Flickr blocked by Fastelco

WTF! Fastelco have blocked Flickr! Amazing.
Looks like we'll all have to use proxies now, as they do in other gulf regimes that abuse human rights.

Don't know if Qualitynet have also pulled the plug.

So, let me understand this... the Ministry of (dis)Information want to block websites to save people from themselves, because they may be tainted by the big bad outside world... so they're then forcing people to learn how to bypass their silly blocking. And as a consequence, really open up pandora's box.

It doesn't really take too many brain cells to figure out that once people learn how to use a proxy server (which in the real world isn't really necessary), you then can roam the internet relatively freely, and now you're really exposing yourself to the big bad world out there... websites that have, shock, horror,... alcohol, pork, porn (not that I would know), free speech... ...oh dear.

And finally for today...

Cafe attacked
KUWAIT: In response the Israeli attack on
Qana, which killed nearly 60 Lebanese civilians, a number of Rumaithiya
residents assaulted a local Starbucks, asking for the coffee shop to be shut
down. Hawally police arrived on scene and managed to disburse the crowd with
minimal incident. Security forces will increase their presence in areas with
large populations of foreigners.

A. If any cafe deserves to be attacked or shut down for serving a poor excuse for coffee, it would have to be the "McDonalds" of coffee. (A pet gripe of mine, though I did manage to get my local baristas to understand that a latte by definition starts with a double espresso, and is not supposed to be some insipid hot milk with added coffee flavour. And, fresh coffee means beans roasted within 2 weeks, not roasted 6 months ago and freighted to Kuwait.... I digress).

B. I thought that only local citizens frequent Starbucks anyway! Does Rumaithiya Starbucks have a totally different clientale than other Starbucks outlets?

And as for the Lebanon war, don't get me started on the media bias here. Sadly, my sympathy for the Lebanese plight is being overshadowed by the ridiculous behaviour of locals and the local media in providing moral support for Hezbollah, an organisation committed to acts of terrorism, and who least we forget, provoked Israel into launching this war! Of course, Arab leaders are not going to take any serious action against Israel and quietly live in hope that Hezbollah's power is severely curtailed. But when it comes to war, it is always the innocents on both sides, and the truth, that suffer.

Key Education posts should only be for the incompetent & inexperienced - Islamists warn

Another snippet from today's Kuwait Times...

Attempts of political blackmail in ministry
KUWAIT: There has more heated
political exchanges regarding key leadership posts in the Education Ministry.
Islamist MP Jamal Al-Kandari, who is considered a member of the Islamic
Constitutional Movement (ICM), has warned the Education Minister Dr Adel
Al-Tabtabae that he would grill him in case he excludes
(sic) competent and experienced people from key education
posts. (contd.)

Yeah, I think the reporter has got this one about right! Islamists don't want competent people in positions where they may have some influence...

Any competent Company Chairmen (or Chairwomen) out there?

In the Kuwait Times today was this odd little snippet...

State urged to take action
KUWAIT: The chairman of companies
whose share price has declined recently has explained that the losses incurred
by those companies are on the rise due to downward movement of the market. He
said: "It is a very worrying matter and disturbs the chairmen of many
companies." He pointed out that things are going to the worse unless government
takes action to stop decline in the market. He explained that share prices have
reached a very low point.

Duh! What a brainfart. Automatically, you have given proof that you are not fit to chair a company, along with your Chairman buddies... (please let me know who you are so I know not to invest in your company!... I hope it's not my employer!!).

Prices of company stocks in Kuwait, as in the rest of the Gulf were getting way out of kilter with fundamentals, as they are wont to do when easy money can be made and investors get greedy, ie. if I buy at 'x' price, it will continue going up so I can sell and make a nice handy profit, as there's always another sucker who will come in and buy when the price has gone up. As with all speculative stockmarket bubbles, eventually they pop! Stockmarket investing lesson 101.

How exactly is a reduced share price affecting your core business? Or is it that you've lost money investing in shares? And now you want the State to action... please. Next you'll want the head of the KSE! (Oh, that's already on the agenda!)

