Some Twitter users are claiming that a writer is responsible for the hash tag, with many circulating a screen shot of the tweet, which many felt insulted the country's ruler, and which is no longer available in the writer's timeline.

The ‘insult' arose because the Emir, Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, is said to have had a pacemaker, which is operated by a battery.

Meanwhile, the concerned writer Mohammed AlAjmi, doesn't deny or confirm starting it and posts tweets like [ar]:

and:

While many thought of the original battery tweet as an insult to the Emir of Kuwait, a crime punishable by Kuwaiti law, the hash-tag quickly become popular among a very small minority of users who seemed to agree with the message. Meanwhile, the majority of Twitter users turned the incident into a witch hunt, calling for the imprisonment of those who dared insult the ruler.

Abdullwahab AlEssa, a television presenter, tweeted:

AbdulAziz AlYahya, a lawyer and CEO of a private television channel, added:

Husain AlAbdullah, another lawyer and a journalist, wrote:

Finally, Hamad AlNaqi, who defines himself as a member of Amnesty International and a defender of Bahraini people, said:

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Turn out to the protest, which ran smoothly with no incident, was lower than anticipated. @Sultan7879 posts a photograph from the protest:

Kuwaiti protesters calling for a new government, with a new Prime Minister

He commented:

On Twitter, many people announced their intention to take part in the protests. @al_tariq2009 tweeted:

In an unexplained move, The Ministry of Interior announced today the closure of the Safat Square, where the protests were originally planned, but that did not deter the people calling for the gathering.

@LeKoweit explained:

And if you are wondering where the Square of Change is, as you will not find it on any map, here is an explanation from @eL_aldstor :

@ShagranQ8 tried to reason why the Safat Square was closed to the protesters:

@walladah explained why he protested:

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Like the rest of the world, Kuwaiti netizens are closely following the unfolding events in Egypt. Tweeps are lending their support to Egyptian protesters, in prayer and calls for an end of the Mubarak regime.

@MrMMM is not impressed with the preacher's reaction to the Egyptian protests at his local mosque. He reacts:

@maaldallal shares a link to a very touching prayer by Kuwaiti Humood Al Khuder:

@maldallal
المنشد الشاب الكويتي حمود الخضر: أقل ما يمكن أن أقدمه لشعب مصر الأحرار ” الدعـاء” لطفاً أنشر http://bit.ly/fQlBcW

Click the link below to listen to the prayer:

Doa for Egypt

Zaid Al Zaid states:

@zayed_alzaid
كل محافظات ومدن مصر وقراها تلتهب بالتظاهرات الآن وتطالب برحيل مبارك ، والرجل لايفهم

And Kuwaiti Member of Parliament Dr Jumaan Al Herbesh tweets:

Others continue to pray:

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What started as a normal thing, a blogger writing a personal review of a newly opened restaurant, suddenly escalated into online drama when the restaurant manager threatened with a lawsuit. Mark Makhoul, a Lebanese expat-blogger in Kuwait, wrote a review of Benihana Kuwait, on his blog 248am.

Mark said the food was disappointing and described how bad it was in detail. This angered the general manager of the Kuwait restaurant, Mike Servo. He made several comments on Mark's blog and issued a threat of a lawsuit, which was delivered only days later to Mark (see it in Arabic and in English).

Not only do Beninhana Kuwait seek compensation of KD5001 (about $18,000) for damages, but they also request for the Ministry of Information in Kuwait to shut down the website.

The topic is trending on Twitter in Kuwait #BenihanaKUW and there are pages on Facebook to protest their actions, like Boycott-Benihana-Kuwait.

Ansam, a blogger from Kuwait, believes the restaurant handled the situation very badly:

It just saddens me that a restaurant had to file a lawsuit against Mark for writing a review about their restaurant stating his “own” and “personal” opinion. I read it at the time, and read it again (twice) today to find out what really triggered them in the first place… it wasn’t THAT bad to be quite honest!!!

His from Hishersq8 brings up an important point:

As for reviews, in the US or UK, there are food critics. They will say the truth and they are feared from the top restaurants. They see what they see is good or bad. Mark wrote a post and talked about his experience. Maybe Mark is one of the top blogs in Kuwait but I don’t think he would change the mind of 3 Million people not to go to there. He has his rights for his views, everyone does!

