QC Misses AdventureMan
When AdventureMan goes out the door, the Qatteri Cat doesn’t alway realize he is gone for a few minutes. Then I hear him crying, crying as he runs in to our bed, grabs his teddy-bear-baby and takes it to the door. He cries for a few minutes, and then leaves the baby there.
He is always sad when AdventureMan leaves. He sleeps a lot, just waiting for him to come home. He knows when it is about time. I always know when he is nearby because suddenly Qatteri Cat is on full alert, ears straight up, eyes big – and he jumps down and runs to the door, even before the key is in the lock.
Hurry home, AdventureMan!
Sunrise Saturday, 7 Mar 09
The sunrise was so beautiful this morning it was almost painful. My windows are still dirty from the multiple attacks by the dust storms, so I was out on the balcony photographing, and it was chill and crisp, and I remembered to appreciate the feeling of “chill” and “crisp” while it is still hanging around.
It may be comfortable and cool in the mornings, but our temperatures are going up fast. March is the month where Kuwait, where things get colder than Doha in the winter, starts getting hotter than Doha.
It is going to be a glorious day. Not a cloud in the sky, other than that yellowish haze low over the gulf that I think is residue from oil refining.
Sunrise, Sunset
Better late than never:
Sunrise, March 6, 2009
This was a great day to be outside, visiting with friends, walking along the Corniche – just a great day to be outside. The end of the day was rosy:
And here is the beautiful marriage song from Fiddler on the Roof, also called Sunrise, Sunset:
Warden Notice 2009-3
Kuwait City, Kuwait
March 5, 2009
MEMORANDUM
To: All American Wardens
From: Consular Section
Subject: Warden Notice 2009 – 3
Please circulate the following message without additions or omissions
immediately to all American citizens within your area of responsibility.
Begin Text.
While the general security condition in Kuwait remains unchanged a recent
assault on an American is a good reminder of the need for security awareness.
Earlier this week a western woman shopping at the Sultan Center in Salmiya was a
victim of an attempted sexual assault at that location. After finishing her
shopping, the woman placed her purchases in the car and went into a store. While
there, she went to the bathroom. As she opened her stall door to exit, a man
was standing there. He pushed her back into the stall and groped her. The
woman fought her way past him and reported the incident to security. The man
unfortunately got away. The woman believes the same individual may have been
following her while she shopped earlier in Sultan Center.
Americans are reminded, as in the past, that it is very important to keep an eye
on who may be observing your activities while shopping or conducting normal
activities in Kuwait. Surveillance is not something that is just done by
terrorists – almost every criminal who commits a crime conducts some sort of
surveillance on their target either seconds, minutes, or hours before trying to
commit a crime or assault a person.
Western women in Kuwait should be particularly vigilant because their dress and
freedom of movement can attract attention, in part because many local women are
dressed much differently. Especially when shopping or going to other public
places in Kuwait, or anywhere in the world, keep the following in mind:
1.Surveillance – think about who may be watching you. If it feels wrong, it
probably is. Alert the local security personnel or store management of anything
you feel is suspicious – Do not keep this information to yourself.
2.If you think you are being followed, make every effort to stay in a very
public place until you can either make contact with the local security personnel
or have some sort of an escort. Do not proceed to your vehicle or enter a
public restroom, thus giving the person following you an opportunity to get you
alone so they can rob or assault you.
3.Exiting/returning to your vehicle – this is the time when all people are
vulnerable because our mind is focused on getting out of the car, watching
traffic, trying to control children, or placing packages in/out of the car.
Especially when returning to your vehicle, it is not a bad idea to look around
your vehicle exterior to search for people or suspicious items. Once in the
vehicle, lock your doors and make sure your windows are up at all times.
4.Last, think about fighting your attacker, especially if the attacker wants to
take you to another location. Do not let that happen.
Once again, the general security level for Kuwait remains the same.
End Text.
”ICU at Contagious Diseases Hospital isolated”
From today’s “” Al Watan:
KUWAIT: The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Hospital of Contagious Diseases is completely isolated from the other wards in line with international regulations pertaining to this matter, said the hospital”s director Dr. Jamal AlـDuaij on Wednesday.
In a statement to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), the director refuted local newspaper reports claiming that the ICU did not fall within the international standards, describing these claims as “baseless.”
He also said that patients that had been transferred to AlـRashed Allergies” Center were ones whose condition had stabilized, and this transfer was not because of shortage in bed space in the hospital”s ICU. ـKUNA
I get nervous when I see denials that use language like “these claims are baseless.”
Compulsory premarital tests
From today’s Kuwait Times
KUWAIT: The Ministry of Health is preparing a draft law to make premarital blood tests compulsory for Kuwaiti citizens. It plans to refer the draft law to the Cabinet’s Fatwa and Legislative Department, which will then review it and suggest necessary amendments, reported Al-Rai. An official said that the committee would follow the standard procedure before referring it to Dr Ibraheem Al-Abdalhadi, the Ministry of Health’s Undersecretary, who in turn will refer it to the Minister of Health Roudhan Al-Roudhan. It will adopt the law immediately after different aspects of the law are approved by the department.
Does not clarify what the pre-marital tests will test for. I assume HIV/Aids, STDs . . . but will it also test genetic incompatibility?
Glorious March Sunrise
It is a perfect day outside, not a cloud in the sky, and the temperature is 50°F / 10°C. It is expected to get warm today, but not yet truly hot. Today is a great day to be outside, my friends. Meet you at the local sidewalk cafe!