And you thought the American legal system was bad...

So much crap printed in the local media, and so little time to comment...

You never know by the reporting whether justice is being done or not. Here's a couple of examples in today's papers...

Death sentence
KUWAIT: The Court of Appeal has approved
the execution of two persons for smuggling hashish and opium into the country
from Iran by the sea. The court did not listen to the suspects' lawyer who
claimed that they did not know there were drugs on the boat. They also claimed
that there were other sailors on the boat besides them.

Appeals acquits 3 securitymen in kidnap, rape of Asian
woman
KUWAIT CITY: The Court of Appeals Tuesday overturned the verdict of the
Criminal Court and acquitted three securitymen — M. Al-Ajmi, S. Al-Otaibi and H.
Al-Shimmari - who had been accused of kidnapping and raping an Asian woman,
identified only as D.Y. On June 25, 2005, the Criminal Court had found the men
guilty and sentenced them to 15 years in jail. According to case papers the
victim was stopped by a police patrol on Aug 11, 2004 in a suburb of Nugra and
taken to the Nugra Police Station and was left in the custody of the prime
suspect, Ajmi.

After checking her identification papers, Ajmi convinced the
victim that she was in legal trouble and accompanied her to a nearby chalet
where he raped her after promising to help her with her ‘troubles’. He took her
mobile phone number and let her go. She added four days later, Ajmi called her
and told her that he wanted to ‘mediate’ in her problem. He took her to a café
where he introduced her to the other two accused. The men allegedly hit her on
the head and neck and raped her inside their vehicle because she resisted their
attempts. The victim said Otaibi took her to a desert and the other two men
followed them in another vehicle where the trio raped her. Then, Otaibi returned
her to her home. The victim then filed a case with the Chief Prosecutor. The
police station officer testified his investigations revealed the three men had
committed the crime according to a case filed by the victim. He added the men
had verbally admitted to committing the crime.

In major crimes, if it is committed by a citizen their name will most likely be withheld, yet for a similar offense, not only is an expat's name published, but the convicted criminal's photo is published (in the case of smugglers, with all their confiscated contraband).

Here's another run-in with "Justice" that's just plain funny...

‘Angry’ judge detains bedoun: A bedoun youth holding Colombian citizen and
identified as M.S, was detained for 24 hours upon orders of the Traffic Court
judge, reports Al-Rai Al-Aam daily. The youth was attending a session on traffic
violations and when the judge remarked on his long hair, he retorted saying it
was his ‘personal freedom’. The angry judge ordered the youth’s detention for 24
hours. The youth who is studying at an unidentified institute begged the judge
to delay execution of the ‘verdict’ saying he had to appear for his examination
but the judge refused to budge.

So, I'd like to know if it's illegal to have long hair, or it's illegal to talk to the judge, or what?

Tribal democracy

Two articles in the Kuwait Times, one after the other in the same column has left me a little confused...

Bail for 14 accused Kuwaitis

KUWAIT: Capital prosecution has started an investigation into 14 men accused of participating in by-elections. Sources revealed that the accused include 12 candidates and two other Kuwaiti men. The accused are from the Ajman and Mutari tribes in district 22, Hawajer tribe in district 24 and Enza tribe in Jahra. All were released by a bail of KD 1,000 each. One of the men is former MP, Ali Al-Hajri. The men all denied taking part in by-elections, insisting they were holding consultation meetings. Sources predict that the number of people involved could rise to 200 once criminal detectives establish the names of car owners who are known to have been at the by-election headquarters.

Otaibi favoured by Otban tribe

KUWAIT: Saadoun Hamad Al-Otaibi won 665 votes in a by-election of the Otban tribe in district 21 "Ahmadi". He is expected to represent the tribe, which could form an alliance with the Awazm tribe for the next parliamentary elections.

So is it illegal to have by-elections or not? Or does it depend on which tribe is holding them?

Maid Murderer?

Today's Arab Times...