Abu Jaij, also from Kuwait, writes:

طبعا لا خلاف على أن حق التقاضى متاح لأى شخص أو جهة إذا وقع ضرر مباشر و متعمد عليه من قبل شخص أو جهة أخرى….و لكن الدعوى المرفوعة على المدون مارك (داست) على مبادئ و لن أقول أبسط الحقوق الإنسانية المكفولة لكل مواطن…و مقيم

مدونة مارك مدونة شخصية من خلالها يعبر هو عن آرائه الشخصية حول ما يقوم هو بتجربته شخصيا…فهو لا يمثل مؤسسة أو مصلحة تجارية تنافس هذا المطعم اليابانى…. و هو يقوم بتقييم المطاعم كهواية و لا يحترفها حتى يقال عنه بأنه قام (بتشويه سمعة مطعم) متعمدا

من متابعتى لمدونة مارك على مدى سنوات كنت أقرأ تقييمه للمطاعم كنوع من (الترفيه) فهم ليس (مقيّم محترف) أو شيف عالمى حتى أعتبر كل ما يقوله (حقائق) و معلومات دقيقة لا تقبل راى مخالف

أرجو من أصحاب المطعم المعنى سحب دعواهم ضد المدون مارك….فما عبر عنه بتقييمه هو رأيه الشخصى صحيحا كان أو خاطئا…و إن كان رأيه مسموع من قبل الكثيرين لا يعنى هذا أنه الرأى الوحيد و الأخير فى تقييم مطعمكم

The restaurant is a local franchise of the international restaurant chain Benihana. US blog BoingBoing called the COO and Executive Vice President of Benihana Tokyo who said he had not heard about the lawsuit.

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AlDestor wrote:

أثناء حديثه الشيق والممتع سمو رئيس مجلس الوزراء أدام ظله لنواب الخيبة برر لنا سبب سفراته ورحلاته المكوكية لارجاء العالم بأنه يبحث عن تأمين الغذاء للكويت ولدول الخليج بعد 15 عام
سمو الرئيس هل تعلم بأن الزمن قد سبقك كثيرا كيف لا ونحن في عام 2010 نعاني من ارتفاع أسعار الخضار وأهمهم وهو شيخهم وكبيرهم الطماطم

In his exciting address to our useless members of Parliament, the Prime Minister excused his constant travels around the world saying that he was looking for means to secure Kuwait and the rest of the Gulf's food needs after 15 years.
Dear Mr Prime Minister,
Are you aware that time has beat you and that we, in 2010, are suffering from an increase in the cost of vegetables, especially their leader, the tomato?

Ein Bagzee says the problem isn't what to do about the hike in prices but how to deal with it:

ذن المشكلة في ثقافة المستهلك نفسه هو لا يعلم أنه العجلة المهمة التي يعتمد عليها أي تاجر فهو أي التاجر لا يستطيع أبعاد المشتري لو مهما كان الثمن فسوف يبيع لك بضاعته في النهاية هناك درجات في الخسارة التجارية لا احد يرغب أن تصل خسارته ألي درجة تحت الصفر فالجميع يرغب أن يبيع إذا اليوم خسرت دينار واحد فأنا كسبت عميل جيد سوف يشتري مني بسعر دينارين في المستقبل و هكذا تتم الحركة التجارية بالأمس كان البيض اليوم الطماطم غدا الخبز أو الأرز على اعتبار أن المحاصيل الزراعية في بيشاور – باكستان تعرضت للتلف !!

The problem is in the culture of consumers who don't understand the important cycle which any merchant depends on. Merchants cannot keep consumers at bay and will sell you his goods because at the end, there are different levels of losses and no one would want to lose completely. Everyone wants to sell and if the merchant loses a dinar today, he will win a good customer who will buy for KD2 in the future and this is how the commercial cycle continues. Yesterday, it was the rising cost of eggs and today, it is the tomatoes. Tomorrow it could be bread or rice, considering that agricultural produce in Peshawar - Pakistan - was destroyed in the floods.

m-vitaminz wonders why Parliament members are not up in arms about the increase in prices:

لماذا يانواب الأمة والمعارضة لم تقيمو ندوات وتجمعات وتنزلون للشارع إحتجاجاً لغلاء الطماط ..؟ لماذا لم تهددو رئيس الوزراء بإعتلاء المنصة وأستجوابه لرفع سعر الطماط ..؟ لماذا يانواب الأمة المناظلين لم تكشفوا من وراء هذا الغلاء الفاحش وتشكلو لجنة تحقيق

Why aren't the members of Parliament and opposition holding lectures, gatherings and rallies to protest against the increase in the prices of tomatoes? Why haven't they threatened the Prime Minister that with questioning in Parliament for the hike? Why haven't they disclosed who is behind this huge spike in prices and formed an investigation committee?

And as with each problem in Kuwait, Twitter is flooded with jokes and comments about the subject.

BoJaij says:

كل نائب يستلم سحارة طماط…هدية عودة مجلس الأمة

Every parliamentarian will get a box of tomatoes for free to mark the beginning of the new Parliament term.

and fayounii throws sports into the mix:

قرر اتحاد الكويت لكرة القدم منح كل لاعب صندوق طماط وذلك لفوزهم بالكأس

The Kuwaiti Football Association has decided to give each player a box of tomatoes for winning the championship.

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In it's announcement, CinescapeQ8 said:

A 10 Minute Break Will Start @ 360 during Maghreb Prayers

360 is one of the newer shopping malls in Kuwait.

