Here There and Everywhere

Expat wanderer

Kuwait Thwarts Al Qaeda Plot

KUWAIT CITY (Associated Press) – Kuwaiti authorities announced Tuesday they have arrested
an al‐Qaida‐linked group that was planning to attack a key U.S. military base in the small oilrich
state. The Interior Ministry said in a brief statement that State Security detained a
“terrorist network” of six Kuwaitis who gave “detailed confessions” about plans to bomb
Camp Arifjan, the main U.S. base in the country, as well as the headquarters of the country’s
security agency, in addition to other facilities it did not name.

The statement did not provide any details. However, Kuwait’s Alrai daily quoted anonymous
security sources on Tuesday that the group had confessed to buying a truck which it
intended to load with fertilizer, chemicals and gas cylinders and ram into the camp. It was
unlikely the attack on the vast American logistics and supply facility in the desert south of
Kuwait City would have been successful due to high security.

August 12, 2009 Posted by | Crime, Experiment, Kuwait, Law and Order, Leadership, Living Conditions, Safety, Work Related Issues | 2 Comments

Saudi Women Work as Maids

Women upset as Saudis start work as maids
Web posted at: 8/4/2009 2:30:13
Source ::: The Peninsula

DOHA: Qatari women have reacted with disappointment at media reports saying that the first batch of 30 Saudi housemaids has begun work, entering an occupation which has been the domain of mostly Asian women in the oil-rich Gulf state.

According to newspaper reports, all the 30 Saudi women who have been roped in as domestic help, are aged between 20 and 45 years and none of them has a primary school certificate.

They earn salaries up to 1,500 riyals which is roughly equivalent to $400 per month, slightly more than what their Asian counterparts get. At least one newspaper quoted an official from a manpower agency saying that the 30 women have been selected after a series of interviews and intense training. And another 100 women have applied and are awaiting interviews, said another Saudi newspaper.

The manpower agency official said the demand in Saudi Arabia for local women to work as maids is going up sharply because of widespread fear in local communities that foreign women practice magic.

The Saudi Labor Ministry moved two years ago to allow local women to work as housemaids and they were to be officially known as ‘Saudi home arrangers’.

Reacting to the reports, Moza Al Malki, a prominent Qatari psychologist, told this newspaper yesterday: “It breaks my heart to know that Saudi women are venturing out to get involved in such a pursuit.”

“Imagine that this is happening at a time the GCC countries are witnessing immense economic prosperity and among these countries Saudi Arabia has the largest oil reserves.”

In principle, it is okay if a woman has to do a job as long as it is decent work and not in violation of Islamic tenets, she said.

“But in the end it is the job of a maid… The women will be exposed to all kinds of humiliation.” Al Malki said she hoped that the trend would be restricted to Saudi Arabia and not spill over to other GCC countries. Another Qatari woman who did not want to be identified said the development should be treated as an exception and she did not expect the trend to spill over to other GCC states.

August 4, 2009 Posted by | Financial Issues, Living Conditions, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Women's Issues, Work Related Issues | 10 Comments

Kuwait Dailies Publish ‘Imaginary Information?’

This tiny little “Kuwait Crime News” article intrigues me. Recent visitors from Kuwait told me NO WAY the religious Kuwait businessman Hazem Al-Braikan would have committed suicide, that it would mean no chance of paradise, eternal life in hell. They say he was murdered. That’s what I hear from most of my Kuwait friends. So this continuing investigation intrigues me.

From today’s Kuwait Arab Times

US summons Kuwait scribes in stock trading inquiries – report

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 1: The US authorities investigating the case of suspicious stock trading at the US stock market have reportedly summoned a number of journalists working for local dailies in Kuwait for alleged malicious reporting, reports Al-Shahid daily quoting knowledgeable security sources. However, this report could not be independently confirmed.

The dailies had reportedly published what the Al-Shahid said ‘imaginary’ information that a consortium in the United Arab Emirates and a party in Kuwait were competing to purchase a US company, sending the share prices higher by five percent.

