2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Turns out in one of the leaked documents that were released by Wikileaks they talk about bloggers in Kuwait. This is from back in 2005 when we were only a few blogs but even if the information is outdated it still gives an interesting glimpse to how we were viewed. Nibaq from the now defunct KuwaitBlogs.com gets a mention as well.

The freaky thing is the fact that the US Government was spying on the bloggers. According to the leak, someone from the embassy attended a bloggers meet up to get more details on who the bloggers were. Makes you wonder if any other government spied on us as well or if the US government spied on us again after that meeting.

Check out the full document [Here]

via Kuwaitiful

Update: According to Talal (who was mentioned in the wiki), the officer from the US Embassy actually identified himself as being from the Embassy and also told them he was trying to get some information for the Cultural Affairs. So that’s not spying.

I was at Shaab Park last night and spotted these signs on all the carnival games. Basically if you win, that’s it, you’re done and you can’t play the game until a week passes by. I’m not sure how they even track your wins but that has to be the stupidest rule ever.

Hard to believe but I shot the picture above in Salmiya. I love the wooden bridge over the water and I love how very green the whole area is.

The Avenues have responded in regards to the notice in today’s paper on not being allowed to use the Avenues name, pictures or anything related. Basically that notice was for people who were using the Avenues brand for commercial purposes.

We would like to affirm to our friends and followers on social media networks that your efforts to follow activities of The Avenues Mall are greatly appreciated, and we always stand ready to provide you with the latest news.

With regard to the ad published in some of the newspapers, it refers to the use of the name and the logo of The Avenues Mall in some of the programs and projects on the World Wide Web, as well as to websites that are using the logo of The Avenues as their own logo when in fact they do not represent the company. This is in violation of intellectual property rights. The ad is in no way making reference to your coverage of our activities on social media networks, which is an aspect that we are always keen on further enhancing with you.

We thank you for your interest and we express appreciation for your efforts.

I’ve got a bunch of shows I’m currently enjoying but my favorite has to be Suits. If you read the description it won’t sound exciting but it’s really a great show about two lawyers but it’s nothing like regular lawyer shows. Check out the trailer below.

[YouTube]

Not sure if it’s being aired on Showtime but it’s available in the iTunes Store and on Hulu.

This is very odd. On the front page of Al Rai newspaper there is a notice from Avenues saying that we can no longer mention Avenues, talk about Avenues or post pictures of Avenues without getting written permission first. That includes, newspapers, magazines, blogs etc…

I’m not sure why they would release something like this. I guess from now on I’ll refer to Avenues as Alshaya Mall?

Thanks Salah

Update: The Avenues have responded [Link]

If you guessed telecom antenna you guessed right. Never seen one shaped like a water tank before.

Thanks Saud

Just an update regarding the annoying SMS’s I was getting from the number 50122, I am no longer getting them and no one else is either. It just stopped overnight, my guess is someone saw my post and investigated the incident and shutdown the service. Pretty cool.

After my previous post comparing internet in Kuwait to Lebanon I was made aware that local internet providers just slashed their prices by 45% a couple of days back. A 2Mbps connection now costs around KD120-130 a year depending on your provider which is pretty cool. You can check out the new prices below:

Fasttelco Prices
Gulfnet Prices
KEMS Prices
Qualitynet Prices

Update: I was checking my account history and found the prices I was previously paying for my internet subscription with Qualitynet and I realize now they were super expensive compared to the new ones. Check them out:

July 2007
1Mbps (2Mbps free for first 3 months)
KD506 a year

July 2008
1Mbps (2Mbps free for 12 months)
KD380 a year

July 2009
1Mbps (2Mbps free for 12 months)
KD361 a year

If you want to appreciate your internet connection in Kuwait all you need to do is spend a few days in Lebanon. Most internet connections there are 256Kbps or 512Kbps and it’s just really really horrible. But there is some good news and that’s starting next month everyone’s connection in Lebanon is going to get a huge boost. Check the old and new speed/prices above to get an idea on how it compares with Kuwait.

You’ll notice with the new speed and prices, internet in Lebanon is actually going to be cheaper than Kuwait but what I want to highlight here is the download caps. Those caps listed above are the monthly download caps NOT daily ones. Imagine having a 2Mbps internet connection with just a 20GB monthly cap! I got pissed when my 2Mbps connection here in Kuwait got capped at 85GB a month but it’s like 4 times as bad in Lebanon. It really sucks.

When I first heard that the orange Chihuly sculpture at 360 Mall got damaged I got really upset since I imagined a large chunk of it had fallen to the ground. Luckily my imagination had run wild and the damage turned out to be barely visible. I passed by 360 Mall earlier tonight and actually had a hard time spotting the damage which is great.

If you’re curious to know how both the Chihuly sculptures were built check out these pictures that were taken during the installation. [Link]

The wrong Tripoli. [Link]

Thanks Caline

I don’t miss the weather, but I do miss my internet *hugs modem*

Just an update on whats going on with the Benihana lawsuit. Back in late April I posted about how I won the lawsuit against Benihana and how I thought it was a great victory since it reinforced the right for us bloggers in Kuwait to state our personal opinions. Well around a month after the victory Benihana appealed the courts decision which is their right to do and we headed to court once again. Except the second time it didn’t go so well.

Yesterday I found out that the court ruled in favor of Benihana and have ordered me to now pay them the sum of KD1,000. The court still hasn’t released their decision for this ruling and I have to wait around 2 weeks to find that out. I of course will be appealing the decision and be heading back to court to defend our right of freedom of expression. Once I have anymore updates will post them here.

If you have no idea what lawsuit I am talking about click [Here]

A reader recently filled an online survey for Jazeera Airways that was all around the topic of them introducing a reward program. I was signed up to the Wataniya Airways rewards program and I’m also signed up to a number of other airlines reward program as well but since I usually fly with Jazeera most of the time it would be great if they started a reward program as well.

Thanks Aidan