Lusail- Qatar's new City

 Qatar builds a new city

 Rather than just build some new stadiums like most host countries, the filthy rich State of Qatar is spending $45 billion to build a whole new city from scratch. Lusail will cover 28 square miles on the desert coast along the Persian Gulf approximately 9 miles from Doha, the country’s largest city.

And it will be a metropolis of the future: Plans include a commercial district, a lagoon, two marinas, a swanky shopping mall, luxury hotels, a hospital, a zoo, golf courses, a snow park, a Six Flags amusement park and more. For getting around town there will be a light rail, underground pedestrian tunnels and water taxis. Everything from transportation to communication will be controlled by command center computers. And yes, people will actually live in Lusail – there will be housing for about 250,000 people

Of course, there will be an environmentally friendly 86,000 seat stadium for the finals of the World Cup. It certainly will be a shiny new toy of a city. But some are worried there will also be a price beyond the billions the government will spend building it. Qatar is notorious for the deplorable treatment and exploitation of its approximately 1.4 million poor migrant workers. At least 1200 have already died working on World Cup projects, and in March, a report from the International Trade Union Confederation estimated that 4000 migrant workers will perish working in Qatar before the World Cup begins. 

Six Flags? I thought UAE was bringing Six Flags? I wish someone would bring a great amusement park to this part of the world. Unfortunately UAE has a lot of humidity which means only winter visits to the place. I do wish they would adopt the Mall of America idea which I posted about before. It's an amusement park inside of a mall and not like these cheesy ones we see now, I'm talking real rides and entertainment inside an air conditioned mall. FYI- to those making the new city please include more private schools for expat children, there are only a few and the tuition is double the amount Kuwaiti schools charge.

DynCorp Recruiting

It's pronounced Dyn-Corp not dynacorp....A little FYI

Car accidents in Kuwait

The truck got T-boned when making that dangerous U-turn in front of Rosa Castle building/Starbucks in Mangaf area.

 This guy took down a light pole in front of Olive Garden in Mahboula. The debris field was pretty big with the light pole down and the lights from the pole ending up further down the road.

It was reported the guy lost his right foot?

DJ Rajeesh on 99.7

On my way to my sister's house I was listening to 99.7 and I'm guessing the DJ was Asian and he totally reminded me of Reza Mohammed.

Toys from China

I really wish there were toys stores like the ones in the states here. Yes, I know there is a Toys-R-Us here but in the states you can get them from Wal-Mart and Target and they aren't toys from China like they are here. The stores here are full of fake knock-offs yet the price for them is the same as the original ones and a lot more scary looking.

 

Handsome Tim for all the lonely ladies out there:

 How about a game obviously from the 90's...the picture shows the age.

I try to order toys online or when my mom visits the states she will bring a few things for the kids, I can't justify buying cheap plastic toys from China that cost a fortune and break the first day.

If Guy Best Friends Acted Like Girl Best Friends

That's so true!

Welcome to Kuwait- orientation from AWARE Center

 

These orientations are free of charge & provide an opportunity for newly arriving Westerners to meet the AWARE team & discover the many services designed to assist with cultural adjustment & settling comfortably in Kuwait. The Orientation is divided into 3 segments; which are: Segment 1) About AWARE: in this segment, we will talk about the AWARE Center & the activities that we offer & how these activities can help benefit the Western Expatriate to make their stay in Kuwait more comfortable. Segment 2) About the Local Culture: this segment is entitled “Know Thy Kuwaiti Neighbor”. In this segment, we will talk about Life in Kuwait & share some tips regarding socializing with the locals, their beliefs & values, safety tips, Culture Do’s & Don’ts, etiquette when visiting Kuwaiti Homes, & much more. Segment 3) Questions & Answers: in this segment, we will answer any questions that our audience may have related to the AWARE Center, Kuwait or the local culture. Dinner Buffet is included. If you wish to register for our Orientation, you are kindly requested to choose one date and email us: the selected date, your full name & expected number of guests to joumana@aware.com.kw TESTIMONIALS: “It was very informative & helpful. I enjoyed the presentation greatly.” - Martha Borden “Thank you for welcoming us & offering the helpful advice.” - Eileen Begley “Great informative! I really enjoyed learning about the culture from a native.” - Teresa Kovach

Dates: August 27 @ 7 pm, September 4 @ 7pm and September 10 @ 7 pm

Saudi girls flip SUV to escape Kidnapping

A 23-year-old Saudi girl, apparently influenced by action movies, succeeded in aborting an attempt by two men to kidnap her and her handicapped sister when she abruptly pulled the hand brake, causing the captors’ car to overturn.

