BLS CHRISTMAS BAZAAR

THE British Ladies Society CHRISTMAS BAZAAR ALL are welcome and it's free to enter. Tuesday 1st December 2.30pm til 6.30pm The Lobby, Moevenpick Hotel and Resort Al Bida Come enjoy all the festive fun and start shopping for Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving Eid

Tomorrow is the American holiday of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving historically was a harvest festival to thank God (and the American Indians) for helping the pilgrims (new arrivals to America) in surviving a harsh environment and cold winter. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general.

Eid Al-Adha follows Thanksgiving this year when pilgrims returning from Mecca are returning home and giving thanks for their blessings and safe journey.

It is an overall good time to be grateful. So, on this occasion, I would like to thank each of you for your small kindnesses, your friendship, and your support.

Happy Thanksgiving and happy Eid to you and your families and God bless you!

Desert Girl Down - WAAAAAAAAA

I’m totally depressed/oppressed at the moment. I’ve had some poop happen at work and it is the holiday season. First, Thanksgiving away from family is always hard. Next, it will be Eid and I’m not looking forward to another “I’m too busy to see you” day, making me feel ever so important and valued. I’ve been checking into flights to DC all morning – hoping to be able to surprise my family at the dinner table for Thanksgiving. I talked to my mom on the phone and she sounded down so I want to go even more.

Sometimes bad things happen at home at work, with friends, with people you love. Sometimes you feel like crap and you just want to depend on someone and then the someone you depend on most lets you down. I’m not having a good day. I really would like to get on that flight home tomorrow night.

It will pass I’m sure. I rarely have to depend on anyone, anytime so it just makes me a stronger person – and makes me value Desert Dawg much more. Everything happens for a reason.

Pass me the chocolate and my fuzzy slippers. When I get my salary, I'm buying myself jewelry and flowers.

Good Thanksgiving Deal

If you haven't been to the new Sultan Center in Hawalli - GO there. It is the closest to a US-style super market in Kuwait. I was really impressed. More variety, different types of food, wide aisles, counters in accessible areas.

You can't really find a decent T-day meal at a restaurant in Kuwait. I think the closest is probably the Crowne Plaza, but they still don't get it right.

TSC has these deals for Thanksgiving every year. the price is 14.500 and you get a whole Butterball Turkey (5 kilo), gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, green beens or sweet corn, mashed ppotatoes, dinner rolls (12ct), and pumpkin or apple pie (6"). Must have 24 hours prior notice. Phones Salmiya: 25719620, Kout, 23930511, Hawalli, 22642854.

I don't have plans. Hint. Invite me. Hint.

Blame it on the foreigners - again!

This is some of the dumbest shyt I've read in a loooooooooooooong time:

Non-Kuwaiti Wives Blamed

Arab Times, Local, 22 November 2009

A number of social and psychological specialists (WHICH ones? Qualify statements, newspapers!!!!) disclosed the issue of Kuwaiti men marrying foreigners has caused an increase in the percentage of spinsters in the country, which meddles in the process of raising of the kids (is that even possible if they are spinsters?? Poor writing.), reports Al-Shahid daily.

The specialists (again, which specialists and what qualifies them to be a specialist?) noted the phenomenon has caused the emergence of social problems in the country (as if social problems weren't already here). They added foreign women consider Kuwaitis as mobile banks (Puhleeeeze – the majority of Kuwaitis these days are middle class and some with government jobs make less than 1000 KD a month – do they consider that a “bank”?) and deal with them in relation to this concept.

Moreover, they stressed that marriages without intimacy and compassion will definitely fail. (Ok that has nothing to do with the rest of the story. In what context? Does it mean that Kuwaiti men are marrying foreigners for more or less compassion/intimacy?)

- - - End - - -

Here is my thing, maybe the women just don't want to get married. Did the "experts" ever consider that? Maybe society is changing. Maybe because of the archaic family law in Kuwait, women in the country have seen marriage as something different - servitude. And at the end, what happens? Dude cheats (which is legal in Kuwait for the man) and/or marries a second wife. If the woman wants a divorce, she looses end-of-marriage money (which is similar to alimony that has been written into a marriage contract). On the flipside for men (in Sunni marriages), the mother always gets the kids.

There are also all kinds of home-grown Kuwaiti social issues like marrying into an "acceptable" family, the dowry, having to deal with Kuwaiti inlaws (which leads to quite a few divorces in Kuwait). The dowry is often quite high: clothes, jewelry, car(s), the promise of a house with servants, etc. Dude would HAVE to be a mobile bank to finance some of these requests.

