Search: “kuwait”

This is a home video shot by an Eastern European family back in the mid 80’s. There are a lot of scenes around Kuwait, I spotted Fahad Al Salem Street in Kuwait City in one scene. There are also some scenes taken during the National Day celebration (no foam!). Not only that but at around 7:15 into the video they have a drive by video of old Salmiya, specifically Salem Mubarek Street where Waleed Toys is! I completely forgot about the Electronic Appliances Corp shop!! Then you get to see the Alamiah store with the MSX being advertised in the display. I wished they had filmed more of Salmiya, it looks really clean and alive in the video, not the like ugly shape it’s in now. [YouTube]

Warning: The video contains scenes of women in bikinis

Islamist parliamentarians yesterday proposed a law that would punish women who wore bikinis at the beach with up to one year in prison.

I hope this isn’t true. [Link]

Note: The source is not Kuwait Times

Last week I posted about how you could order an ambulance online via Kuwait’s EMS website. Well someone from the EMS commented with the following bit of information:

Thank You For The feedback..
I work for E.M.S Kuwait and this is a Non-Emergency Ambulance request, so in case of emergency you can always use the number 112. The form only requires you to fill the basic requests in order to avoid any sort of confusion like the name of the patient, age, sex and the location where the patient is located and the location to where he is to be transported. The code at the end is to make it secure from spammers.

As soon as some one clicks submit the form will be visible in the control room located in Subhan. An operator will then call to confirm that the request is a genuine case and will arrange the ambulance at the specified time for the genuine cases.

The system Installed in Subhan E.M.S is a world class one, so if anyone of you has the time please visit us in Subhan. All the ambulances in Kuwait are now fitted with laptops with a navigation system installed. Its not a regular navigation software alone but also contains a lot of other information that is passed on from the Control room like the location, age, name, condition of the patient etc. There is a new pre question and answer software as well. In emergency cases the operator will give the necessary instruction to the patient or the third party on how to do basic life support procedures like CPR. The system is developed by CyberMAK which is the I.T wing of M.A Kharafi.

Here is a link to the EMS Kuwait website [Link]

Not sure how many people know this but you can customize the main icons on the bottom of the Kuwait Blogs app. In the latest version I have my blog, Fahad’s blog, Buz Fairy and Me Blogging but you can set up any of your favorite blogs instead. All you need to do is click on “More” and then click on “Edit” on the top right. Now you can just drag and drop your favorite blogs down to the bottom bar.

There is a minor bug currently where you can’t read the names of the 4 most bottom blogs in the edit page. I couldn’t figure out how to fix that honestly. From now on for every update I will have 3 random blogs other than mine set up by default at the bottom. They will most probably be blogs which I think are good but aren’t getting the attention they should be getting.

If you haven’t downloaded the Kuwait Blogs app already click [Here]

It looks like the camera ban was just a rumor since Kuwait Times have posted a retraction! [Link]

On Saturday, November 20, 2010 the Kuwait Times published an article titled ‘Multi ministry camera ban frustrates artists’ in which incorrect information was provided. The newspaper regrets failing to verify the information. The article wrongly stated that a ban on DSLR cameras was implemented by the Ministries of Information, Social Affairs and Finance. This information is false. In a follow up investigation, it was proved that no such ban has been issued. We regret this error and deeply apologize for any inconvenience caused.

We apologize for any inconvenience? After having the world mock us based on their article they apologize for the inconvenienced caused? I would really hope the government fines them or gives them some form of punishment for all the bad publicity they gave Kuwait with their article.

Sounds like a factory where they build Kuwait Towers.

I’ve updated the Kuwait Blogs app now to version 2.0. Basically I’ve fixed a ton of bugs and also updated the bloggers list by removing inactive blogs and adding new ones. The total amount of blogs in the App has increased and is now 21. Here is the list of blogs:

2:48AM
2:48PM
360 Dewan
4th Ring Road
Ansam
Banana Q8
Black Market
Buz Fairy
Buzberry
Confashions
Fereej
Frankom
High Street Q8
His & Hers
iLSul6ana
Me Blogging
P0ach
Tidbit Du Jour
Trying to be Fahad
Up Till One
zDistrict

Another major update is the graphics. All the icons were redone in high resolution so they will look much better on the iPhone 4’s. Previously they were looking a bit blurry but now they’re back to looking extremely sharp. You can download the update from the App Store or if you haven’t downloaded and installed the App before then you can find it in the store by searching for Kuwait Blogs or by clicking [Here]

Dasman Diabetes Institute is having a big event this Thursday for World Diabetes Day, check the below for more information:

——————————————

How much do you know about diabetes? Did you know that Kuwait has one of the highest rates of diabetics in the world? You know that beautiful glass building in front of Souq Sharq? Ever wondered what it was? Be it “yes” or “no” you are invited to join us at the Dasman Diabetes Institute to celebrate World Diabetes Day.

When: Thursday, 25th November
Time: 4:00PM to 9:00PM
What: A jam packed event of educational and entertainment including:
– A cooking class by celebrity Kuwaiti chef Adlah Al-Sharhan who will show us how to make healthy machos
– Interactive gallery where you can learn, feel and explore modern ways of healthy living
– Outdoor performances by Traditional Kuwaiti Musical Band and Takht Sharqi
– A special performance by Electrik Crew, a local Kuwaiti urban dance group
– In house doctors and nurses performing free medical screenings and health stats and personalized nutrition consultations

For kids:
– Nintendo Wii tournaments
– Fas9la fitness un
– Face painting
– Nutrition knock-outs
– Magic show
– Balloon art

Snacks and refreshments included. The purpose of this event is to promote awareness, education and prevention of diabetes.

