Kuwait Bans Blackberry?
I have always loved politics. I don’t love politick-ing, I love watching what politicians do. One of the first rules, in my book, is “Don’t pass laws you can’t enforce.”
It’s pretty basic. Have you ever watched parents who tell their children over and over “Don’t do (whatever)” but they are too lazy to get off their big bottoms to go over and distract the child or to enforce penalties for misbehavior? What happens? The child does – or continues to do – what he or she wants, while the parent either gives up or escalates to a punishment out of proportion to the infraction.
Governments are the same. Don’t make a big noise if you don’t intend – or can’t – follow through. Don’t create penalties you can’t or won’t enforce.
Trying to ban Blackberries in Kuwait – LLLLLOOOOOOLLLLLLLLL! Trying to ban message services? These tech-savvy young people can run circles around the politicians and bureaucrats who try. This is a total hoot.
BlackBerry Ban Eyed
KUWAIT CITY, May 23: The Ministry of Interior is planning to stop BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service and a decision to this effect might be issued within the next few days, reports Al-Shahid daily. A security source said the service cannot be controlled by the Ministry of Communications or security authorities and hence, users of BlackBerry sets were taking advantage to spread rumors and call for strikes.
He added that the ministry came to the decision after conducting studies and holding several meetings in the last fortnight. The three telecommunication companies in Kuwait, however, said they had not received any official request from the Interior Ministry so far.
Arab Times Online
My new friend Gifty
My new friend seems to think I am a guy who can help her out in her distress. I just don’t get a couple things . . . why did her important father deposit all this money in her name in a bank in Burkino Faso?
Dearest,
Honestly I am glad that you honour my mail,how are you today? My name is Gifty Kipkalya Kone,from Kenya 24 years old and a daughter of the former Kenyan road minister late Mr Kipkalya Kones who died on Tuesday 10th June 2008 along the Cessna 210 plane crash which was heading to Kericho in a remote area called Kajong’a, in western Kenya as You can read more on the crash below:
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/06/10/kenya.crash/index.html
Although this mail might come to you as a surprise because we haven’t meet before but please consider it as a divine wish and accept it with a better understanding, I believe you will look into my condition and listen to my cry and consider me to be like your own sister or close friend. Ernestly i am writing this mail with tears and sorrow from my heart due to the condition i find myself after the passing away of my parent and nothwithstanding the whole tragic made me feel mallested and rejected without any cause simply because my mum had died earlier and i am from a polygamous family. Thereafter the funeral of my dad, my stepmother and my uncle with their african mentality conspired and sold off my father’s properties worth millions of dollar to an italian expertrate and shared the money among themselves living me with nothing.
One faithful morning as i tried to open my father’s briefcase,i found an important documents with which he had deposited some money in my name as the next of kin at the African development bank,Burkina Faso. I travelled down to Burkina Faso to withdraw some of the money but the Bank Director whom I met in person highlited me on my father’s instruction to the bank concerning the money and how it should be withdrawn that only on the account that i am married or i should present to the bank an honest, responsible and worthy trustee whom will assist me in reclaiming the fund and transfer it into his account for an investment as i finish up my education. In my search for a reliable person i have found you a man i can count on. I believe that you will not betray my trust on you but rather take me as your own sister or close friend because right now i am suffering terribuly here in Burkina faso in the refugee camp as i have no body to rescue me from this strange situation in a foreign land.
I have chosen to contact you after my prayers and i was convinced that you will be the true one to rescue me from this trouble,I have the money confirmed in the bank $7.2 million in their records as unclaimed bill in my father account and i have the death certifictae and the deposit certificate of the fund stating as proof of my geneuity. I shall compensate you with 30% of the whole money in as much as you could help me make the transfer of this money into your account successfully. I wait upon your positive response showing your interest and ability to carry out this transaction and in the light of the above i shall appreciate your urgent message indicating your willingness to help me with all your mind to achieve this successfully. Thanks and God bless you as i look forward to seeing your reply.
Miss Gifty Kipkalya
One Last Time at The Majliss
Lucky me, AdventureMan shares my love of this fine restaurant. We meet up with a set of long-time friends and enjoy an evening of hilarity and good food. We had the mezze, yes, including the Majliss’s fabulous muhammara, made with ground walnuts and sweet red peppers and pomegranate juice, and then – the grilled shrimp and hammour. I don’t think anyone does it better:
The moment of hilarity? AdventureMan stands up and says he needs to go wash his hands. His friend stands up and says “I’ll go with you!” The joke? AdventureMan usually pays the bill while he is ‘washing his hands’ but we have been friends long enough for this man to have caught on to his trick.
The Most Wonderful Baby
One hour old 🙂
Ouch – Underwear Bomb Photos
If all those lives had not been at risk, this would almost be pathetic.
When Two Big Holidays Collide
Thanksgiving is one of the BIG food holidays for Americans (and Canadians, but they celebrate it in a different month, on a different day) and the Eid is one of the big food holidays for Muslims, and can you see where I am going with this? We have houseguests coming tomorrow and I was out of what are called here “digestive biscuits” (horrible name!) and what we call graham crackers, which make for a very quick and easy pie crust.
