2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003We found 8,143 results for your search.
A friend sent me the video above of a Volkswagen XL1 at the local dealers garage. The XL1 is a hybrid car that costs around KD40,000 and is limited to only 250 units worldwide.
Definitely an eye turner since it looks like a car from the future. [YouTube]
Thanks Manae
Back in October I wrote about Keith Wells, a British journalist who was living in Kuwait back in the 70s. Keith used to work for Arab Times and in his spare time he also used to write books about Kuwait, including a witty series on a character named Wizr who was Kuwait’s greatest driver. Between 1979 and 1984, Keith released three Wizr books which I’m lucky enough to own all three. A few days ago Keith got in touch with me and I asked him if he could tell me how it all started. This is what he shared with me:
I originally wrote the stories for the Arab Times which became very popular. Then I met Peter McMahon at a party, and he hadn’t read any of the stories and asked, “Who is this Wizr character?” “I said, he’s the young, trendy Kuwaiti guy with the scarlet Transam with the eagle decal on the bonnet.’ So Peter picked up a sheet of paper,scribbled away for a minute or two, then held it out and asked “Him?” It was perfect. Thereafter we became close friends. I’d write a story, take it to his flat every Friday, and he’d give me the cartoon from the week before’s story. He somehow drew exactly what I’d imagined. The combination became very popular indeed and after a month or two we were approached by Tony Jashanmal, who owned a department store on Fahed Salem St, and Bashir Khatib, who owned the Kuwait Bookshop to publish a book full of the stories. We had a 3 way partnership to print the book at The Arab Times and Launched it at the British Embassy Garden Fete in November 1979, a week or so before I married Suzi. We sold 428 copies in about two hours… amazing.
We carried on for just over a year, then Peter was murdered by Saddam Hussein’s goons, long sad, sad story… but the upshot was that I sort of lost the fun, we put out the second Wizr book with cartoons we hadn’t used in the first one. And the third book with odd scraps and recycled pics. By then it was getting a bit heavy with the Iran Iraq War getting very dangerous and I left the Arab Times and took a very low profile job teaching at the university of Kuwait. After 4 years there I went back to the paper and wrote more stories with an Indian cartoonist called Edgar, but they were never collected in book form. I left Kuwait in June ’87. We emigrated to Oz in Oct 1989, and the following March I had a massive heart attack in a small town in southern Queensland. After recovering, we spent the rest of our working lives doing PhDs in Communication Studies, and setting up Comm Depts in various universities and colleges in Macau, Singapore, Morocco, The Bahamas and Puerto Rico.
I’ve been a bit of a hermit since retiring in ’07, but am beginning to re-emerge and was very surprised and grateful for the interest in Wizr and Dozi and his pals. Someone told me a few years ago that the fabulous cartoon of Dozi with the two rubber stamps “PERHAPS” and “PERHAPS NOT” is to be found in many offices to this day. Peter would have loved that.
– Keith Wells
The Qatar Digital Library have published an article about a scandal in Kuwait in the 1930s when one restaurant was accused of using cat meat instead of mutton. It’s an interesting read and it also sounds like an incident that could take place today. Kuwait really hasn’t changed much. [Link]
This postcard picture is from the 1960s. Kids celebrating Christmas with Santa Claus near Al Jahra gate and Ministry of Finance in Fahad Alsalem Street. – via @abdullahalkhonaini
A few weeks back I got tagged in an Instagram account of a mother that was hand making Christmas ornaments. The post stated the following: “All Christmas related orders will not be accepted as my family and I are being threatened.” Turns out the mother was getting threats by an Islamic fundamentalist.
This reminded my of an incident I had to personally deal with when it came to q8books. Last year we publicized a “Spooky Book Night” writing competition during Halloween. The purpose of the competition was to get young adults to be creative and express themselves and although a good amount of school students took part and enjoyed it, I started getting threats by email, non-stop. They claimed that they will not support the bookstore anymore and that celebrating a western day is illegal according to commercial law. Funnily enough they didn’t know I was a commercial lawyer at the time and I had never heard of any such laws. So I respectively answered back asking them to highlight laws in question and also giving each one of them a free voucher for books (I honestly thought those people needed to be educated more).