Hunt launched for Nepali maid in murder of Filipina colleague

KUWAIT CITY: A Nepali housemaid strangled her Filipina colleague to death in their sponsor’s house in Shamiya before escaping. The cousin of the house owner, who is currently out of Kuwait, called securitymen when he found the Filipina maid lying dead on the bed. When securitymen rushed to the scene they found that the bedroom, which was shared by the two maids, was a total mess and the Nepali maid was missing. Forensic officials examined the corpse and concluded the Filipina maid had died due to strangling. Securitymen are investigating the case and are looking for the Nepali maid.

Call me cynical, but I smell a rat. I wouldn't be surprised if Nepali maid is missing due to either a) also meeting a similar fate, b) not wanting to be accused of murder, even though innocent, and doesn't want to hang around to prove innocence whilst suffering at the hands of the police, or c) is absconding from the real murderer...

New Contracts for Domestics

Here's some good news, in theory, for new maids arriving in Kuwait, as reported in today's Arab Times...

New contract gives domestic workers KD 40 salary, day off

KUWAIT : With the labour sector comprising an important component of economic and social affairs within any country, the Interior Ministry announced plans to intervene in the issuance of domestic labour contracts. Major General Thabet Al-Muhanna, the Interior Ministry’s undersecretary and Colonel Adel Hashash, head of Public Relations spoke of the Ministry’s plans to intervene in domestic labour contracts through a new law that will be enforceable as of July 01. Speaking at a press conference Sunday, Al-Muhanna said the contracts will be signed by three parties instead of the previous two.

“The contracts shall now be signed by the domestic labour office, the sponsor and the worker”, Al-Muhanna said. He added that the contract will be signed under terms and conditions which provide the domestic helper no less than a monthly salary of KD 40 and a day of rest each week within or outside the premises of the house. “All these are carried out to ensure safe and healthy conditions of the worker’s atmosphere and deliver an objective to Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti sponsors”, he said.

I'm not sure that it will make a difference. The Domestic Labour Office is only another level of bureacratic rubber-stamping. Everyone knows that salaries in contracts are falsified. What a maid is actually paid will continue to bear no relation to what it says on the contract, no matter how many people rubber-stamp it. Similarly, who's going to monitor whether a maid gets their day off? Are we going to see a change of heart by employers to let their maids take a day off? Will Kuwait's shopping malls and other public places be packed with maids on Fridays having their day off? Unless domestic workers'' rights are covered by labour legislation which is supported & upheld by a judicial system, then this is just another good intention, that in reality will be ignored by the hoi polloi.

Deport the Innocents; Ignore the Guilty

Well, OK, maybe they're not exactly innocent, but desperate times call for desperate measures. In today's Arab Times, but this could be any day's...

30 female staff detained: During a four-hour campaign Friday 15 inspectors from
the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor in cooperation with 25 policemen raided
several billiard halls after dusk and arrested 30 female employees for violating
labor law which bars women from working in men’s halls after 7:00 pm, reports
Al-Watan daily. The violators have been referred to concerned authorities prior
to their deportation from the country.

What I'd be interested in knowing is a) do these women know that they're working illegally? and b) what's being done about their billiard hall employers? If they're just prostitutes (which is what the new law is trying to prevent), then the question still applies - what happens to the pimps / men paying for their services? ... you can guess the answer to that.

If you dig a bit deeper, you'll probably find that most of the female staff are illegals because they have runaway from abusive employers...

Free internet telephony... but you have to go to jail first

In today's Kuwait Times...

Central Prison talk
KUWAIT: As from the beginning of May, the central jail will start providing inmates with the facilities to communicate with their relatives (voice and picture) through special computer programmes and the Internet. The move has the blessing of the First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak.

And I thought it was illegal to use VOIP in Kuwait! (...to ensure that the Ministry of Communications keeps raking it in on international phone calls). Certainly the same newspaper gives us stories now and again of asian ex-pats being arrested for selling telephone calls over the internet to their buddies. Maybe the Central Jail has bribed the Ministry of Communications & Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak. Just a conspiracy theory (as another journalist would say).

