The day Abdulwahab Al-Essa became an internet douchebag

Last Thursday, Abdulwahab Al-Essa, one of Alwatan's main news anchors/Alwatan daily columnist tweeted an insult following (or during, not really sure) the Saudi-Kuwait football game.

The insult, بقايا حجاج, is one tribal Saudis often use to taunt Saudis from the Hijaz (eastern) region. Alessa then tweeted two other mundane tweets and called it a day.

Saudis were livid and rightly so. Some on twitter demanded an apology but all they got was a day later, Alessa deleted that tweet and protected his profile.

The next day , Abdullah Wabran, a Kuwaiti sports commentator, apologized to the Saudis and said Alessa doesn't represent Kuwait (obviously). It's rumored that MP Marzoug Alghanim also apologized.

As much as I find his tweet inexcusable, the actions that followed magnified his words 100x.

Let's go through a few internet rules Al-essa forgot:

1) The internet is a public place/echo chamber. Whatever you say is open to everyone else, even with a private profile, and will be repeated a bazillion times.

2) The internet demands immediate action. Allowing the tweet to go undeleted for the amount of time it did was one of the mistakes he made.

3) The internet is forever. Google doesn't forget. Abdulwahab Alessa's name search results will bring up this insult forever.

4) Take control of your narrative as soon as possible. He should've issued an apology and press release IMMEDIATELY following the incident. It's two days later and he still hasn't apologized. Douchey move. He still hasn't sent out a press release.

5) You can only have one identity on the internet. You're either a news man or a stupid kid who can't handle the consequences of his actions. You can't be both.

Abdulwahab may be young but hiding behind his mother's skirt right now isn't doing him any favors.

On Alfadalah, on rage.

I love it when Kuwaiti liberals get indignant and start throwing around words like FREE SPEECH! This is the thing; Khaled Alfadalah's situation is not merely about free speech. (Well not in the FREE SPEECH! sense, atleast not to me.)




There's a few things that are feeding our rage:
1) It seems that money-laundering is okay to do but not okay to talk about. (good post on money-laundering here.)
2) Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad is the first Prime Minister to think of himself as a private citizen and sue political activists. Hereby, breaking with Kuwait's political tradition of free speech. (see MP Ahmad Alsa'adoun/Sheikh Ahmad AlFahad for most slandered in Kuwait, not a single lawsuit brought up by them.)
3) Alfadalah didn't really slander him.
4) His sentence was unusually harsh for a slander case (3 months, KD 150)
5) Apparently, the Prime Minister's counsel Emad Alsaif's argument was based on the fact that the Prime Minister was going to be Amir.
6) The liberals haven't had a guy of theirs be "harmed" by the government in almost twenty years. (Correct me if I'm wrong but not since Alnaibari/Aljouan's assassination attempts.
7) Khaled's arrest came the day after Mohammad Aljassem's release from prison. This all seems like a witch-hunt.

I think Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad miscalculated when he chose Khaled:
1) His history, unlike that of Aljassem, is squeaky clean. Few people doubt his intentions.
2) The liberals have been pretty compliant with the Prime Minister, why start a fight on more fronts?
3) He gained street cred with both the Popular Block (Alsha3bi) and bedou for standing up against with Albarrak and Agaila rallies.
4) He's from a good well-connected family. Solid middle-class, not seen as over-privileged. He's a "one of us" to a large number of Kuwaitis.
5) He has a young family.
6) He's well-spoken, media savvy, sincere and very well mannered.

I've written about Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad: here, here, and here. Writing about him gets kind of old.

To the Six Entitled Boy-Men Smokers-

picture source

Dear Six Guys who lit up after their meal at Lorenzino-Salhiya,

I understand that at one point smoking was considered cool. Perhaps you were 16 when you started and hey all the cool people smoked, right? We've all done things we're not proud of. It's a tough habit to break. It's soothing. It's too hot outside. You just finished your meal and there's nothing greater than a cigarette after a nice meal. You need to smoke. I understand all that.

