
Theme: unpreparedness
The dream: “I’m back in high school and don’t know which classes I’m supposed to go to, so I end up missing one — usually Mr. Westerman’s world religions class. I become terrified about not knowing when the tests are, then finals come around and I wake up completely freaked out!” — Lori Huffman, 31, Houston
Variation: You’re rushing to catch a flight but haven’t packed or can’t find your ticket. A new mother may dream she can’t find her baby.
What it means: Dreaming about something you’ve already accomplished (i.e., graduating from high school) can mean you’re scared to make mistakes in an area where you usually succeed. “Perfectionist people tend to have these sorts of dreams,” says Kramer. One explanation is that you may be tying your self-worth too tightly to how you perform at work. If you usually spend hours fretting over an upcoming event or presentation, give yourself a set time to prepare and then force yourself to put it out of your head. “The outcome doesn’t change by agonizing over it,” assures Nezu.
Coming Straight Down
While you are still snuggled safe in your beds, we are having a steady downpour in Kuwait. I didn’t get up until almost 0630 this morning, it was coming down then. It is still coming down steadily more than an hour later. It is not sheets of rain, there is none of the drama we had earlier in the week, but it is steady, and it is exactly what Kuwait needs, a good, soaking rain.
Wooo HOOOOO, Kuwait!
Honestly, there is nothing to photograph. It is just varying shades of grey, melting into one another. Nothing even for the camera to focus on.
The roads are slick with accumulated grease. If you don’t have to drive, just cuddle up, stay home, stay safe.
Having Sisters Make People Happy
This is from todays BBC Health News; you can read the entire article by clicking on the blue type.
(Here’s to you, Sparkle and Big Diamond! I am so glad I have you for sisters!)
Sisters spread happiness while brothers breed distress, experts believe.
Researchers quizzed 571 people aged 17 to 25 about their lives and found those who grew up with sisters were more likely to be happy and balanced.
The Ulster University team said having daughters in a family made people more open and willing to discuss feelings.
They said the influence of girls was particularly important after distressing family events such as marital break-ups.
. . .
Lead researcher Professor Tony Cassidy said:”Sisters appear to encourage more open communication and cohesion in families.
“However, brothers seemed to have the alternative effect.
“Emotional expression is fundamental to good psychological health and having sisters promotes this in families.”
Over 45’s Risking Sexual Infections
This is from BBC News but similar news is coming out of the USA – one of the fastest rising rates of STD’s is in the nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities, among the elderly.
Many over-45s ‘ignore STI risks’
STI rates have been increasing among people over 45
Many middle-aged people are continuing to take an irresponsible attitude to their sexual health, say experts.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain polled over 2,000 adults.
Nearly a fifth of those polled aged 45 to 54 said they had had unprotected sex with someone other than a long-term partner in the past five years.
There is a misconception that their risk of catching a sexually transmitted infection (STI) is “next to nothing”, says the RPSGB.
Sexually transmitted infections have doubled in under a decade in people over 45 and have been rising at a faster rate than in the young, recent figures from the Health Protection Agency show.
Older people are increasingly likely to be single or undergoing relationship changes and are less likely to consistently use condoms, perhaps because the risk of pregnancy no longer exists, experts have observed.
The RPSGB’s survey of 2,258 UK adults – half who were aged 45 plus – found older generations were flippant about the risks of catching an STI.
Clever Solution: When Men Refuse to Salute Women
That gives me a huge grin – for every subordinate who refuses to salute a female superior officer, she gets an extra KD50 in her paycheck! This is a very clever solution.
Kuwaiti policemen refusing to salute female officers
Published Date: April 02, 2009
KUWAIT: Only shortly after the graduation of the first batch of female police officers, a large number of their male colleagues have put the Ministry of Interior (MoI) in an awkward position by insisting that they will refuse to salute any female officer, no matter how superior her rank to their own. The male officers cited local social values, cultural norms and traditions to justify their stance, reported Al-Jarida.
The ministry must now decide whether to strictly implement the law and force these officers to perform their duties in a professional manner or to take the policemen’s concerns into account and accept their refusal. A recent fatwa issued by Dr Ajil Al-Nashmi which stated that saluting a woman is contrary to local and tribal traditions, is believed to have aggravated the situation, making the male officers’ determination to accept no compromise on the issue even stronger.
One MoI official said that the ministry is considering the options of paying female officers an additional KD 50 on top of their wages for every salute which male colleagues refuse to give them or imposing administrative penalties on the male police officers in question.
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