The girl and her 20-year-old sister were walking to their home in the southern Jazan province when they were intercepted by the two men, who forced them into their car.

“On the way out of town, the elder sister jumped to the hand brake and pulled it up forcefully…the car, which was going at high speed, suddenly veered off the road and overturned,” the Arabic language daily newspaper ‘Ajel’ said.

It said passers-by managed to pull the four out of the car before calling the police, adding that one of the captors was arrested while the other fled.

'Influenced by action movies' - Seriously? I think she just did whatever she had to do to not be abducted. Good for her!

My childhood Toys

I received the box with my childhood toys and opening it up brought some memories flooding back. Pound Puppies, Garbage Pail Kids, Barbies, Matchbox cars, troll dolls, Lisa Frank stickers and Monchichis - the best toys of the 80's.

Matchbox car collection is my favorite toy, they were used and abused with love.

How Russians do It

 

Amazing recovery!

Kuwaiti marriages high divorce Rate

Kuwaiti-to-Kuwaiti marriages register higher divorce rate 30,098 got married from 2009-2013

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 23: A recent report released by the Ministry of Justice indicated a total of 36,433 marriages and divorces among Kuwaiti citizens in the last five years from 2009-2013, reports Al-Anba daily.

The report indicated that 30,098 Kuwaitis married during this period while 6,335 of them divorced. It explained that 3,043 Kuwaiti men married non- Kuwaiti women during this period, adding that 2,593 of them still maintain the relationship while 450 of them have divorced. During this period, 1,779 Kuwaiti women married non-Kuwaitis out of which 1,399 of them still maintain the marriage while 380 of them have ended in divorce. It indicated that the divorce rate of 6,335 among Kuwaitis is much higher than the divorce rate of Kuwaiti men married to non-Kuwaiti women.

Kuwait was ranked third after Dubai and Doha in terms of living standards among the Arab cities based on valuation of stability, health care, culture, environment, education and infrastructure-as indicated in the economist magazine, reports Al-Qabas daily. Meanwhile, the Canadian Freezer Institute has classified Kuwait’s economic institution as sixth on the Arab level after Jordan, UAE, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain

Foreigners are not the reason for divorce or spinsterhood! That says a lot!

Different types of GCC dress for Men



Have you ever been in the Avenues and noticed the different types of clothing men wear? During the summer the 'thobe' (also called dishdasha and kandura) is usually white or light colors worn by Emirati and Omanis. I can spot the difference right away but I'm sure most expats really don't know there are so many differences.

We are used to seeing the Kuwaiti dress code as pictured below.

 The Qatari dress code is a little different, the texture of the thobe is a little shiny with an angled collar, cufflinks and their agal has a tassel (karkusha) hanging  from the end of it.

 I love the colors Omani men wear, they are so bright and stand out in a crowd and include a small tassel (furakha) hanging from the right shoulder. Some of the material used for their head covering (mussar) can be very expensive, they also wear a small hat (kuma) as well. Some of them wear a gold curved dagger (khanjar) around their waist, I love their style as white tends to be boring.

 Emirati men also love colors and are not afraid to wear every color of the rainbow, their 'kandura' has a tassel hanging down the middle. They have two different types of head covering, the long loose hanging one and then the wrap.

 Bahraini are similar to Kuwaiti dress but the thobe usually has a row of buttons down the front.

The Saudi men usually wear red/white ghutras with their collard thobes which tend to be a little tighter fitting.

A white t-shirt and long cotton pants are worn underneath the national dress except for UAE and Oman, instead of cotton pants they wear a cloth wrap (wizar) under their attire.

 

This is information gathered through experience and some Google help, photos are from Google, if you have anything you would like to add let me know.





Office Depot closing Down?

It looks like the Office Depot in Avenues is closing from the looks of the shelves. I guess there aren't too many people interested in American paperclips when they can get everything knockoff downtown for cheaper prices.

Another one down, another one down, another bites the dust.

Kuwait is now complying with the IRS!!!

I just received an 'important' call from NBK telling me they are complying with the IRS, all US citizens are required to bring their CID and passport to their branch within a week to sign paperwork for FACTA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), in other words no more running from Uncle Sam!!! I wonder how many people will give up their US citizenship now?

Some quit US citizenship Concerns push FACTA to Assembly for approval

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 19: The Cabinet has decided to refer an agreement that it intends to sign with the US Treasury regarding Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FACTA), to the National Assembly for approval before it is applied because the agreement will largely impact the aspect of banking confidentiality and expose American citizens who hold dual citizenship, reports Al-Rai daily.