But you see, we are inside a building. The ceiling is low and it's a narrow restaurant, which means that there's no way for the smoke to dissipate. It lingers in the air and settles in my sad sorry asthmatic lungs. But you couldn't have known that.

Nope, you were too busy enjoying your oral fixation. Too busy to notice me, at the table right behind you, gasping for breath, coughing for a good five minutes and finally leaving the restaurant to stand outside for some fresh air.

It's sad all around, really. You, burning your money away on cigarettes. And well you, again, burning my money away at restaurants where your blatant disregard for those around you means a stop at the Amiri Hospital for me before the night is over.

You might think my anger is unwarranted. But see I think of air as a shared resource. I believe in such a thing as common courtesy. Like say, not contaminating a shared wel. You blowing smoke in the air I breath, would be like me spitting in your drinks. Disgusting, right? Exactly! I do not spit in your drinks. Not when I really feel like it, not when there's no where else to spit, not when I feel like I absolutely must. Nor do I defecate or urinate on your possessions. My, what self restraint I have!

You might want to try it sometime. Respecting others. It can be fun. In the meantime, I hope every time you smoke indoors, someone urinates from his balcony and hits your head. I hope every waiter spits in your food. I hope you never find parking. I hope you get the worst case of the runs that keeps you at home, where you can smoke your organs away without making the rest of us smell like ashtrays.

I hope you die,
G

Kuwait, we need to talk.

(photo: Faisel Ashkanany via flickr)

I love you. I truly do.

But you need to stop over-hyping lame restaurants. Signor Sassi was a huge disappointment. Tacky interior, heavy over-sauced food, and lacking service. Thanks but no thanks.

Now I'm worried about P.F. Changs disappointing as well. Yeah, I haven't been yet because waiting two hours for a Chinese chain restaurant in a mall packed with restaurants sounds insane to me.

The one good thing about Kuwait food fads: Pinkberry's ridiculous lines might actually be a rare experience in waiting for something in an orderly fashion. It's good practice.

Thank you and good luck.

One more thing, you're so pretty in February.

Black List

Above are the pictures of all members of Parliament who voted for a closed-door session.

They stopped us, the public/voters, from witnessing a historic day in Kuwait's history. They banned us from hearing the Prime Minister's answers to questions regarding allegations of corruption and squandering public funds (our money).

They voted against democracy, against transparency and against the public.

They will not be receiving my vote any time in the future.

Week's recap.

Monday (Dec. 7) - I joined a demonstration outside Parliament calling for the public questioning of the Prime Minister. A bunch of Scope TV hooligans showed up to counter-demonstrate and things got interesting.


Tuesday (Dec. 8) - I parked outside Parliament at 7:45 a.m., cut in line of around 100+ men--I'm not proud-- unfortunately parliament voted for closed-door questioning session (booo!!!!). As I walked out of the building over an hour after we were kicked out, reeling with anger against MPs who voted for a closed session, it dawned on me that I should be very happy. So I call a friend to convince her of this victory. NASSER ALMOHAMMAD IS BEING QUESTIONED ABOUT HIS CORRUPTION AS WE SPEAK! I drive home ecstatic and wait for news.


Wednesday (Dec. 9) - The Kuwaiti daily Alqabas reports that the PM didn't actually answer the questions and openly said I am free to do as I please with my personal funds and when asked to pledge to never bribe MPs again HE WOULDN'T DO IT! On the personal front, I personally find myself enraged by a certain MP from my district and vow to bring him down come next election. We'll see how that goes.

Where does all this leave us?
The government proved it has a $trong majority in parliament, unfortunately this parliamentary majority is fragmented and will be unlikely to vote as a bloc on any other issue. Which means the government will likely fail in ushering in an era of effective governing. Which means Nasser Al-Mohammad will be questioned again, and again, and again.

