Correction
Stating that the incident never happened because it was not reported to them does not mean it did not happen. An eight year old girl does not make up a rape; she doesn’t have the vocabulary, she doesn’t have the experience to create a lie like that.
“No one brought it to our notice” does not mean it didn’t happen.
Indian School denies girl raped by the school bus driver
KUWAIT CITY : An official at an Indian School in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh on Monday rubbished claims that a girl student from the school was raped last week by the school bus driver.
Reliable sources had earlier told the Arab Times that an eight-year-old student from the school was raped by the school bus driver, who reportedly charmed the girl with sweet talk and took her to his apartment in Jleeb Al-Shyoukh where he raped her.
The girl, who hails from Kerala, reported the incident to her parents after they quizzed her as to why she was late in getting home from school.
Reacting to the reports the school official added: “I can confirm that no such incident happened in our school as no one brought it to our notice.”
The official further added: “We always encourage parents of students to use the school transportation. However, we cannot coerce them into using our transportation. We would have taken immediate action if any such incident was reported to us. The safety of our students is our foremost concern.”
“It is possible that the parents of the victim may not have reported the incident to the school authorities as the student may have been using a private transportation,” the source said.
The source added that the outraged father of the victim reportedly beat up the accused black and blue before turning him over to the police and that the family is in a state of shock trying to come to grips with the incident.
According to the source, a case has been registered at the Jleeb Al-Shyoukh police station and investigations are in progress.
In another incident, a school boy of an Indian school in Abbassiya reportedly impregnated a fellow student and that the two were involved in a long courtship, according to a source. No further details could immediately be obtained.
By Francis A. Clifford Cardozo
Arab Times Staff
It Gives Me Hope
You know who I am, I’m pretty consistent in what I have to say. I believe we all have a lot more in common than we have differences, and I want us to find ways to get along. We, as a species, spend so much time and energy and resources fighting over the pettiest differences. How will we ever call ourselves civilized until we can treat every fellow creature with respect?
I bet Cupertino has problems, too. I know for one thing it is incredibly expensive. Most of what I saw there, I really liked. Whole Foods. High Tech Engineering. A wide variety of people, all working together in peace.
At our hotel, there were five weddings taking place the same day as “our” wedding. I came down in the elevator with one couple and their parents, and I got a photo of them in the hotel garden area before their wedding:
The groom is from India, and the bride is Chinese. The parents, and all the relatives are gathered, and dressed in gorgeous, flowing silks, and the bride and groom are just amazingly in love with each other and it is so beautiful, they are all so happy.
Cupertino takes a lot of pride in being beautiful, and the buildings they build are beautiful and they have “campuses” where lots of related buildings are connected with winding garden paths and ponds full of ducks.
I particularly love this sculpture:
Which looks totally different from the side:
There were flowers and plants everywhere. Many I couldn’t even recognize. I would have to learn a whole new world of gardening in California:
NOLA, Palo Alto
The rehersal dinner was at a really fun restaurant in Palo Alto, NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) and the good times started rolling even before we left the hotel, as wedding invitees gathered to car pool and head down the highways to the dinner. We had instructions, but we were following the car in front of us, and so had a great adventure en route. Everyone finally got there just fine, the music was loud, the crowd was hoppin’ and the food was fabulous.
Hurricanes waiting on the table to greet the guests:
The appetizer plates (I couldn’t get to it fast enough to take a photo before some had disappeared!)
We started with soups and salads, but I forgot to take photos (there is a lot of visiting going on at these events!) so here is some fabulous jambalaya:
And what’s left of delicious king salmon:
I was honored to sit with the bride’s mother, originally from Tehran, and oh! what great conversations we had. The whole purpose of the rehearsal dinner is to give the families time to get to know one another a little, to provide a network for the young marrying couple, to give support. Our weddings are GREAT affairs – now I am going to brag a little. Our young generation of marrying age has chosen such fine mates. The bride in this wedding is a pistol; she and Earthling are so well matched, so good to each other and so good at supporting one another. And I love her mother! We had a great time visiting with each other.
And then – oh my – the desserts! Beignets and bread pudding:
People were scraping the sauces right off the serving plate, not wanting to waste a single tasty bite, they were that good!
This morning, the bride, my sister the groom’s mother, my mother and a host of attendants are off to the hairdressers to get hair and nails and make up done, the whole wedding ritual. I am thankful to be a minor character today – I have packing to do, and with the new packing regulations, I am in a world of hurt. I know if I need to I can buy another suitcase, but I am hoping I will not have to do that.
Last night was a truly great evening, (Thank you, Sparkle and MarinerMan!) and as good as it was, as delicious and fun filled as it was, it was just the prelude to the big event today. 🙂
UPDATE:
Hi there,
I noticed you wrote about our restaurant, Nola, on 5/25/2008 (https://intlxpatr.wordpress.com/2008/05/25/nola-palo-alto/). We really appreciate the mention! Recently, we created a new site that lets our customers order online with their desktop or smartphone. It’s an exciting addition to our restaurant, so we’re reaching out to you to ask for a small favor…
If you could help us by adding our new website (http://www.nolapaloalto.com) on your post about Nola, we’d really appreciate it! I know you wrote this post a while back so hopefully it’s not too much trouble!
Again, thanks so much for supporting our restaurant by mentioning us on your site. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. Thanks there!
Cheers,
Your fans at Nola
Whole Foods Market
EnviroGal and I have just finished exploring Cupertino-into-San-Jose and when Big Diamond calls:
“We’re heading to Whole Foods for lunch, then to the playground – want to join us?”