For more information contact: 22242999 ext 1160
Here is a link to the [Invite]
and here is a link to the [Facebook Page]

It looks like Al Salasil will be opening their bookstore at the Avenues soon. It’s supposed to be the largest bookstore in Kuwait, yes you read right… BOOKSTORE! Over the Eid they placed transparent boxes filled with books at the airport with a teaser message “Heading to the biggest bookstore in Kuwait”. I hope it turns out to be cool.

It seems the ministry has banned the use of DSLR cameras (pictured above) in public places, streets and malls. You can take pictures with regular camera’s and camera phones but not with DSLR’s? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard.

I mean seriously whats the difference between a DSLR and Point & Shoot? Both can take pictures and both can have zoom lenses. Why ban the use of DSLR’s in public and not Point & Shoot cameras? I am not saying they should ban P&S cameras I’m just trying to highlight how ridiculous this new law is.

Maybe if someone from the ministry takes a few moments to go to flickr.com and search for the word Kuwait they can see exactly the kind of talented work they will be killing with this law. Maybe then they will realize how big a mistake this is.

You can read more about this on Kuwait Times [Here]

Bu Ziyad from q80economics emailed me to tell me that foreign magazines are currently banned from being imported into Kuwait. It seems a magazine slipped in with a revealing photo and so the sole distributor for foreign magazines in Kuwait is being punished by banning them from importing magazines. By punishing them everyone in Kuwait is getting punished as well. They are now hoping they will be allowed to resume the import of magazines again after Eid.

Personally I’m glad I have an iPad and the Zinio app so I don’t have to deal with issues like this.

The first professional Kuwaiti racing driver Khaled Al Mudhaf is participating in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge this Saturday and Sunday. I found out about him recently and think what he’s doing is very cool. The GT3 Cup Challenge is the biggest motor sport challenge in the Middle East and Khaled will be representing Kuwait with his black Porsche pictured above. The two rounds of the race will be shown live on Abu Dhabi Sports Channel on both free-to-air Channel 2 and Channel 6. Round 1 will be shown tomorrow (Saturday) at 15:25 while Round 2 will be broadcasted at 14:45 on Sunday. I wish him the best of luck.

For more information here is the GT3 Cup Facebook page [Link]

This has to be the greatest find yet, a documentary on Kuwait filmed in 1962. Embedding of the video has been disabled so to watch it you need to click [Here]

The Oil industry in Arab country of Kuwait, Middle East. Film made in 1962, directed by Rodney Giesler.

A young Kuwaiti man visits a typical idyllic English village. The village is Shere in Surrey. Shots of old timber framed houses. He speaks to camera. Another man outside the rear entrance of the Royal Festival Hall on London’s South Bank. Another Kuwaiti man talks seated at an outdoor café in London. They both speak to camera.

Film then switches to Kuwait. Point of view from car of busy Kuwait streets. Construction site and builders. The desert. Gas or oil terminal. Oil tankers. Docks. Arab man with headdress rides in the back of a lorry. Travelling shot of crowded street with American cars. Arab businessman in his office, talks on telephone. Various shops, selling electrical goods, chairs. Shopper plays an accordion. Some stylish modernist buildings. Two men drink from cola bottles. Large American car with fins pulls out and nearly crashes with another (seen from the rear). The ruler of Kuwait at a military parade. Various scenes of doctors, dentists, opticians at work. Small children rushing into school, mainly local but some white children as well. Bottle delivery man helps two schoolboys climb a wall. Children have lessons. School meal. Bakery. Deaf children have lessons at a special school. Little girl learns to speak. Young man writes with a special Braille typewriter. He also reads Braille. The airport, foreign skilled workers arrive, get off Kuwaiti Airlines aircraft. Oil well. Christian church for westerners. Woman in horn rimmed spectacles sits under a hair dryer. Lives of foreigners. Locals learn skills from foreign workers. Pilot lesson. University scenes with students.

Oil industry. Arab men have discussion in a boardroom. Cars drive through a sandstorm. Natural gas. Fresh water plant and delivery lorries being loaded. Delivery to Bedouins. Government experimental farm on land reclaimed from desert. Growing crops, dairy cows. Mosque, man calls to prayer. Grievance settling – men meet with the ruler in an office. Law court. Aerial view of Kuwait city and docks. Busy street scenes. Shots of various people walking in the street. Children play in a school playground.

The documentary is 26 minutes long but really worth it. I love the voice over and music, reminds me of the old Tex Avery cartoons.
Once again, to watch this documentary click [Here]

Thanks Hamad!

A new company is bringing Quiznos back to Kuwait and this time they’re planning on opening up 15 branches. I heard this time its going to be the proper deal. [Link]

Thanks desertgirl and Husayn

Update: The company that’s bringing back Quiznos just emailed me to tell me that they will be opening their first branch in December/January in Salmiya Salem Mubarek Street opposite Olympia Mall. The new owners of Quiznos are the same owners of Buffalo’s Cafe.

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 2: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has activated decision No. 614/1967 which allows foreigners, who enter Kuwait on tourist visas and stay in five-star hotels, to consume alcohol, reports Al-Shahed daily. Sources said alcohol will be served in specially allocated places and the guests will not be allowed to drink in public places. MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei reacted to the report, saying “it is either a joke or certain parties are testing waters to see if the idea will work.” Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Al-Tabtabaei said “the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has denied all such reports and added that it did not issue any such circular in 1977.” [Source]

Kuwait Times predicted this 3 years ago [Link]