But, this is excellent news for the inmates, many of whom are incarcerated for the "crime" of having run-away from their employer because they've been abused, raped or not paid their wages, and are waiting deportation to their home country.

And soon there will be no teachers

Also in the Arab Times, 25th April...

Sack decided in home tuition

KUWAIT CITY: Dr Humoud Al- Sadoun, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education has come to a decision to terminate all the teachers who are known to privately tutor citizens and expatriates, reliable sources told Al Qabas. These sources further state the Ministry is also planning action against the students who take private tutoring. After an initial warning to stop indulging in private tutor sessions the Ministry will take further action if needed. The punishment consists of terminating these students from their educational institutions. A strict eye will be kept on the teachers and students who take part in private tutoring through observers and supervisors at schools.“The punishment for the teachers is as severe as that for students. Expatriate teachers will be deported and Kuwaiti teachers will be removed from their current jobs and will also be prevented from teaching in any of the Government schools. The Ministry of Education is believed to be currently setting up a team that will follow up on teachers who publish advertisements on private tutoring lessons in the newspaper.

This is just downright bad policy! What planet do MoE people live on.

Any teachers out there willing to comment on this brainfart!

Traffic congestion & the intellectual debate

Arab Times 25th April...

Traffic congestion tied to no limit on car ownership; ‘3 million violations in 2005’

KUWAIT CITY: Assistant Under-secretary for Security Support Services Major General Thabit Al-Muhanna says among the major causes of traffic congestion is the lack of restrictions on the number of cars an individual should own because there is no law that sets the number of cars one can own. He also indicated that the traffic congestion has started shifting from the commercial areas and government departments to residential areas. Muhanna made this statement during a meeting organized by MP Adel Al-Sarawi with residents of Khaifan, adding that Kuwait finished its major street projects in 1985 when the number of cars were as low as 650,000 and the plans were made according to those figures. Now that cars in Kuwait have reached nearly 1.2 million, the roads can no longer handle the existing cars which cause congestions because the roads remain unchanged. He explained that it used to take him 10 minutes to reach his work but now takes thirty minutes or more. Even if a thousand policemen were to control the traffic congestion it would be to no avail unless the road users were to cooperate with them. He remarked that according to statistics given by the Ministry of Planning, by 2030 the population of Kuwait will reach 50 million, indicating that traffic issues are not only road related but also behavior related as reports in 2005 claim there were 3 million traffic violators — traffic violation being considered a crime in a state like Kuwait.

This is a funny article on many levels (and shows the deplorable level of journalism from the better of the 2 English language papers):
a) how is restricting the number of cars an owner can have going to solve the traffic problem. It isn't physically possible to drive more than one car at a time!
b) do you really want to try and implement a law to restrict the numbers of cars a person can own! I'm sure the Prime Minister will really be backing that one!
c) haven't you guys heard of long-term planning, or even medium term planning, when it comes to traffic? When it comes to socialist style 10 year economic plans, yep, we have a whole government ministry (the Ministry of (mis)Planning) to do that, but when it comes to something practical...
d) why don't the public cooperate with traffic police? Hmmm, I wonder why... would it be because if you have wasta it aint a problem being stopped, and if you don't have wasta then any excuse will do to give you a fine, arrest you for violating residency laws, etc, etc.
e) If by 2030 Kuwait has a population of 50 million I'll eat my hat! Another example of the 'pie in the sky' thinking of said Ministry of (mis)Planning. It's just a matter of time until the oil starts running out and then population growth will go in the opposite direction.
f) 3 million traffic violators... I think you mean violations - otherwise we have more violaters than the number of residents in Kuwait!
g) "traffic violation is considered a crime in a state like Kuwait" - classic! Human trafficking and denying of basic human rights for housemaids isn't a considered a crime though. Priorities, priorities.

Keep your mobile switched off if youre wanted by the police!

