From the Arab Times article today:
Excerpt:

A study is being done on the possibility of unconstitutionally dissolving the Parliament, suspending the National Assembly for three years and amending Article 4 of the Constitution, say sources.

Safat Square also has an informative article on this issue.
Are the above plans seriously being considered behind the scenes or are they merely public relations saber-rattling by the government aimed at scaring off some MP’s intent on “quizzing” Ministers?
Discuss.

“Show me the money and you can *maybe* get your films.”

Dear Kuwaiti Customs Officer,

Thank you for working diligently in helping ‘protect’ Kuwait.

Please give the incoming DVD shipments a break.

Give the customers a break. Don’t charge people 200% customs fees on a $30 DVD movie. All you are doing is indirectly impacting trade between the US/Europe and Kuwait and encouraging people to buy pirated copies of DVDs – available on every street corner in Hawally and beyond.

If someone has the decency to abide by copyright laws and purchase films through www.amazon.com or other outlets, you should encourage, not discourage that. This is the age of Torrent feeds, of online movie download services, of piracy, you cannot impose intellectual or creative control on Kuwaitis anymore, so might as well just go with the flow. Why store hundreds of DVD shipments in your warehouse? Do you fear that there may be a copy of DEBBIE DOES DALLAS VI in there?

Officer, on a concluding note, please focus your formidable skills on weapons and drug smuggling, money laundering, radioactive material entering Kuwait and working with the Ministry of Information in eradicating piracy, both film and software.

Thank you. If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go watch my DVD of Cheech and Chong’s UP IN SMOKE.

Cheers.

It is sad and shameful when the Times Of India runs a piece condemning living conditions for Indians in Kuwait. The article is indicative of the power some Kuwaiti contracting companies have over the law. (LINK)

An Excerpt:

The protest was held on Monday by Indian, Egyptian and Filipino workers. “We live in inhuman conditions. We live in a desert in an uninhabited area. There are no telephones or modes of transportation. We have to drink polluted water, and the stench here is terrible. Also the place is infested with insects,” said Ashraf, one of the workers at the camp.

The workers are now almost imprisoned in the camp and can’t leave, the report in the Kuwait Times on Tuesday said. According to Ashraf, the municipality shut down the camp six months ago but the contracting company succeeded in reopening it.

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Albert Einstein

In 1998, while serving at the Embassy of Kuwait in Washington D.C, I was contacted by Mr. Eric Goldstein, Research Director, Middle East/Africa of ‘Human Rights Watch‘ for information concerning internet usage in Kuwait for an upcoming report he was authoring (The Internet In The Mid East And North Africa: Free Expression And Censorship).

I reported, with pleasure, to Mr. Goldstein that Kuwait did not possess any “laws or regulations that governed free speech online.” I was quite proud of that fact. I felt Kuwait was a vanguard of democracy and free speech in the Gulf.

The Kuwait Embassy Letter Published In The Report

Eight years later – there are forces working to restrict those same freedoms.

The Arab Times article:

Internet security
Later, the ministers discussed the final report on regulating the use of the internet and electronic publications in Kuwait, while the Information Minister Mohammad Nasser Al-Sanousi briefed the Cabinet on information security and safety when using the internet and managing websites. He also highlighted negative aspects related to the internet and how to overcome them through spreading awareness, and through educational, legislative, and technical means, thus allowing for optimum utilization of these technologies.

Bloggers and the “people power” revolution helped lead to the removal of corrupt elements in the government and made the “5 Constituencies” reform a reality. We eventually got our wish.

It is a part of Kuwait history we are all proud of.

However, it was only a matter of time before the elements that got seared by those freedoms demanded retribution.

The government didn’t exactly embrace the idea of thousands of people dismissing “controlled” newspapers by flocking directly to raw, uncensored, blunt political analysis and footage concerning corruption and the fight for constitutional freedoms on sites such as ‘Safat Square,’ among many other excellent websites. Therefore, they have decided to “regulate” the internet by imposing even more restrictions on free speech by discussing ways and means in which the “Press and Publications Law” can include clauses that will limit internet freedoms.

If the government continues on this path (i.e. legislation of internet use, limits on public assembly) it is going to help create an “external Kuwaiti opposition” (which we don’t have at the moment). This, in turn, will lead to more rhetoric and future civil unrest.

My advice to the government: Fix your leaky structure, live up to the ideals of the people, invest your resources in a wise manner, and propel us to the 21st century, instead of searching for endless creative methods of trampling on the Kuwaiti Constitution.

Kuwait Airways loves to live in denial it seems.

The airline whose technology and customer amenities are stuck in a 1982 time-warp returns with a vengeance! Yes, my friends, the airline that breaks down in midair and has to return to its point of origin; the airline whose own employees will admit to you has a ‘terrible maintenance and servicing record’; the airline that bumps confirmed passengers off a route in order to add VIPs or ‘friends’ of the staff; the airline that has been losing tens of millions of KD a year for decades and needs annual financial infusions from Parliament to keep it alive; yes, that airline.

Apparently it participated in some two-bit competition and won first prize (were the judges drunk?). Examine the advert above (courtesy of Story Of Kuwait and 2:48AM).