Anyways what I am trying to say is that these people are intolerant and have no legal basis. Kuwait is a civil country and there is no commercial law that makes celebrating Christmas illegal. Also the Kuwaiti constitution clearly states that we all have freedom of belief so its such a shame that I have to write about such issues. I honestly do not understand how celebrating other religions is an offense to Islam. Just keep in mind people of different religions come to Kuwait and give back to our community, they leave their families and its not easy for them. They deserve to celebrate their believes. Be kind, be tolerant, respect others and don’t just repeat what other people are saying without taking a minute to think about it yourself. I sincerely apologize that I have been preaching of late, Merry Christmas to my Christian brothers and sisters and happy new year to all of you.
Feel free to email me [email protected] with any legal questions. I do not have the capacity to answer everyone for free (but I try), and I am happy to annanounce that I am currently working with a great team and therefore we are able to reply back to all emails with a reasonable time frame.
Post by Fajer Ahmed – Legal Counsel
The legal opinions expressed in this post are those of the author Fajer. Opinions expressed by Mark or any other writer on mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com are those of the individual’s and in no way reflect Fajer’s opinion.
According to a tweet by Al Arabiya News Channel, expats in Kuwait can now own 100% share in a company without the need for a Kuwaiti partner. I am not sure how accurate this information is since I haven’t been able to find a second source but Al Arabiya is considered a reliable source. I’m not going to pop open the non alcoholic champagne bottle just yet though, not until it’s officially announced somewhere else. [Link]
Big Show, Vince McMahon, R-Truth, Summer Rae, and Alicia Fox all from the WWE were recently in Kuwait visiting the US troops. Other than Vince McMahon I have no clue who the others are but damn Summer Rae is pretty hot. [Link]
Thanks Tuan
This past weekend the Kuwait Mile event was held where around 500 cars signed up to race down a mile long strip of the highway. The event was a success with lots of interest but sadly there were two accidents (which I am aware of) that took place that day. Accidents at a racing event are absolutely normal but what I was surprised with was the lack of safety barriers between the track and the crowd.
In the video on top of one of the accidents, the car loses control and luckily crashes into the barrier on the left. If the car had headed to the right instead then there might have been some serious injuries since there was only a metal fence separating the viewers from the track (check the screen grab above).
After I found out about the accident I started checking out photos and videos of the event and noticed a fire truck parked on the side of the track. I quietly thought to myself that can’t be safe for the driver if his car crashes into it and I thought of the Jules Bianchi crash in Suzuka this past year. Later on in the day a car crashed hard into the fire truck and luckily missed some firemen who were standing next to the truck as well.
It’s pretty cool that more motorsporting events are taking place in Kuwait but a catastrophic incident at one event would end up setting us back a very long time.
Over the weekend Kuwait Airways received their first new leased A320 plane. It’s their first new plane in 16 years and although no official photos of the interior have been released they should look similar to the renderings pictured below. This is the first plane of twelve that Kuwait Airways leased which has arrived.
Not sure how accurate this report by the World Health Organization is but Kuwait has the lowest alcohol consumption rate in the world. The reason I doubt the accuracy is because:
(a) Because alcohol is illegal in Kuwait so the majority drink in secret and I highly doubt with admit to it on a survey
(b) They list beer as the most consumed alcoholic drink in Kuwait when in fact it should be spirits
For those curious Saudi Arabia came second after Kuwait as the lightest-drinking country while Belarus came first as the heaviest-drinking country. Check out the BBC Booze Calculator [Here] and the WHO report [Here]
via BlogBaladi
Can anyone confirm if Oprah is in Kuwait? I got an email from a reader telling me she was at Avenues yesterday. If she is in Kuwait anyone know why?
Update: Turns out its the Oprah Winfrey lookalike Caroline Hodge [Link]
I just realized it’s Friday and that yesterday I forgot to post the activities list for this weekend. So better late than never here is the list for today and tomorrow:
Friday
Musica: Evita
KLL Car Boot Sale
Standup Comedy: Warehouse No. 005
Music: Karen Edwards
Saturday
The Secret Garden Project
Bright Minds Winter Bazaar
Kreate 4.0
Rooftop Movie: Synecdoche, New York
Over the weekend two local rugby teams competed in the Gulf Men’s Open that was held in Dubai, the Kuwait Lions RFC (pictured below) and the Kuwait Scorpions (pictured above). Not only did both teams perform really well but the Kuwait Scorpions went all the way and won the Gulf Men’s Open tournament!