Pecha Kucha Night at the Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah
Thank you, Little Diamond for sharing news of an upcoming event in Kuwait that sounds like a pretty cool evening, full of creatives sharing a small part of their vision. It sound like an evening full of energy, to me. Thought you might want to go, too! 🙂
Dear All,
I would like to invite you to Kuwait’s first Pecha Kucha Night at the
Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah
Date: Wednesday, 11 March 2009
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Al-Maidan Cultural Centre ‘Abdullah al-Salem School, Maidan Hawalli, Near al Sha’ab Leisure Park.
Pecha Kucha Night, devised by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham (Klein
Dytham architecture), was conceived in 2003 as a place for young
designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. Pecha Kucha
Night is a not-for profit event, conceived, inspired, and performed
solely to strengthen creativity whether it be famous or famous-to-be
talents.
But as we all know, give a mike to a designer (especially an
architect) and you’ll be trapped for hours. The key to Pecha Kucha
Night is its patented system for avoiding this fate. Each presenter is
allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes
40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps
presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show.
Pecha Kucha (which is Japanese for the sound of conversation) has
tapped into a demand for a forum in which creative work can be easily
and informally shown, without having to rent a gallery or chat up a
magazine editor. This is a demand that seems to be global – as Pecha
Kucha Night, without any pushing, has spread virally to over 160 cities across the world.
It comes to Kuwait for the first time on 11th of March.
Speakers for PKN #1 will include:
Lubna Saif Abbas: LB o J?zzaz
Ghadah Alkandari: Artist
Adlah Al-Sharhan: Chef
Maha Al-Asaker: Photographer
Mai al-Nakib: Kuwait University
Thomas Modeen: smArchitecture
Abdulaziz al-Humaidhi: Najeeb Al-Humaidhi Consultants
Khalid al-Hamad: American University of Kuwait
Waleed Shaalan: BrainStorm
Amera al-Awadhi: Amar International Real Estate Co.
Fatma al-Hamad: Amar International Real Estate Co.
Warmest regards,
Asseel al-Ragam
Asseel al-Ragam PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Architecture
Kuwait University
Office: +965 24987595
Cell: +965 99761150
alragam@gmail.com
Confessions of a Sudanese deserter
“Khalid”, a member of the Janjaweed tells about the Sudanese scorched earth policy in today’s BBC News:
The International Criminal Court is set to announce whether or not it is to issue a warrant for the arrest of the President of Sudan President al-Bashir, for alleged war crimes in Darfur.
The Sudanese government has always said the accusations are political but now one of the country’s former soldiers, who served in Darfur, has been telling his story to the BBC’s Mike Thomson.
Khalid (not his real name), a polite and softly spoken man from Darfur, seems reluctant to talk about his past. It is soon clear why.
“The orders given to us were to burn the villages completely,” he says.
“We even had to poison the water wells. We were also given orders to kill all the woman and rape girls under 13 and 14.”
Khalid, who is of black African origin, says he was forcibly recruited into President Omar al-Bashir’s Sudanese army in late 2002.
He and several other men where he lived were taken to the headquarters of his regiment which was based near the north-western Darfur town of Fasher.
He admits to having taken part in seven different attacks on Darfur villages with the help of Janjaweed militia.
The first one was in the Korma area in December 2002 several months before the conflict in Darfur officially began.
He claims to have been extremely reluctant to carry out the savage orders he was given.
“When they asked me to rape the girl, I went and stood in front of her,” he said.
“Tears came into my eyes. They said: ‘You have to rape her. If you don’t we will beat you.’ I hesitated and they hit me with the butt of a rifle.
“But when I went to the girl I couldn’t do it. I took her into a corner and lay myself on top of her as if I was raping her for about 10 to 15 minutes.
“Then, I jumped up and came out. They said: ‘Did you rape her?’ I said: ‘Yes, I did’.”
Khalid says that soon after this he and the other soldiers went back to base.
When they got there he was told to join another patrol immediately.
When he refused they beat and tortured him, inflicting severe burns on his legs and back.
He spent five weeks in a military hospital recovering from his injuries.
Before long, he said, he was ordered to join other brutal raids on Darfur villages.
I asked him what he was told to do with unarmed civilians who did not resist in any way.
“They told us, don’t leave anybody, just kill everybody,” he said.
“Even the children, if left behind in the huts, we had to kill them,” he said. “People would cry and run from their huts.
“Many couldn’t take their all their children. If they had more than two they had to leave them behind. If you saw them you had to shoot and kill.”
Khalid insists that he always fired over the heads of civilians and didn’t kill anyone himself despite the orders he was given.
He says he could do this without his fellow soldiers noticing but he admits that there was no way he could avoid carrying out orders to torch peoples homes.
The six-year conflict has spawned more than two million refugees
“I did take part,” he admitted. “They forced me. We had no choice. If you didn’t they would kill you.”
Did anyone refuse?
“Two of my colleagues refused and they were shot dead.”
You can read the entire article by clicking BBC NEWS: Dharfur
Next Five Days
No sunshine photo this morning; I slept a little late. While yesterday and today are gorgeous, AdventureMan and I are stuffed up and sneezy – go figure. We got throught the dust, and when the sky is crystal clear, we get allergies?
We have some hot hot hot temperatures coming – isn’t this a little early for temperatures this warm?
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