We passed Whole Foods earlier and we know right where it is.
“We’ll meet you there!” we reply, and are there within minutes.
Oh my heavens.
Whole Foods is a whole different food experience. It takes grocery buying – and lunch – to a whole new level.
About one third of the very very large store is devoted to take-out food. There are three different large buffet stations, one for global food, one for salad bars, one for main dishes, and then there is a whole separate one for freshly prepared Japanese food. There is another separate area for custom sandwiches, and another area for desserts.
Drinks are nearby – an unimaginable variety of drinks.
I had a spinach salad with dried cranberries and toasted pecans and roquefort cheese, with a balsamic dressing, and enari sushi.
Big Diamond had an Indian Curry, and also macaroni and cheese.
EnviroGirl and SportyDiamond had Indian foods – and Mexican foods.
And so it goes. Whole Foods specializes in organically grown foods, fresh fresh foods, the best vegetables in the world. They prepare meals for thousands of high-tech workers who don’t want to spend a lot of time thinking about food, but want to enjoy eating it when they remember to eat.
You really have to see it to believe it. And no, Purg, they didn’t mind my taking photos, right out in the open:
It’s interesting to me – with all the computer people around here, I don’t see a lot of overweight people. I saw a group of grannies, they must have been near seventies, all in bright yellow biking outfits, helmuts and all, and they looked wiry and spry. I see families of all nationalities, people from all over the world, all gathered in the same coffee shops, groceries, etc. and I wonder how they all work together in peace?
Armadillo Willies
i am really lucky. Even though my son and his wife really really wanted to find some good Chinese food, they indulged me, and we ate once again at Armadillo Willies. Everyone ended up back at Armadillo Willies for lunch – it’s pretty good chow.
Once again, however, when we finally got the food we all just dug in and . . . I forgot to take any photos!
Cypress Hotel, Cupertino
Woooo Hoooooooo! The gang’s all here! When I arrived at the hotel (once again, my license was “declined” at the rental car agency. I showed them my brand new sparkling license and they said that it wasn’t in the system yet. Oh, I love bureaucracy! It just took more time.)
Here are a couple shots from my short two hour flight on Alaska airlines:
But oh, I am in heaven. No more rain, temperatures in the 70’s with a stiff breeze. The freeways aren’t crowded – at least not when I was driving in – I had the windows down, the wind blowing through my hair and I remember how much I LOVE California. Thanks to GoogleEarth, I have the exact directions to the hotel, including fractions of miles travelled, and I get here without any mishap. There is ample parking. The reception is cordial and efficient, and . . . there is a big plate of chocolate chip cookies waiting to greet the guests.
My room is a hoot. The only thing missing is . . . AdventureMan. Oh, AdventureMan, you would love this place.
At 5, there is wine in the lobby. This week, ironically, it is wines from Washington State, which are good, but I just came from there! As it turned out, the red wine I had was excellent. The gang gathered, laughing and exchanging family lore, welcoming the bride into our very geeky and kookie family.
Now I have to apologize. We all went out and ate barbeque. I was SO hungry, I forgot to take photos. My bad.
This is the view from my room at sunset:
Today, we are doing a tour of Google! Wooooo HOOOOOOO!
Child’s Play at the Mall
I love these playthings! There was a whole crowd of children in the mall this morning, playing on Mt. Rainier, an octopus, and a couple whales. My very favorite is the big ferry boat:
Rain!
I woke up this morning to a cloudy, rainy day – YAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!
I am sure the good people in Seattle will consider me a total nut case, but when I check the Kuwait forecast and see it is 104° F / 42° C in Kuwait, and only 52° F / 11° C in Seattle, I dance for joy! Today I get to wear a light sweater! Or maybe a hoodie! Or . . . maybe both! I don’t think I will be sweating! The drips on my cheek will be raindrops!
Rain is what makes Seattle so green and luscious. Rain makes the flowers bloom so exuberantly. And today, if I make good headway on my list, today I might let myself go to Lowe’s and/or Home Depot! Oh, I can hardly wait!
Trinity Sunday
This was Trinity Sunday, and I hesitate to even bring it up, because it always causes so much misunderstanding between us. No, we don’t believe in three Gods. We believe in one God, who is at the same time Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
I am not a theologian, so what I am about to tell you is just my interpretation of a mystery which has been debated by minds much greater than my own. I tell my Muslim friends that it is like this:
I have a relationship with my husband, as his wife. We communicate in a certain way, we understand one another in a certain way, to my husband, I am his wife.
I am mother to my son, we communicate differently, and he thinks of me as mother.
I am daughter to my mother, and we communicate differently, and she thinks of me as her daughter.
My husband doesn’t think of me as daughter, and neither does my son. I am all three, and yet I am one person.
That is grossly simplified, and God is much more complicated than I can understand. I just wanted you to know, we believe, as Muslims do, that there is one God.
We do not believe God had sex with Mary. We believe Mary conceived by the wish of God, she conceived immaculately, without having had sex. The Angel Gabriel came to her and told her she had been selected, but she could say yes or no, and she said “yes.” Because she said yes, Jesus was born of Mary.
This was a sweet Sunday for me, because I was able to worship in my home church, here in Seattle. We sang all the oldest hymns. It was a lovely service. Afterwards, I asked the priests if I could take their photos for you, my friends in Kuwait.
If you want to argue with me, it won’t do any good. I am not that smart about religion, I just believe, I’m a pretty simple character. Find someone smarter than I am to argue with!
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Early Voting in Florida