The American law, which came into effect few months ago, obligates banks and financial institutions to provide American authorities with the required information concerning American citizens and their accounts. This law will assist in exposing Kuwaiti citizens who hold American citizenship when the American authorities ask the banks for information regarding their accounts and transactions.
Earlier, Ministry of Finance had indicated its desire to sign the convention with the US Treasury, which will give Kuwaiti banks the legal opportunity to register with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) before the deadline of May 5, 2014 in order to avoid the heavy penalties that the American authorities will impose on the banks that do not cooperate with it.

According to the initial convention, the Kuwaiti banks are obligated to ask their clients if they hold American citizenship when they open bank accounts. These banks will then be responsible for the information they give when the American authorities ask about their clients. However, the recent convention, the conditions of which the Ministry of Finance is negotiating, has bigger and riskier obligations such as the banks’ compliance to FACTA in all other countries, which is why the government perceived the need to obtain approval from the National Assembly before signing it. Sources revealed that thousands of people gave up their American citizenship in order to avoid the FACTA law.

AWARE Center- Hamad Al Fuzia museum Tour

Fee: KD 2 per person Opened by a Kuwaiti gentleman in his own home, this museum has an excellent collection of Kuwaiti antiques with a section of the museum dedicated to his relatives who died during the invasion of Kuwait. Join us as he recounts stories about Kuwait and about the antiques housed in the museum. Advance reservations required at joumana @ aware .com

August 25 @ 5pm

I wonder if they took this location from my blog post??? I hope so, it's a great museum owned by a sweet Kuwaiti man and his family, I wish everyone would visit even stop by just to say hello. It's free if you go on your own I guess the 2 KD is for transportation? You can follow him @hamedalfuzia

Gunmen attack Saudi prince's Motorcade

Kalashnikov-wielding robbers have attacked the motorcade of a Saudi prince in Paris, making off with 250,000 euros ($335,000) in cash and reportedly stealing "sensitive" documents, French police said Monday.

The theft took place in northern Paris as the motorcade was making its way from the Saudi embassy to an airport in Le Bourget, said police, who confirmed there were no injuries.

The attack took place late on Sunday around Porte de la Chapelle in northern Paris, a police source said. The car attacked was a supply vehicle that was stolen and later found burned, this source added.
No suspects have yet been apprehended. According to the local daily Le Parisien, the men also stole documents said to be "sensitive".

"It's quite an unusual attack. They were obviously well-informed. It's true that it's quite a rare way of operating," the police source told AFP..

No shots were fired and nobody was hurt, a police source told Reuters, adding that the robbers were still at large and an investigation was under way. Rocco Contento, a representative of police union SGP, told BFMTV the attackers appeared to be "people who knew the itinerary" of the cars.

I'm sure it was just lunch money stolen, no big deal. I'm surprised more people aren't getting robbed after they flaunt their wealth all over Europe.

Oil paintings with Arabian Scenes

A reader found some lovely oil paintings and would like to know where he can find local paintings with Arabian scenes for family back home, can anyone help him out with some suggestions?

He would like to know where he can find crafts made by local people? I know of Sadu house and a couple shops at Youm al Bahar? Are there any local artisans left in Kuwait?

Omani gang of women Arrested

Kuwaiti police arrested five Omani women after security cameras showed they have robbed several gold shops in the oil-rich Gulf emirate.

The five used to go into jewellery shops with a little boy and pretend to try some items to detract the attention of workers before leaving the shop with their loot.

Police had been baffled by the camera’s failure to identify their faces before they decided to trick the women into falling in a trap.

“Police published fake attractive offers for jewelry and cosmetics on an Instagram account they set up for this purpose. They then installed several cameras inside the shop,” the Arabic language daily Al Watan said.

“Police kept that shop under their surveillance until they saw the suspected five women. As they tried to steal again, the women were arrested.”

They will probably be acquitted like everyone else the Kuwaiti police catch.

Discovery Mall- Land of the douchebag Parking

I've never seen douchebag parking jobs like the ones in the parking lot of Discovery Mall. With the type of parking that goes on I would expect to see a lot of handicap placards but nope, even the cars parked in the handicapped spaces have no placards.

The barely visible lines are painted straight yet these people can't understand that concept and park at an angle taking up two spaces.

 This lovely non-handicapped couple pulled up as I was taking pictures and parked in the handicapped place, as you can see in the picture below they have no problems walking. The pink signed parking spaces are for pregnant mothers, only a couple of them yet all of the spaces were full.

I've only seen a couple cars with placards, all of the rest should be ticketed, POLICE OFFICERS this is the perfect place to ticket and get your brownie points every single day!