Who were the runner-ups? Tanzanian Express? Madagascar Airways? O’Reilly’s Flying Leprechaun?

Update: Due to popular demand (continuous “hits” on this thread as well as new comments) I am bumping up this April thread. This is an important topic that was raised during this blog’s infancy. So whoever missed it, here it is. I’m sure bloggers, in particular, feel strongly about the topic. Discuss.

My ISP Fasttelco has been in and out of service all day today.
I memorized this number: 88 6666, due to the sheer amount of problems they seem to have lately.
“What modem do you have?” asks the Rep.
“US Robotics.”
“Ok, switch it on and off and service will return.”
That was the initial time I called. Service disappeared after 20 minutes.
“What modem do you have?” the Rep asks.
“Habibi, if you have a problem just let me know and I will log on later,” I answer.
“Let me check.” 30 seconds later: “Yes, we have a problem with some of the “Centraals” – which area do you live in?”
“I live in ….”
“Yes, it might be why. Try again in 15 minutes.”
I try again in 30 minutes to be on the safe side. Turn modem on and again. It works. I know its active because the Skype icon is green and has a check on it, a sign the internet is on.
15 minutes later: dead.
“Hello, you guys have been having a problem all day. And apparently it still hasn’t been resolved.”
“What kind of modem do you have?”
“Listen, habibi, if you doing maintenance or have a problem can’t you send an email out or warn in advance or if it’s an infrastructure problem can’t you just let us know the actual -”
“Yes, it’s a problem and we are doing our best to resolve it,” admits the Rep.

A Comcast Screen
Now let me take you on a brief flashback to the U.S.; Washington DC to be exact. I had Comcast Cable for a brief amount of time (after fiber optics had been laid out in my area). I could access over 300 channels and was ecstatic with my cable modem, super fast and always stable.
That was the year 2000.
It’s 2006 in Kuwait, we’re fat with cash ($43 billion off oil sales) and many companies are popping up (apart from Qualitynet and Fasttelco) but the Ministry of Communications infrastructure and technical problems continue to plague us. Prices might be going down slightly, but they are still – in ratio to the services offered – very expensive. If you had slow down problems with Fast or Quality in 2001, or frequent disconnects, among other dilemmas, then you still have them today. Not much has changed.

Comcast-TIVO Box
Do these companies actually invest in their infrastructure and try to improve bandwidth and services, or do they just invest in marketing and by offering “gifts” to the Ministry of Communications employees to control their stranglehold?
If Kuwait is serious about being a signatory to the WTO treaty then the 3rd Mobile Telephone Company should be a foreign one in my opinion, preferably an American or Western one, not some European-Kuwaiti-Asian hybrid with an inexperienced Kuwaiti management handpicked by special interests or groups.
Give me Time Warner cable or Comcast over any ISP in Kuwait.
Give me Verizon or Cingular over Wataniya or MTC in Kuwait.
Give me AMC Theatres over Cinescape any day.
Give me Barnes and Noble over Kuwait Bookstore or Jareer any day.
Is this a rant? You bet it is. We are a rich country. And everywhere you look, you see construction, but the infrastructure and technology services here are abysmal. By the time we get High Definition Television (HDTV) it will probably be the year 2015.
You and I know no matter how much surplus Kuwait makes either from oil or investments it will be squandered; we will end up with substandard companies and services based on the cheapest tender or being allocated to someone’s powerful cousin. And we’ll end up with pipes being dug out of roads every two years so someone can make a maintenance fee at the expense of our environment and people’s health, safety and comfort.
This is the era of marketing in Kuwait. Pretty billboards, nice ring tones, artsy commercials, all hyping products, promising you comfort and efficiency. There is a serious disconnect; however, a lag, a large distance between what marketing promises and what the product itself and the customer service can deliver. This is true everywhere, but is especially true in Kuwait.
Who loses? You, the customer loses. You have no choice and are forced to pay for substandard services.

Here is an update on the power outages in Kuwait (Link). Electricity has been going out in different areas of Kuwait today, sometimes for an hour or more. They are expected to last for between five to ten days and may occur in the afternoons

So get those candles and supplies out just in case your area gets affected. Considering it’s over 50 degrees outside, this won’t be easy.

I’m going to refrain from my usual rant about government inefficiency and lack of planning (you can all rejoice!).

Can Someone Fill These Up, Please? (Photograph by Mark)
I live in a residential area within the city. There is no water.
This is the third time this summer that I have had to call a water truck to pass by the house.
The “planning” in this country is appalling. What use were all the ministries (planning, interior), “supreme councils,” census bureaus ad infinitum if they could not predict years ago that – based on our growing population – we would have a water crisis? And if they did come across such a piece of information, why didn’t they act on it.
The last five years have been very good to us. An oil windfall. We are fat with cash and still basic services (water, mail, phones etc) are lacking. It is the government’s responsibility to effectively use resources to provide its citizens basic goods and services, not Parliament’s.
The Kuwaiti government desires to implement Income Tax in Kuwait? A government that cannot even allocate basic services such as water, electricity and an efficient postal system?
You’ve got to be kidding me.
The powers that be will spend more time fighting over who or what company gets what cut than actually implementing anything.