I have recently read somewhere that to date, 18 people have rejected the prestigious post of the Chairman of the Capital Markets Authority. This could just be one of the most powerful financial jobs in Kuwait, perhaps second only to the Governor of the Kuwaiti Central Bank.This news snippet made me think, why would anyone refuse an offer as grand as this? I understand if one or two candidates refused it, but 18? It’s just not right…

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Zain has organized for the 7th year an exhibition for its customers. The exhibition was named ZAIN CITY for this year. Basically Zain city gathered 36 distributors and put them in one place. Lots of exciting offers and promotions were available for Zain’s customers. If you haven’t visited the wonderful city, you can go now to Kuwait fair grounds in Mishref and benefit from their offers.

and on a another note…

I was in the exhibition 2days ago and saw things that shocked me, if it’s a ZAIN event why am I seeing VIVA flyers on the floor? After asking about how come VIVA is here when its a ZAIN event? Well after asking around I got this as a conclusion. Viva representatives went to Zain city and distributed flyers containing their offers to Zain’s distributers and they asked them to join them in promoting their products and service. The cheap stunt does not end there but they even placed the flyers on the cars parked near Zain city (Mishref International Fair Grounds). The only reason I can think of that made VIVA do such a cheap stunt is that they are desperate. Yes you read it right, VIVA is desperate for customers and their cheap actions prove it. Kuwait is not used to such cheap business stunts and I strongly suggest that Kuwait Parliament’ Committee, thawaher al da5elah, look into what happened and stop those cheap stunts.

What do you guys think?

This pic is shamelessly stolen from Ilsul6ana

Many of you have already heard of this 5,000 KD grant to all Kuwaitis over 21 years. We should also realize that it is not approved yet by neither the National Assembly nor the Government.

Now this is what I think of this issue:

If I assumed that most of the MPs are only interested in their popularity among the voting masses, then I begin to wonder as to what are the real intentions behind this bill. I agree with most of the comments written in Ilsul6ana’s post, I’d rather see the old Kuwaiti infrastructure get a much needed makeover. We might have two scenarios with this bill, the first scenario is that the Government would reject this bill and the committee would be back to square one. The second scenario is that the Government would actually accept it and suddenly we are all 5,000 KD richer.

If I was a dishonest MP who only jumps on the popularity bandwagon then I would make sure to support this bill. The reason behind this decision is to show the voters that I was responsible for passing the bill. If the Government rejected the bill, then I could also say that I did my best but the evil Government did not want people to live happily ever after. It would be a win-win situation for me right? I’m just glad that I’m not an MP or other people would say that about me! :D

This example can also be applied in the failed bill to buy out the interest on loans a few months ago.

I understand that the Kuwaiti infrastructure should be improved regardless of whether this bill is passed or not but this policy of financial appeasement by the MPs is not only bad for our future but also an insult to our intelligence.

I should also note that the bill is for all Kuwaitis over 21, I find it amusing to see that the voting age in Kuwait is also 21.

What do you guys think?

i would understand it if anybody threatened the US embassy or the UK embassy because of the recent trends and threats going on but this terrorist must be stupid or have shit for brains or he dialed the wrong number he threatened the Philippine embassy……. why?…..its the Philippine embassy? and he didnt even pick up the phone he sent a sms and said your embassy will blow up in thirty minutes i swear some times i am baffled by the way people think… Stupid!!!

Update:

Philippines Ambassador Ricardo Endaya has suspended all processing of domestic workers in Kuwait due to the bomb threat that was made Monday.

Link

Link

The Parliament just now ignored the pleas of the Central Bank and other financial/economic professionals to force the government to buy out all of the interest on loans taken by Kuwaitis. The result of the vote was 35 in favor and 22 naysayers.

I admit that I will benefit from this vote but I am extremely disappointed with this decision. The problem is the lack of foresight. Sadly, this has been a long-lasting trait of the MPs. Some of the MPs unfortunately decided to gain popularity at the expense of the well-being of the whole economy.

What do you guys think?

فيديو مقدم من الجبهة الشعبية لمكافحة الجمبزة (جشكج) مضحك لدرجة البكاء

نقدمه لكم مع تحفظنا على بعض ما جاء فيه

Link

Sout Al-Kuwait is a civic lobby group protecting personal and social freedoms through the activation and preservation of the rights stipulated in the Kuwaiti constitution. The Group meets its target through organized media campaigns, public relations and direct communication with the Parliament member and other State decision makers. Since its establishment, the Group published several booklets and brochures providing simplified review of constitutional rights, their impact and importance, and their conflict with some of the current legislations – (available on www.soutalkuwait.com). Sout Al-Kuwait also participated in several exhibitions, rallies, and carnivals in an attempt to educate the youth about the Constitution articles and relate them to our daily lives. We lead several educational activities in schools, colleges and universities introducing students to concepts like citizenship, human rights, constitutional rights and encouraging their involvement in volunteer civic and social work.

One of our most important events is the celebration of the anniversary of the  Constitution of Kuwait which was signed off by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem in November 11, 1962. This year we plan a grand carnival in front of the Kuwait Parliament (Sahat Al Irada). This event will be a collaborative effort by other NGOs and some civic groups. It is a family event filled with activities suitable to all ages and interests. There will be a special area for children and another for art and poetry  national music band lead by Belal Al-Shami and many other outdoor activities. Participants will be taken through the amazing journey of the Constitution in a fun and friendly environment.

We hope that you and your family will join us celebrating the Constitution anniversary this year on Wednesday, November 11 in front of the Parliament from 5:30 to 10 pm.