Another story in today's Kuwait Times...

Man forces wife to drink his 'urine', beats her up
KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti woman reported to police that while she was leaving her home, her husband forced her into his car. The man then drove her to a distant place, assaulted her, took her handbag and gave her a bottle containing a yellow liquid. The man told her "this is my urine and you have to drink it." The woman resisted, but he hit her, forcing her to drink it. The man then dumped her home and escaped. Police could not contact the man as his mobile was switched off. Investigations are on.

So to frustrate a police manhunt just keep your mobile switched off, ok.

Road rage - Kuwait style

Reading the local English papers is always good for a laugh. Today's Kuwait Times...

...a source revealed that a fight between a Kuwaiti man and Egyptian expatriate took place after a road accident in Salmiya. After they got down from their cars to assess the damage, they started shouting. The Egyptian then got a wooden stick to assault the Kuwaiti, who brought a sword from his car. The Egyptian man then ran away, with the citizen running after him. A man informed police that a Kuwaiti was chasing an Egyptian with a sword. Police rushed to the scene and arrested both of them. The men reconciled at police station, and did not file a case.

What a privilege it is to drive in Kuwait

Kuwait Times yesterday:

Driving license
KUWAIT: A few months had passed since the new conditions for issuing driving licenses for expatriates were announced without any single exception, official sources stressed to Al-Watan pointing out that only 26 categories of expatriates were entitled to the license. Further, the sources explained that expatriates needed to be university graduates, getting KD 400+ salary and should be in Kuwait for at least two years before applying for the driver's license, all in attempt to solve many traffic problems and reducing the numbers of cars on roads. (sic)

The English in the article is a little difficult to understand, but the gist of this is that to reduce the number of cars on the road, an official brain-fart is to make it more difficult to have foreigners driving on the roads… Given that a large number of Kuwaiti families employ an Asian ex-pat driver, no doubt a lot of wasta will be called upon to get around this latest inconvenience.

Good news - my wife is finally a legal driver in Kuwait after several painful months of paper chasing from one bureaucratic office to another. Can't wait for her to write up her experience.

Royal Prince busted

It's good to see that the long arm of the law occasionally reaches to those normally outside the law. Yesterday's Arab Times reported on a member of the royal family who has obviously been given a long leash in the past (and is probably from the 'other' side of the family). I wonder if we will read in the future about the Royal's name, a conviction, prison sentence, etc...

Interior orders arrest of royal in drug bust; Cocaine, hashish

KUWAIT CITY (Agencies): Kuwaiti police have arrested a member of the ruling
Al-Sabah family with a large drugs haul, including at least 10 kilogrammes (22 pounds) of cocaine, newspapers reported Friday. Al-Qabas newspaper quoted unnamed security sources as saying the prince, whose name was not revealed, also had 120 kilogrammes (264 pounds) of hashish. His arrest came at the orders of Interior and Defence Minister, Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak al-Sabah, who is a leading figure in the ruling family. The Al-Rai Al-Aam daily gave a different breakdown of the drugs seized, saying they consisted of 18 kilogrammes (40 pounds) of cocaine, five kilogrammes (11 pounds) of heroin and 30 kilograms (66 pounds) of hashish.

The drugs were found at the royal’s house, the paper added. The sources said “the arrest took place in tune with the orders of the First Deputy Premier, Minister of Interior and Minister of Defence Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah who indicated the same laws should be applicable for all with no exceptions.” “All people are protected under the umbrella of the law,” the minister is reported to have stated.

Rights group demands release of Saudi reporter

If the fundies don't get you, the security forces will instead...

Rights group demands release of Saudi reporter
DUBAI:
Security forces have arrested a Saudi journalist who received death threats for his criticism of strict interpretations of Islam, and now he faces charges of doubting the Islamic creed and "harbouring destructive thoughts," a human rights group and Saudi officials said yesterday. Rabbah Al-Quwaii, 24, a reporter for Riyadh-based newspaper Al-Shams, was arrested April 3 after questioning Islamic doctrine in frequent writings on Internet discussion forums, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement demanding his release. Saudi government officials confirmed the arrest and said Al-Quwaii faced prosecution in court on unspecified anti-Islamic charges. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak on security matters.