Foreign women are less likely to hand their kids over to a nanny to raise. Did the "specialists" consider that? It is not unrealistic for Kuwaiti couples to have 2 or 3 nannies/maids to "help" with the kids.

As for the incentives for Kuwaitis to marry Kuwaitis - I know of at least 4 Kuwaiti couples who have married purely to receive the government incentive money. They split it, split up, and move on.

I think that before casting the first stone, the "specialists" should take a good hard look at their glass house.

Another nonsensical Municipality moment

Here's another thing I don't get - and call it "complaining" or call it my unique perception on life: Why does the municipality (baladia) take the time to chop down trees in the country when bozos like these have set up illegal structures - IN FIRE LANES? Hey, let's all endanger the lives of our co-workers and customers (and ultimately, firemen)... It is in between 2 clothing stores. You know - as in FLAMABLE materials....

Please note the fire hydrant to the bottom right of the photo.

You can't see it in the photo (as they are to the rear of the building) but there are steel bars on the windows. NO ESCAPE.

Where is the fire department?

Where have the local English magazines gone?

Have you ever wondered why there are so few English language magazines in Kuwait? I used to write for Kuwait Life and Kuwait This Month - both were excellent and full of information on life here in Kuwait. They are of particular importance to newcomers to Kuwait who look for things to do.

It was yet another example of Kuwait's "democracy" at work. When they went to renew their licenses, they were told that they would be put under the same category as newspapers. Therefore, the owners had to come up with a 250,000 KD bond. Poof - both magazines were out of business.

Isn't it pathetic?

Why doesn't the Ministry of Information launch their own magazine to inform English readers of happenings in Kuwait? They can fill it with as much propoganda as they want - just as long as it is information!

Agility - tsk tsk shaaaame

There are a lot of stories on this in the media today - including one at the bottom of Page 1 of the Arab Times. Looks like some people are going to be in deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep poo-poo.

These investigations have been going on for years and so far, no one at the top has gone to prison. I think it is probably just a matter of time.

Probably should have just given Kamal his props from the get-go. Pay him off or give him a percentage. As it is, he's been like a bulldog at your heels. He never did just go away, did he?



CNN: Kuwaiti company that supplies U.S. military accused of fraud

November 16, 2009 -- Updated 2211 GMT (0611 HKT)

Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- A Kuwaiti company that has been paid more than $8.5 billion (DG note: thats like the value of some small countries) to supply food and other items to the U.S. military in the Middle East has been indicted on multiple federal fraud charges, authorities announced Monday.

Public Warehousing Company KSC is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, committing major fraud against the United States, making false statements, submitting false claims and wire fraud, a six-count indictment states.

The company obtained contracts in May 2003, February 2005 and July 2005 to feed U.S. troops in Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan, said the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of Georgia, where the charges were filed.

"This indictment is the result of a multiyear probe into abuses in vendor contracts in the Middle East involving the illegal inflation of prices in contracts to feed our troops," said F. Gentry Shelnutt, who is serving as acting U.S. attorney on the case. "The indictment alleges PWC submitted false information and manipulated prices to overcharge for food."

Public Warehousing Company, also known as Agility, did not return a telephone message Monday.

The charges came after federal officials joined a 2005 whistle-blower suit by Kamal Mustafa al-Sultan, the owner of a Kuwaiti company that had partnered with Public Warehousing to submit a proposal on the food supply contracts, the Justice Department said. The case remained under seal to let federal officials investigate the allegations and determine whether the U.S. government would join the lawsuit.

The whistle-blower's civil complaint was filed in Atlanta.

According to the indictment, the company violated the False Claims Act by presenting false claims for payment, overcharging for locally available fresh fruits and vegetables, and failing to pass along to the U.S. government rebates and discounts it had obtained, as required by its contracts.

The indictment does not say how much the United States was allegedly defrauded, because the investigation is under way, officials said.

The investigation is being conducted by a team from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the FBI, the Army Criminal Investigation Command, auditors from the Defense Contract Audit Agency and the Defense Department.

"The defendants, tempted by monetary gain, betrayed the trust invested in them by the U.S. Army and now they must face the consequences," said Brig. Gen. Rodney Johnson, commander of Army Criminal Investigation Command.

- - - End - - -

Update: Big red letters, the headline of the Arab Times on Nov 18 reads, "Without merit'.... PWC denies US fraud charges." In the infamous words of Shaggy, "It wasn't me."