Picking Up Girls In A Lamborghini Without Talking!

Wow, just wow!

Arab woman looking for Kuwaiti husband- Posts ad in Newspaper

A Gulf Arab businesswoman, describing herself as pretty widow, broke social barriers and published a newspaper advertisement for a husband.

The woman, who identified herself as Umm Mohammed, stipulated the groom must be a Kuwaiti aged 33-40 years, has a university degree, enjoys good conduct and is ‘religious’.
The advertisement, published in the Kuwaiti Arabic language daily Al Rai, said those interested should contact her through WhatsApp service.

Good luck finding one with those qualities.

Kuwaiti cop gives kitten Water

A Kuwaiti sergeant heading a police patrol in the Gulf emirate abruptly stopped off the road and stepped out of his car to give water to a little cat after noticing it was swaying of thirst in the scorching summer heat.
Sergeant Mashari Al Anzi used his own water bottle to give water to the cat, which appeared in a picture to be drinking avidly to quench its thirst on that day when temperatures were close to 50 degrees.
The Arabic language daily Al Watan, which published the picture, described what  Al Anzi did as a “humanitarian gesture required by everyone.”

Tackling the taboo of being 'half' Emirati

This is so interesting, I wonder how many halfie Kuwaitis have gone through discrimination?

Skype to stop working on old Android Phones

Popular Internet telephone service Skype will no longer run on older Android operating systems within few weeks and users are being advised to upgrade their phones to continue using the free messenger and phone app.

Microsoft-owned Skype has sent an email to people using smartphones with Android 2.2 or older alerting them about retiring the service for them.

“We've noticed that you are, or previously were, signed into Skype on a phone running the Android 2.2 (or below) operating system. We’re sorry to inform you that we are now retiring all Skype apps that work on these older versions of the Android operating system. As a result, within the next few weeks, you'll no longer be able to sign in and use Skype on any Android 2.2 (or below) phone. If possible, we recommend that you upgrade your phone to a newer version of Android to continue using Skype,” it said in a statement.

But if you’ve been using Skype on a more recent Android device, the above does not apply, the statement elaborated.

In May 2011, Microsoft bought Skype for $8.5 billion (Dh31 billion) with user base of 663 million worldwide.

CNET, which publishes reviews, news and articles on technology and consumer electronics globally, reported last week that Microsoft will kill Skype for Windows Phone 7 also within the next few weeks.
 

2015 Dodge Charger Pursuit

Study the front end of this car very, very closely--because you'll soon be watching out for it in your rearview mirror. Chrysler has released details and images of the 2015 Dodge Charger Pursuit, the latest iteration of its four-door muscle car designed for police use.

As with the regular production 2015 Charger, the Pursuit adopts all the latest styling cues, from LED daytime running lights at the front to the Charger's distinctive 'racetrack' LED lamp signature, a ribbon of lights that winds its way around the entire rear lamp cluster. In side profile it has the same scalloped sides which evoke memories of the earliest Charger models and at the front there's the latest interpretation of the brand's 'crosshair' grille.

Not that you can see it clearly, of course--one, because it's painted in the same shade of black as the grille itself. And two, because it sits behind a hefty nudge bar ready to tip society's unsuspecting underworld into a pirouette at the first opportunity. It also gets other police-standard features such as a bright LED light bar, spot lamps, 18-inch steel wheels with performance tires, beefed-up brakes and suspension and in this case, load-leveling shocks.link

Pakistani gets court approval to wed Kuwaitiya

A talk-of-the-town love story in oil-rich Kuwait could have ended up in tragedy had its local heroine not defied her family and resorted to court.

The story is not a movie plot as it happened in real life and the court decided to give it a happy ending when it ruled that the Kuwaiti woman should marry her Pakistani boyfriend.

The 29-year-old girl, described as very beautiful, went to court after her father and brothers rejected the 33-year-old Pakistani suitor, en electrician residing in Kuwait, and threatened both of them.

When he tried again and refused to give up, they assaulted him and threatened that they would expel him from Kuwait.

The girl, an engineer at a local government department, then decided to go to court to report her family and tell the judge that she would not marry anyone else. She told her lawyer that she and that man had been in love for a long time.

“When she told me her story, I first thought that she was a victim of fraud or witchcraft. It was one of the strangest cases I have ever handled,” her lawyer Hamoud Al Radaan said, quoted by local newspapers.

“But she explained the conditions that led her to fall in love with that man. I also talked to her friends, who confirmed her story. It was a fair case and the court decided to give her justice by sentencing the couple to marriage.”link