From where I stand, Sheikh Nasser's failure is inevitable. He has neither the skills, the capacity, nor the support he needs to succeed.

The question is will we all fail with him? Will Kuwait be spared his failures?

Wait your turn, do not pick your nose and other important lessons.

The other day, talking with a group of women about Kuwait's issues at a friend's house, a lady, late 20's to early 30's, impeccable blond highlights, extremely well-dressed, distinct last name, starts speaking:

"The problem is with us, it's our attitude..."

"...I mean, who would wait for their turn at the doctor if the doctor was a relative like their sister or such? I won't."

I nearly choked on my tea; I interrupt.

"I wait for my turn, always. To me, it's purely a matter of manners and class,"
"Only if I was dying would I even consider taking someone else's turn at the doctor!"

Not wanting to insult the lady, I stopped talking. But, I was shocked that someone would say that out loud. To me that's like saying, I never flush the toilet after I use it, or I pick my nose and taste it, I kick babies in the head for fun.

There are certain things that should never be said in public. I don't wait my turn at the doctor because I know someone is definitely high on that list.

Hit the road, Jack

There's been a group of people who have been calling on H.H. the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad's resignation and I fully support their cause. (More information: HERE)

Why?
The main reason is that he hasn't been competent at his job. He has failed to lead the country anywhere and now he's failing to keep it from unraveling. Sheikh Nasser has had six (failed/failing) cabinets in a little over four years. That means almost every ministry has seen atleast three ministers in four years; not a recipe for success.

Unfortunately, Sheikh Nasser's has failed to deal with all Parliamentary crisis, think back with me:

• July 2006- Parliament was dissolved because government refused to amend voting districts to five. نبيها خمس. After elections were held, government vote for the five districts.
  
• March 2007- Sheikh Nasser's government resigns, to avoid questioning of Health Minister
  
• March 2008- Sheikh Nasser's government resigns, 50KD
  
• January 2009- Sheikh Nasser's government resigns following Al-Fali's dilemma.
  
• March 2009- Sheikh Nasser's government resigns to avoid questioning regarding misuse of his Diwan's funds.

That's not really his fault, the Parliament sucks and they keep creating these crisis.
Of course we're not blaming all Kuwait's problems on him. Yes, the Parliament has a role in this. But changing the representatives of the people requires that we change the political culture. Sheikh Nasser's policies has reinforced certain political divisions in the country, be they sect-based (remember the whole Mughnia drama, and the conflicting reaction from his administration?) or tribal based.

He can't resign, there's no one to replace him.
For one, under the constitution, selecting a Prime Minister is H.H. the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad responsibility, it's not something I'm interested in meddling in, it's none of our business. Another thing is, we have no "horse in the race". I don't care who takes over as long as someone more competent does. Also, to say that there are no men in the Ruling Family that could lead better than H.H. Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad is an insult.

As long as it's someone competent, qualified, with no history of corruption, I don't care who leads the country.

We're at such a low point that I'd be willing to take a chance on anyone, realistically speaking, how much worse can it get?

It's not your right (or prerogative) to call for his resignation, it's the Parliament's.
Article 36 of the Kuwaiti constitution grants individuals freedom of opinion and expression. Yes, the parliament can choose to not-cooperate with the Prime Minister (Article 102). But a government-majority parliament is not going to do that. Unfortunately, digging Kuwait out of this hole will have to be left to the Kuwaiti people.

He has a plan now, he's trying to work. Give him time.
Maybe, but how long are we willing to wait for him to get it right? and why? In his latest address to Parliament, he mentions precautions against swine flu and dealing with the Mishref sewage disaster as his government's successes. How could he say that with a straight face? He claims Warba Bank, formerly known and voted on in the Parliament as Jaber Bank, as an achievement of his. I have lost all confidence in him.

I don't hate H.H. Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad, nor do I have a personal vendetta against him. I don't know who should come after him but I'm willing to take a risk.