As the jello mix was cooling before I could add the walnuts and pineapple and celery, I thought I would zip to the grocery. It’s still early in the morning, after nine but before ten, I can get in and out before the crowds hit.
Wrong. Oh so very wrong. If it were a normal day, yes, in and out in a flash, but when two big holidays are about to collide, no, there are other early birds like me, all jockying for spaces, for carts, to get their veggies and fruits weighed, to get their purchases rung up . . .
Fortunately for me, the first wave, the real eager beavers, was slipping out with their packages, and I got a parking place. No worrying about getting a space near the entry – any space will do. Besides, the weather has cooled and walking a little extra is nice this time of year.
I also lucked out on the produce lines – while everyone lined up near the citrus fruits, no one seemed to notice there was another weigh station near the Indian veggies. Lucky me! (For my stateside friends, when you pick out your produce here, you have to have it weighed and labled with the price before you get to the check-out stand.)
All in all – it wasn’t to bad. Not in and out in a flash, but in and out not too bad. The cars were streaming in as I departed, and I vow not to return until the Eid is over!
Cooling Down in Qatar
I quilt. I quilt for hours. In my quilting room, I stream National Public Radio from KUOW in Seattle, and when they say the temperature is 49°F and there are high winds expected, I almost feel cold.
So when I say it is cooling down in Qatar, it is a little tongue-in-cheek. I’m the Alaska girl, remember? We went sleeveless if it got up to 65°F; 70°+ was a heatwave.
Now that it is “cooling down”, the temperatures at night are just under 70°F.
I’m still running the A/C; looking forward to the days when I can turn it off. But, compared to the searing heat of summer, this is heaven. 🙂
Chicken Avocado Enchiladas
These were a lot of fun. I always try to work with healthy foods. In Kuwait, I had one friend, and every week, when we all brought food to a gathering, hers always went in a heartbeat. Her secret – bottled cheese sauce, and lots of it.
I know, I know, it’s processed. There probably isn’t any real cheese in the sauce at all. But it tastes SO GOOD!
You can put anything in an enchilada. For these, I had chicken breasts, which I cut into 3/4″ chunks and marinated for two days in a big carton of yoghurt, (I would guess four cups yoghurt), about 1/4 cup lemon juice, 2 Tablespoons chili powder, 1 Tablespoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon cumin powder. The yoghurt makes the chicken really tender and juicy.
I drained about half the yoghurt – not all.
Chop and fry two onions in olive oil to the almost crisp stage, with one chopped red pepper and one chopped yellow pepper. When cooked, add in the chicken, and cook until just cooked, but still juicy.
Meanwhile, mash two cans of pinto beans.
Chop an avocado – chunks about 3/4 inch. Add in the cooked chicken, onions, peppers, and mix.
Spoon into center of burrito wrapper. Roll up and place in pan.
The secret ingredient – two jars of Chili Con Queso, cover enchiladas and bake 30 minutes at 350°F/180°C.
The Fingerprint Factory
Drama Drama Drama. It used to be the last dreaded event before getting your residence. You had to have fingerprints taken and it was in this big mob-scene, huge mobs of people and hot hot hot, no air, and the ink was HORRIBLE, and even if you brought your own soap and washed right away, you still had ink under your fingernails for days. It was a hellish experience.
Today was the day. It started with drama – when I got to where I was supposed to be at 10:10, the receptionist told me I was supposed to be there at 9:30, I had missed my appointment. I was really sure my husband had told me my appointment was at 10:30, so I waited while she called, and it was one of those experiences where she was NOT happy being wrong, and I got to sit out in the not-air-conditioned hall to wait for my group to go.
When my group got to the fingerprint place, there was no mob. There WAS more drama. There was only a very nice be-thobed gentleman who said that the fingerprint computer was broken. It was broken yesterday, and they got it working again this morning until 9 o’clock, but now it is broken. I asked “how long until it is fixed?” but it was one of those insh’allah things, no one knows how long it will take to get the system up again. We would have to come back tomorrow.
And then, just as we were walking out the gate back to the van, he called to us “Come back! Come back!” The fingerprint machine was working again.
Inside, it was orderly and air conditioned. Take a number, take a seat. Wait your turn. Very cool, watching people’s fingerprints, handprints, etc show up in huge prints. If there was any blur, the machine showed red – like a red thumb – and it had to be done over again.
For some reason, I had to have several done over again. I don’t know if it was me, or if the machine was just finicky. All I know is that the system was up long enough for me to get my fingerprints taken, and there was NO mess. None. Wooo HOOOO.
I still have my old Qateri driving licence. I am praying – please keep me in your prayers – that they will just renew it and I won’t have to take a road test on the roads of Qatar. Although – after driving in Kuwait – I can drive anywhere. 😀
I See White People
This guy has a great sense of humor. WARNING – there is a lot of bathroom humor and vulgarity in the film, but I love what he did with a current event:
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