The Kuwait Scorpions team was established in Kuwait back in the 1940s and it’s great that they’re not only still around, but they’re also kicking ass. Here is a link to the Kuwait Scorpions Facebook page and here is the link to the Kuwait Lions RFC page.
I decided to be a lawyer because I strongly believe that if more people have their rights and get justice, kuwait would be a better place. Even though I am not really helping much, I am still humble and grateful that I get a chance to post here and create some sort of awareness (thank you kindly Mark). I know my topics might be negative lately, but remember I get inspired to write by the cases I have and the emails I receive.
Some of the companies out there are MONSTERS (not the cute ones like monster inc but more like I don’t know I am not really into sci-fi) but seriously some companies are evil.
I have noticed in the past few years an increase in cases dealing with contractors. Contractors are brought to Kuwait from their home country and put to work doing various jobs for companies or entities that are from their home country. These contractors are told that because they work for their countries Army or Navy or whatever, then Kuwaiti Labor Law doesn’t apply to them but their countries law does. NOT TRUE YOU EVIL ******!
If you are working as a contractor for I don’t care who in Kuwait, it doesn’t matter if it’s for the King of Utopia or Queen Elizabeth. If you have a working permit and you are registered under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour then Kuwait Labour Law applies to you. So what does that mean?
You get paid overtime! I have noticed that some contractors have signed a contract that says they are willing to work 12 hours a day. Fortunately though, the law clearly states that the employee can not agree on something different than what the law states unless it’s beneficial for the employee (contractor). The law states maximum 8 hours, so unless you think working 12 hours a day without overtime is beneficial for you, you can ask for compensation for all your hard work. Also:
– The law also requires the sponsors to open a Kuwaiti bank account for contractors and transfer the contractors salary to the bank account. These sneaky companies pay the contractors in their bank accounts back home and deposit small amounts of money in a Kuwaiti bank account, making the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor believe that the contractor’s salary is a lot less than what they really make. Since compensation is based on salary, these contractors won’t be getting compensated fairly.
– Termination indemnity, yes you heard it right, contractors deserve termination indemnity in accordance to Kuwaiti Labor Law.
– Days off in accordance to Kuwaiti Labor Law.
– All other rights in accordance to Kuwaiti Labor Law (please read my labor law post for more information).
If you are a contractor and you are being mistreated and you want your rights, please let me know ask@fajerthelawyer (or any other legal questions). I do not have the capacity to answer everyone for free (but I try), and I am happy to announce that I am currently working with a great team and therefore we are able to reply back to all emails with a reasonable time frame.
Post by Fajer Ahmed – Legal Counsel
The legal opinions expressed in this post are those of the author Fajer. Opinions expressed by Mark or any other writer on mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com are those of the individual’s and in no way reflect Fajer’s opinion.
Lots of things to do this weekend but my personal picks are the following. The Cinderella Pantomime definitely but the tickets are all already sold out so if you hadn’t already booked you’re out of luck. In case you don’t have tickets to Cinderella then I’d do the rooftop movie tonight. For Friday I’d start off with the Red Bull Bar Bahr race for a bit, then I’d stop by the kite event at Al Kout on the way back before heading to the end of year gifts bazaar. On Saturday I’d start off with the secret garden in the morning, followed by Qout Market and finally I’d pass by and check out the Motocross Race. Here is the full list of events for this weekend:
Thursday
Exhibition: Honolulu by Arwa Abouo
Exhibition: Bird’s Eye View by Ali Cherri
Study in the UK
Panto 2014 – Cinderella
Rooftop Movie: Prisoners
Friday
Panto 2014 – Cinderella
Red Bull Bar Bahr Race
End of Year Gifts Bazaar
Kite Event at Al Kout
14th Annual Christmas Concert
Saturday
Panto 2014 – Cinderella
The Secret Garden Project
Qout Market
Motocross Race
Camel Races
Book Signing: Liltera R Williams
Rooftop Movie: The Brothers Bloom
K’S PATH Shelter Open Day
If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
Update: Added the K’S PATH Shelter Open Day