Human Rights Watch said Al-Quwaii reported death threats last year after he
wrote articles alleging that the kingdom's strict interpretation of Islam was
contributing to the growth of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. "Saudi
security forces apparently believe they are there to abuse citizens like Rabbah Al-Quwaii rather than to protect them," said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch. Other liberal Saudi journalists also reported death threats to police without results, the rights group reported.

In November 2005, the group said, the governor of northern Hail Province ordered police to investigate the threats against Al-Quwaii after a newspaper reported that assailants had smashed the reporter's car and left a note saying "next time, its you." But instead, intelligence police arrested Al-Quwaii in the city of Hail, after luring him there by asking him to fill out paperwork related to the investigation of the death threats. Saudi officials provided similar details of the arrest to The Associated Press, and said Al-Quwaii had also received written warnings and threatening letters to halt his anti-Islamic writing. Human Rights Watch urged Saudi Arabia's minister for human rights, Turki al-Sudairy, to open a public inquiry into the role of the kingdom's security and intelligence services in al-Quwaii's arrest. State investigators have refused to allow Al-Quwaii to speak to his lawyer or fully
disclose charges against him, Human Rights Watch reported.---AP

Inter-sex friendships

And even more from today's Kuwait Times:

Inter-sex friendships
KUWAIT: The head of the Academic Guidance Unit at the College of Arts in Kuwait University Sahau Al-Sahau confirmed his rejection of friendships between males and females as it contradicts the Muslim traditions practiced in Kuwait. He said if friendship exists between the males and females, it should not go beyond being colleagues at work. Al-Shahu expressed his comments during an interview with Al-Rai Al-Aam last Saturday. He expressed regret as his comments were misunderstood as encouraging friendships between men and women.

Well, I'm sorry, I have to disagree with Mr Sahau Al-Sahou, and please don't misunderstand me when I say I encourage all you guys and gals out there to build friendships. Maybe, just maybe, if there were platonic relationships between males and females in this place we wouldn't see the same level of social problems that are clearly evident from the imposition of a "traditional" muslim culture.

Who'd want to be a Teacher!

In today's Kuwait Times:

Teachers interview

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Education have started interviewing a number of teachers in Syria, Egypt and Jordan to teach in Kuwait. The ministry specified that the salary of the new teachers would be KD 350 for male teachers including (sic) a housing allowance and KD 290 for female teachers. The Civil Service Commission rejected a call from the ministry to increase the salaries of expatriate teachers, reported Al Qabas.

I hope that it's a spelling mistake and a housing allowance is in addition to the pitiful salary. Even if the housing allowance is excluded, a fresh Kuwaiti graduates recieve more! And why the discrepancy by sex? A further indication, if it ain't obvious, of the lack of quality in education here. If you're going to pay for monkeys, you're going to get monkeys... I'm sure there's a good arabic proverb for this.

Mind you, it probably is good money for those that sign-up and come, and the job won't be very demanding.

Thank you (Dis)Information Ministry for wasting Court time

In today's Arab Times:

Appeals also acquits Seyassah: The Court of Appeals recently upheld the verdict
of the lower court which had earlier acquitted Al-Seyassah daily in a case filed
by the Information Ministry accusing the daily of publishing an article which
damages the country’s relation with Syria and Lebanon, reports Al-Seyassah
daily. The said article states the presidents of these two countries are not
likely to remain in office by the end of October 2006.

Let's hope the folks in the (Dis)Information Ministry responsible for this waste of time in the courts don't remain in their office by the end of October 2006. On a positive note, it's good to see justice being done!

Doesn't the (Dis)Information Ministry realise that by pursuing a strict censorship regime, they're doing more to damage Kuwait's relations with other countries than an innocuous remark made by an individual who manages to get it published in a newspaper?