We have a lot to gain with his resignation, a new Prime Minister, a precedent that Ruling Family members are accountable in their jobs and Hope. (Remember Hope? It's when you don't feel like hurling when you read the papers in the morning.)

I've written more about H.H. Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad here and here.

I want to go to there

from here

إهداء إلى سمو رئيس مجلس الوزراء الشيخ ناصر المحمد الصباح

الثالثة ثابتة

6:30 a.m. : Alarm goes off; first time I wake up this early in easily 9 years.

7:30 a.m.: Leave house, head to a school in Kaifan to monitor elections as a KTS volunteer.

7:45 a.m.: Get kicked out of first classroom by unaccommodating judge.

7:46 a.m.: Get kicked out of second classroom. Decide to stop asking about checking polling stations, walk around to check signage around school.

8:05 a.m.: All five polling stations are open, old ladies begin filing in.

9:30 a.m.: Leave polling center to get food. Drive to Starbuck's in Adailiya where apparently everyone who's working for any candidate in District III is there.

10:00 a.m.: Back to school, asking judges for permission to monitor from inside the classroom.

11:ish a.m.: Notice traffic slowing at polling station. People are sitting around waiting for voters to show up.

12:00 p.m.: Head to my own polling center to vote.

12:ish: Parking far to avoid being double parked. As I'm walking into the building, I try to choose four from the six candidates I had in mind.

12-ishish: I'm getting dizzy from the sun, walk into the empty polling station (good timing on my part) check four names. Fold paper. Hand ballot over to the judge. Watch as he puts it in the clear box.

1-ish: Drive to KTS. Watch Dr. Salah Al-Ghazalli's interview on Alrai. Realize that most volunteers were rudely kicked out at the school's gates.

1-ishish: Meet friend at McDonald's (we're a classy bunch); where I find my thirteen year old sister who's helping a friend's uncle's campaign. Tell sister to stay off the streets. (Which I think is great advice at any age.)

2:00 p.m.: Still dizzy. Probably dehydrated.

5:30 p.m.: Drive back home. Too dizzy and tired to do anything anymore. Call KTS supervisor, tell her I can't show up at poll closing.

How'd your day go?

Who wants to be a millionaire?

At a young entrepreneur meeting earlier today, several men talked about wanting to be millionaires; one of the attendees even mentioned wanting to have 6 billion dinars (1 Kuwaiti dinar = 3.4 US dollars).

It threw me off, I've never thought of wanting money. Financial freedom, absolutely, and I've learned to quantify it too. Enough to travel, buy gifts for loved ones and afford the best health-care if anyone around me ever needs it.

Money's nice don't get me wrong, you'll never hear me complaining of "excess money", but to want to work towards a number is a foreign concept.

So, who wants to be a millionaire?

And now we know your caliber

It's true, Dr. Aseel is suing whoever did the video of her recording. Although she's completely within her right to do so, it just reeks of hypocrisy.

Politics isn't always good clean fun, there's always mudslinging involved. I had hoped Dr. Aseel's freedom of expression ideals could have stood the test of this campaign. I guess it's all lip service.

Dr. Aseel, former MP Ahmad Al-Saadoun's had worse things said about him. Personal attacks against him and his family > Recording of something he said in a public forum taken out of context. Al-Saadoun has never filed a complaint against anyone during the span of his political career.

But I guess it's unfair to compare you to a real politician.

Thanks Dr. Aseel now we know.

via Dr. Aseel's website:

د. أسيل تطلب التحقيق في الإشاعات المفبركة

تقدمت د. أسيل العوضي بشكوى إلى النائب العام تطلب التحقيق في موضوع الإشاعات المفبركة والتعدي على الخصوصية ومحاسبة المتسبب حسب قانون الجزاء، نافية ما تردد عن دعوتها لحجب مواقع إلكترونية لأنه لا يتماشى مع مبادئ الحرية الديمقراطية التي تؤمن بها، مشيرة إلى أنها تؤيد حرية الرأي والتعبير في إطار القانون الذي ارتضيناه جميعاً، ومن حق الشعب الكويتي أن يعرف من وراء هذه الحملة، ومن يحاول اختطاف العرس الديمقراطي لأمور جانبية بدلاً من التركيز على القضايا التي تهم المواطنين.