When the US Government uses the word "indictment" - that means they have enough evidence to send people to jail. The stories are naming names; you can check them out. Regardless of how Agility/PWC wants to spin it, it isn't going away. "Debarred" means you are out of the game. Over.

Monkey Drivers

On my way to work this morning, there were 2 drivers racing on 5^th Ring Road. One was in a bright red Lumina SS with tinted windows; the other was a black Grand Marquis. You would think the morons were 20-somethings, but nooooo…. These idiots were in their 40’s.

They were zigzagging in between cars, flashing their lights… acting like chimps on speed.

This is why I have high blood pressure. This is also why I leave my house promptly at 6:25 am every morning (to get to work on time by 7:30 am) to avoid traffic.

I wanted to BITCH SLAP both of them. I go into this trace/fantasy world where they get into accidents (with each other – not harming other drivers) and they aren’t terribly hurt, but just incapacitated and stuck in their cars with the windows rolled down. I go to the first, SLAP him hard across the face.. ‘This is for your wife!’ SLAP ‘This is for your kids.’ PUNCH ‘This is for me and all the other drivers on the road.’ PUNCH SLAP ‘This is for our collective families and children – born and unborn.’ Then, I repeat it with the second.

The Chosen Ones of the Universe… so they think.

Cirque D'Avenues

I dunno about you peeps, but to me The Avenues is a big circus. Slaps and I came up to this conclusion at the same time (she came up with the catchy name). We go there to watch.

Cirque D'Avenues!

Cirque D'Avenues is mesmerizing and extraordinary; the main event a continual parade of clowns in all different shapes and sizes. Clown make-up, clown clothes, clown shoes, clown hair. Some are sad clowns, some are happy clowns, some are horny clowns, some are scary clowns. They arrive stacked like wood in cars and get out in a never-ending procession.

There are the acrobats and contortionists. Lots of those, twisting and sticking out various body parts to the amazement of the audience. How DO they do that?

All the usual carnies are there: The Bearded Lady, the Tatoo Man, a 2-headed snake. And the animals! Shreeking, screaming, wailing scary animal acts!

Cirque D'Avenues takes place every weekend under the big top. There are lots of concession stands and even rides. Admission is free. Fun for the whole family!

Commenting on the Ironic

This is from http://www.6alabat.com/ - which I LOVE! Funny that "Anytime" restaurant is closed while the ice cream place they have listed is open. Apparently, "Anytime" refers only to 2pm to 10pm. I didn't know....

Cinemagic's Opening Night

Did anyone go to Cinemagic's opening night film, Russian film, "The Banishment"? There was a really cool crowd there - quite diverse. I'm just wondering what other people thought of the film. It was my first time there and I didn't know what to expect. I will definately go back - very cool. They serve refreshments, but there is also a concession stand downstairs. I noticed people brought their own food from fast food places and other people smoked.

The screenings are on the rooftop of the Excite (Al-Ghanim electronics) showroom in Salmiya.

If you would like to attend their showings, add them as a group on Facebook (Cinemagic Kuwait) and they will send you the event notifications.

(Photo from Cinemagic's Facebook site)

I'm very happy to see a small corner of culture in Kuwait. I just don't understand how they are getting away with it as anything that promotes thought here is illegal.

Camping on Friday the 13th

I had a great weekend. Any weekend that I get to go to the desert is a good weekend – even if I do almost get killed. Well, not really, but it was scary. First of all, the Man and I had planned to go out to the desert, bring Desert Dawg, and have a barbecue. We had planned it for some time – and stupid things always came up, so we weren’t able to go for a few weeks. We finally decided to go on Friday and went out to buy all the stuff. I thought The Man had a destination in mind. (Well, he did kinda but it turned out to be not at all what he thought.)

We got a late start and then drove and drove and drove towards Subiya. If you haven’t been out there lately – OMG! The highway towards the Boubiyan Causeway is THE place to go if you have a fast car. I can’t believe the road construction that is going on out there. The road in either direction is 3 lanes and brand-spankin-new. When/if I buy my new black-on-black Camero V8 6sp, I am definitely taking it out on that road at night: NO police and NO traffic cameras. The road is straight and the asphalt is new; ideal conditions for putting the hammer down. Top Gear, Kuwait style….

I digress (as usual).

Anyways, we drove all the hellandback down to the Boubiyan Causeway, took a left and headed towards the big mosque at the circle. It was 6:00. It was dark. I was hungry and cranky. Where the hell was this mystery place? The Man was driving me crazy – and to make matters worse, he got quiet and ignored my constant complaining. Dayam – there is nothing worse than a man who ignores you while you’re bitchin at him! He had no particular spot in mind. I was pissed (American term meaning angry rather than British meaning drunk – which would have been a F of a lot better than my mood!)