Special thanks go to the following for helping us spread the word:

360 Dewan

Ansam

Blushberry

Buzberry

Frankom

iLSul6ana

P0ach

PuddleOfRed

SOME contrast

Zdistrict

يطل علينا النواب كل يوم بتصرفات تحفة خارجة عن الاحساس والمسئولية .. والأدب

ولكن .. أن يكون التجاوز على حقوق الآخرين وذوي الاحتياجات الخاصة !! في اعتقادي أن النائب لم يتعدى على حقوق المعاقين .. وانما في الحقيقة هو من يحتاج إلى هذا الموقف لأن عنده إعاقة في .. مخه

تاريخ النشر : 3/10/2009

المصدر : جريدة الوطن

Since Al Watan’s website is still down, I found this headline this morning from Al Zebda. Apparently, our MPs are gracious enough to finally forget their own personal differences and think of the poor Kuwaiti public.

Our MPs are now pushing on for the government to buy out Kuwaiti’s loans in one way or another. Their latest plan is to give each employee a 7,500 KD grant and another 7,500 in loans to help the in-debt Kuwaitis. If this thing went through then of course I will benefit, who doesn’t? But this policy of buying citizens’ content is something I strongly disagree with. Now, I know that the Kuwaiti debt problem stemmed from both banks (through lack of Central Bank’s inactivity) and people who just sign the dotted line with reading the fine print.

MPs, especially Dr. Bo Ramiya, saw this problem as a base for their popular support and to be honest with you I don’t blame them that much. If Kuwaitis vote for whoever bails them out of their mistakes with no consideration to long term repercussions then we should expect to see the continuation of MPs (with lack of foresight) gracing the Parliament building.

If the whole Kuwaiti labor force got a 7,500 KD grant from the government then it would surely affect the inflation rate… is this what we want? I know it would kickstart the economic cycle but I worry about what would the average Kuwaiti do with this money… I think we, generally speaking of course, would apply for new loans without reading the fine print and, lo and behold, a vicious cycle is born.

Recently we were contacted by the Model United Nations AUK Administration requesting us to share with our readers an exciting upcoming event here’s what they want to share:

Dear Delegates,

It is our pleasure to invite you to apply for the first university level Model United Nations conference in the State of Kuwait: the American University of Kuwait’s Model United Nations Conference. The Conference will be held from 19-21 November at the American University of Kuwait.

We are eager to see newcomers as well as experienced delegates take part in lively debate in one of the three committees, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Security Council and the General Assembly. Please check out our background guide for each committee before submitting your preferences in the application form.

Participation in this conference will require no delegate or delegation fee. Some international delegations are eligible for free travel tickets for the 3-day conference.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for any inquiries. or visit the conference’s website: http://www.auk.edu.kw/munauk

The conference committee is looking forward to your participation in AUKMUN this November.

The Model United Nations at the American University of Kuwait.

So make sure to make a note in your calendars for this coming event and lets show them our support.

اللي يقدر يعرف شنو هالمحل أو يقدر يفسر شنو المكتوب  له جائزة

Another lovely news snippet, this time from today’s Al Qabas newspaper:

Well, not paying MPs’ salaries for three months is bad enough… Obviously if it happened to me then I would not be pleased. We don’t blame them for pointing fingers or saying that they are having a financial difficulty, although a tiny difficulty.

But what really disturbed me is that from what I understood from Dr. Ali Al Omair’s quote, some of the new MPs don’t even have the basic prerequisites of living and working in Kuwait, by that I mean BANK ACCOUNTS. Now that is really bad news, some lawmakers don’t have bank accounts and might get their salaries in a folded up brown envelope.

How’s that for Kuwait’s public image… I know we live in a desert and everything but come on! This is ridiculous!

I just hope that the article meant that these new MPs still did not register their bank accounts with the Parliament’s Public Foundation. If that’s the case then I demand an edit of that article.

Today is a proud day for all Kuwaitis…

The Parliament have successfully  removed the diplomatic immunity from the following MPs:

(Long breath)

• Mohammad Hayef
• Mubarak Al Wa’alan
• Sa’adoon Hamad
• Hussain Mazyad
• Shoaib Al Mowaizry
• Sa’ad Al Khanfoor
• Mubarak Al Khurainej

and

• Ali Al Diqbasy

The reason for this long overdue action is to finally implement the law that forbids organizing primaries in Kuwait.

For more information please check out Alaan’s coverage.

Now that’s more like it! :)

Update:

Maybe that’s the reason the Minister of Interior didn’t do anything to stop this year’s primaries this year… He was probably too busy getting the information and evidence he wanted to indict them.

Jaber Al Khaled 1-0 Primary Candidates :)

Do you want to know the what is going on today in the Parliament? Want to have the latest updates on the grilling session from Musallam Al Barrak but can’t leave your desk?

Well, go to Alaan’s news website for the latest updates. You will find some unexpected surprises!

(Unfortunately, the updates are only in Arabic)

Update:

Check out Al Ommah’s site for a more detailed update…

Thanks Bo9ale7!

رولا دشتي حازت على اكثر الاصوات حتى بعد ما اعلنت عن معارضتها تشكيل اللجنة و انتخاب حسن جوهر و فيصل الدويسان و سالم النملان و جمعان الحربش

الخبر الاهم هو سقوط الطبطبائي و هايف من اللجنة

:)

المصدر

Update:

سالم النملان استقال من اللجنة ليحل مكانه هايف كونه العضو الاحتياطي الاول

يا فرحة ما تمت