ونفت د. أسيل العوضي إستهدافها أي من المدونات الكويتية، وأكدت أنها تولي المدونات الكويتية كل إعجاب واحترام على دورها الفاعل والوطني في مراقبة السلطات والتعبير عن هموم الشارع الكويتي، لا سيما وقد كانت لها بصمات لا ينازعهم عليها أحد في قضايا الديمقراطية كحق المرأة السياسي وتعديل الدوائر الإنتخابية.

ونبهت د. أسيل العوضي الشعب الكويتي إلى الحذر من الإشاعات، ودعت كل مواطن حريص على تقصي الحقيقة ودقة المعلومة إلى استقصائها من موقعها الرسمي الإلكتروني

:

Dear candidate,
If your website doesn't work on firefox or safari, I'm not voting for you.
XOXO,
G

Tis the season: Aseel vs. hijab

Aseel's alleged words about hijab have caused an uproar in my social circles. Personally, I believe it was her in the recording because it's hard to mimic the way someone speaks in both English and Arabic. I'd love to be wrong.

Regardless, her statements aren't shocking to me as I'm familiar with her extreme liberal views.

Her personal beliefs do not concern me, but what does is the lack of respect in the language she used and her extreme naivete. At the very least, have the decency to write the ayah down if you're going to be preaching about it.

Although I'm not convinced she'd make a great politician, I still think she'd be good for women in general.

Reblogged from May 21, 2008:

"Aseel: the anti-Haleema

Although, I'm wasn't in a position to vote for Aseel Al-Awadhi, third
constituency candidate, nor do I agree with her ideology completely, I think
she's great for Kuwait.From Nouriya Al-Sadani to Rola Dashti*, never before have
we had a young(-ish) feminine soft-spoken candidate running for elections.
Kuwaiti women seeking powerful positions, whether real or fictitious (as in TV
soaps), are always older, more androgynous and generally deemed
"undesirable". (Sweeping generalizations, shame on me). Aseel in a way, is the
anti-Haleema Boland.

This elections' lesson: You don't have to be a ditz to make it;
politics isn't for butch girls."

Why are the liberals reliving the 70's?

Why are the liberals so insistent on fighting the battles of the 70's and 80's again? With all due respect to Dr. Ahmad Al-Khateeb his affinity to history and old battles has deemed him irrelevant to the political conversation.

I think it's imperative that Kuwait's young are familiar with its history in order to have a nuanced understanding of today's attitudes. But our issues at this point are much more important than left-right struggles at the Co-op level.

Watch Dr. Ahmad's AlKhateeb here, here and here.

لأنه حديث عهد بربه

A Dance ... ( 2007 )
Originally uploaded by K h a n

It's raining. And I'm overjoyed.

I pray for more rain. Healthy happy rain. (No flash flooding please.)

There's something spiritual about rain.

The dreariness before it rains, the gloominess during the downpour, and the brightness after. Most everything looks better after the rain. The droopy dry flowers perk up and their colors become more vivid. Everything glistens with dew.

A baptism by the heavens. A closeness to the Creator. He ordains and we receive. A blessing.


عن أنس قال : أصابنا ونحن مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم مطر قال : فحسر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ثوبه حتى أصابه من المطر فقلنا : يا رسول الله لم صنعت هذا ؟ قال لأنه حديث عهد بربه

And he resigned. Oh well.