I told him to turn around and head back towards Mutla’a. So we did. We got close and I kindasorta recognized a road up the ridge and then told him to turn onto a dirt path leading up to a hill. He reluctantly did – although we were driving a stupid Envoy which is really crap on sand (he didn’t want to dirty HIS car!). We drove up, found a nice spot, and started the fire.

We brought everything imaginable – except jackets. It was humid and the wind was fierce. It got really dark, really fast. There were a few camps around, but people left early and there were fewer and fewer lights around us. Even the cars on the main road became less frequent. In the distance, there were high voltage towers and it was so quiet that we could hear the sizzle of electricity, which is a really weird sound. (I wonder how much electricity is escaping from those things. Does anybody ever check? Is that normal? Do you think campers may be electrocuted? I worry.)

We took a walk around with a flashlight and it was so dark that at one point, Desert Dawg almost went over a ridge into a deep ravine. Scared the bejezus out of The Man. Thank God, I didn’t see it happen. I just saw him grab her and hug her and tell her he loves her (who would have thought he would do that when I first met him! Big Bedu man telling a little dog that he loves her – it just warms my heart!).

At around 9:30ish, we decided to leave. We packed up and headed off the top of the hill. The only problem was – it was very dark and there were no lights at all. It was also really humid – almost to the point of fog. We totally lost our bearings. The Man would stop the car, get out with the flashlight (“torch” for you Brits) and check over the hills. (I was in the car giggling because in the soft sand, he was walking kinda effeminately – had a swish thing going on. Here he was, trying to save our lives and I’m laughing my ass off because he’s walking gay… back to the story…) Ok, to a certain extent, I am afraid of heights. I am really afraid of going over cliffs in the dark. I had visions of us careening over the side of Mutla’a ridge. It wasn’t pleasant. Oh, and I had to pee and I refused to go until I got home.

Thank God, we finally found the way down. It took us an hour to find the way out. Totally freaked me out (except for the gay part and yes, that still did freak me out but in a silly way).

Sometimes when you fear for your life, people deal with the stress in different ways. Like bitching, moaning, and complaining and giggling about an effeminate swish. Go figure. Hey baby – want some fries to go with that shake? (He's going to kill me when he reads this!)

We got home, I got to pee, we ordered some kanafa (comfort food), bathed, and went to sleep.

The Vegetable Market (Souq al Khuthara)

I have been past the veggie market about a gazillion times since I've lived in Kuwait and I've never actually been IN it. I went there this weekend and filled the equivalent of an entire shopping cart full of fruits and veggies for a whopping total of 7 KD. No Dorothy, you're not in Sultan Center anymore. I did go a little craaaaaaaazy, but OMG! It is wonderful! I split most of what I bought so that I could send some to Slapperella.

They have one whole area (enclosed in glass) that has local Kuwaiti produce, and 3 or 4 large areas with produce from other countries. They also have fresh eggs.

They are open on the weekends. From 60 (Ghazali), turn north at 3rd Ring (Canada Dry St). Pass Harley Davidson on left, London Center on Right. At circle, go right to Coal Circle (Dowar al Fahem) and the veggie market is on the left.

By the way, if you ever need items for camping (like aluminum grills, coal, teapots and cookware), Coal Circle is the place to go in Kuwait.

Desert Girl Pet Peeve of The Day: Kuwait and FIFA

Why can’t Kuwait get on board with FIFA? I don’t get it. There are so few things for Kuwaiti youth to do in the country (other than racing up and down highways and either dying or killing others). Why all the bureaucratic DRAMA at the sports clubs? Who suffers? Not the committee or board members. Not the guys making or breaking the rules. The players suffer. It’s stupid. Why do some in Kuwait feel that they are above the rules in the rest of the world as if the country is some kind of golden child of the universe? I don’t get why everything in Kuwait has to be a fight. This country thrives on nonsensical drama. If FIFA has rules – ABIDE by their rules, or get out of the game. Sports club rulers in Kuwait: JUST DO IT.

Day Spa for Men

Here ya go, guys... your very own day spa.

It looks nice. If you go there, let me know how your experience was!

Incase you can't read the fine print, it is located in the Behbehani houses complex downtown (near the Sheraton and church), Behbehani House #12. Website: www.thedayspa-kw.com, phone: 2249-6699