It has also been reported some of the journalists who were involved in the scam reportedly left for their home countries and others failed because a travel ban has been issued against them by the US authorities in connection with the interrogations surrounding the death of a Kuwaiti businessman Hazem Al-Braikan.

August 3, 2009 Posted by | Bureaucracy, Character, Community, Crime, Cultural, Financial Issues, Kuwait, Law and Order, Work Related Issues | 7 Comments

Angel Wings

Every now and then, a blessing happens that is just so magnanimous, so unexpected, that I am just overwhelmed with awe at it all.

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One of my sweet friends flew into Doha to help me unpack boxes. I was stuck; the room I was unpacking required lots of decisions, and I just couldn’t see my way to making them. I was just overwhelmed.

My angel friend showed up on my doorstep and whirled through the boxes, unpacking, shooing me out of the room, getting everything put away while I worked elsewhere. The room is now in order, and, as she says, I can re-order it to my liking a little piece at a time, but meanwhile, I can work in there without having a panic attack from all the boxes not unpacked.

When she had finished unpacking and putting away, she put her hand on her hips and said “That’s all??? No more boxes???” I was tempted to let her loose on AdventureMan’s room, but I resisted the temptation. LLLOOOLLL, I was so stuck, and she really rescued me.

July 9, 2009 Posted by | Community, Doha, ExPat Life, Friends & Friendship, Living Conditions, Moving, Qatar, Relationships, Spiritual, Work Related Issues | 8 Comments

43 Things Actually Said in Job Interviews

What I love about articles like this is that you can’t make these things up – people are funnier than anything you could make up. I was interviewing a guy once who had prison tattoos all over him. He had been sent to prison for 15 years and ended up serving nearly 20 years because he had “anger-management problems.” At the end of the interview, I said “Mr. X, I’m not going to waste your time. We have a lot of rules, and you have told me you don’t like rules and structure. You wouldn’t be happy here.” He laughed, and thanked me and said “I didn’t want to work her when you told me about the pet policy.” (You couldn’t bring your pet to work.)

My boss was sitting in the next room, and I was really glad. I was kind of afraid this guy might get angry when I turned him away, and I was glad to have some back up available, but I didn’t need it. After the guy left, my boss was laughing and said “I’ve NEVER heard anyone thank us before for not accepting him!”

These are from the AOL job section and if you really want to laugh your head off, you can read the entire article by clicking on the blue type.

43 Things Actually Said in Job Interviews
Posted Jul 17th 2009 2:30PM
by Rachel Zupek, CareerBuilder.com writer

“I’m not wanted in this state.”

“How many young women work here?”

“I didn’t steal it; I just borrowed it.”

“You touch somebody and they call it sexual harassment!”

“I’ve never heard such a stupid question.”

Believe it or not, the above statements weren’t overhead in bars or random conversations — they were said in job interviews.

Maybe you were nervous, you thought the employer would appreciate your honesty, or maybe you just have no boundaries. Whatever the reason, you can be certain that you shouldn’t tell an interviewer that it’s probably best if they don’t do a background check on you. (And yes, the hiring manager remembered you said that.)

We asked hiring managers to share the craziest things they’ve heard from applicants in an interview. Some are laugh-out-loud hysterical, others are jaw dropping — the majority are both. To be sure, they will relieve anyone who has ever said something unfortunate at a job interview — and simply amuse the rest of you.

Hiring managers shared these 43 memorable interview responses:
Why did you leave your last job?
1. “I have a problem with authority.” – Carrie Rocha, COO of HousingLink

Tell us about a problem you had with a co-worker and how you resolved it
2. “The resolution was we were both fired.”- Jason Shindler, CEO, Curvine Web Solutions

Read the rest of the article by clicking HERE

July 2, 2009 Posted by | Bureaucracy, Character, Communication, Community, Humor, Work Related Issues | 2 Comments

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