Letter to the Prime Minister

Dear Mr. Prime Minister (a.k.a. Your Highness Shaikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah),

I've heard good things about you and your character. I'm sure if I were to knew you better, I'd like you a lot.

I think you're quite an accomplished man; a worldly man, if I may. You speak several languages, you've lived in a lot of places. You stood for Kuwait through its harshest time. (Dude, wikipedia says you were the one who did "hunna ilkuwait" from Khafji for the first time. That is awesome!)

Shaikh Nasser, Kuwait was thrilled when you came into office. You were pegged a "reformer" and God knows how much this country needs a political savior.

We applauded you as you took an oath to uphold the constitution. We cringed as you faced a cow-suit crazy Parliament time and time again. We were as frustrated as you probably are at how stalled everything in Kuwait is.

Then things came up, like your failed cabinets. Five cabinets in four years?

Throughout the less than spectacular events, you continued to uphold the constitution and I in turn continued to give you the benefit of the doubt. I cheered you on.

But then MP Al-Molaifi brought up some questions about your Diwan's expenditures and wanted to question you. Instead of clearing your good name and answering the Parliament's questions, you took the less transparent route and sought to have the government resign.

Now the questions have come up a second time and again instead of clearing your name, you seem to favor resigning.

Dear Sir, if there's anything my short 25 years on this planet have taught me it's that running from your problems never works.

I understand that your political ambitions might be driving your "escape". If I could, I'd want to be Amir too, and a potential Amir cannot stand in parliament and be voted "down", believe me, I understand. (I also understand the crazy Ruling family politics involved.)

But you took an oath to uphold the constitution. The constitution says you can absolutely be questioned in parliament. Being a Prime Minister of Kuwait is a job and by constitution, you're accountable to the Kuwaiti people's representatives. Yes the parliament sucks and the MP's are dingbats; but you took an oath.

Your Highness Shaikh Nasser, I'm asking you to set a daring precedent, take the stand, clear your name and respect the contract between us.

Your loving daughter,
G.

P.S. I saw you once on a BBC program, I was probably seven or eight, and you were talking about the liberation and you said, "even the ducks were crying". Also, I'm very proud of you for losing the weight, yay health!

The politics of car washing

With the insanely dusty weather Kuwait's experienced in recent weeks our neighbor's car-washing habits have intrigued me.

Their car has never left their driveway dirty. Ever. So, let's say there's a drizzle of rain (aka particles of orange mud falling from the sky) around noon, once it stops the driver is out in the driveway with a pail and hose cleaning the car.

Then, say it rains around dusk and he's out again washing the car soon after it stops. Of course all this in addition to the obligatory daily morning carwash ritual.

Over the past two weeks, their cars have been washed over 50 times. (Of course he lets the hose run while he's washing, doing it in the most wasteful way possible, but I don't blame him after all it is somewhat easier. Limited resources, be damned!)


During college, my crippling fear of car washes coupled with a lack of covered parking kept my car's paint job protected by a layer of filth and grime. When I moved back home, I brought with me the belief that clean cars are a frivolous luxury. I was also appalled by the ungodly hour my family's driver woke up at every morning to clean all the cars before he got on with his day; so I asked him not to wash my car every morning unless it's dirty. He happily obliged.

Until one day a coworker asked if I was married. I was single of course and living with my family and wondered why she was asking. She said my car was always dirty (which was not true) and it made her curious to my living situation.

Wanting to share a laugh at lunch, I mentioned this little conversation to my mother. She was offended, "Why isn't he washing your car?" Even though I explained the situation to her, she insisted that my car be clean enough to pose any questions.

A few weeks ago, I pulled into my friend's house to pick her up. She took one look at my car's dust-ridden exterior and shook her head. "We're taking my car," she said as she tilted her head towards her glistening black SUV.

What is it about dirty cars that's so off putting? Is the clean car obsession just another symptom of the rampant materialism, "I have the newest, biggest, baddest, shiniest of all toys?"


Photo source