The announcement sparked many discussions online.

ilsul6ana welcomed the idea:

Cinescape 360 will now have a 10 minute break during the show for Maghreb Prayers.
Inshalla (By the will of God) next all the prayers

avenuesq8, on the other hand, disapproves of the introduction of the 10 minutes break in scheduling:

Where did all this religion come from?? You never thought religion when you played around with prices and manipulating people huh? You want to be saints now and cut movies for maghrib prayers? Why not afternoon prayers as well?!

Taking a similar position, danderma asks:

OK. This is rant worthy. Let's imagine how it’s going to turn out now shall we?

So it’s the middle of a movie in 360. People are lost in the plot. Suddenly the screen goes dark and the lights go on and it’s time for the viewers to go pray?!

Seriously? Now how many viewers will actually go pray?

And Hilaliya takes the conversation back to Twitter and remarks:

Cinescape don't try and court the fundamentalists. If it was their decision, you wouldn't even exist.

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Remembering their childhood, ReadmyBlog writes about when he first heard of MJ's death:

I woke up this morning and the blogosphere was talking about the death of Micheal Jackson. My earliest memory of MJ was seeing my cousin trying to moonwalk

TheJacob is in wonder at the reactions from people around him:

7anna7inno speaks of her feelings:

Shurouq over at Jabriya Za7ma:

sou is amazed and shocked that so many care:

Now I’m sure Michael Jackson fans might grill me, but I don’t care. Don’t tell me Michael inspired so many of the artists I listen to; had he not been around, neither would have your favorite artists.” These are my favorite artists, and not one of them sounds like Michael Jackson:

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We kick off this week's round up of Kuwaiti blogs with charts and numbers, who writes a three part series on the collapse of the Kuwait Stock Exchange:

The recent collapse in the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) index this past week has not been given its proper placement in the headlines. I have found it difficult to find resources covering the details of the collapse or reasons justifying the decline. Some might hail the events as a market correction but I believe the reasons are far more complex and intertwined with recent economical events in the country.

Dahem AlQahtani, a journalist and blogger, writes [Ar] about the Minister of Information Shaikh Sabah Al Khalid, who has met with the editors-in-chief of local newspapers.

He wonders why the journalist union was not invited to the meeting:

وزير الاعلام الشيخ صباح الخالد حينما يعمل لوحده فإنه يبدع
ولكن وحينما يترك الأمور لغيره من طاقم وزارة الاعلام فأنهم
لا يهدونه إلى سبيل الصواب وإلا ما الذي يمنع الوزير من توسعة
المجال قليلا ليشمل القوى الحقيقة المؤثرة في الاعلام الكويتي ,
ولماذا لا يعمل بأبسط التقاليد المهنية ويقوم بدعوة رئيس نقابة الصحافيين
لحضور اللقاء وهي النقابة المعترف بها

The Minister of Information Shaikh Sabah Al Khalid is creative when he works on his own. However, when he depends on his team at the ministry, they don't lead him to do what is correct. Otherwise, why has prevented the minister from expanding the circle of invitees and including the real movers and shakers of the Kuwaiti media and why hasn't he respected the minimum professionalism expected and invited the president of the journalists union to attend the meeting and it is the union which is recognised.

The blogger also discusses the impact of online media and television, and wonders why they have been excluded from the gathering:

وزير الاعلام الشيخ صباح الخالد حينما يصحو من النوم يكون
أكثر تركيزا ونشاطا فيكون لحظتها وزير إعلام عصري يتابع
العصر بلغة العصر , ولكنه وحينما يمضي في يوم عمله
يصطدم بالعقليات المهنية التي عفا عليها الزمن فيتحول
إلى وزير إعلام تقليدي يختصر الاعلام الكويتي
في 14 رئيس تحرير صحيفة لا يملك معظمهم القرار في صحيفته .

When the Minister of Information Shaikh Sabah Al Khalid wakes up from his sleep, he is more focused and active. At that time he is a contemporary Minister of Information who speaks the language of the age. But as the day progresses, he collides with the professional mentalities which are old and changes into a typical traditional minister who sums up Kuwaiti media in 14 editors-in-chief, the majority of whom don't make the decisions in their papers.

Meanwhile, Bader from Moodart
creates a traditional artwork from recycled material. He describes his creation as:

ايضا من اطارات السيارات
طولها متر ونصف وعرضها نصف المتر
الوان اكريلك

Also from car tires,
One and half metres long by half a metre wide,
Acrylics

With his blog in mind, Yousef over at somecontrast, writes about ghabga he shared with 60 plus friends. A Ghabga is a late night meal in Ramadan, where friends, relatives and acquaintances are invited to socialise over traditional cuisine.

We had a Ghabga* at the Diwaniya yesterday. We took pictures of the whole thing. My brother got carried away with the camera and now i have over 350 pictures of every person of the 60+ who were there. When it was time to arrange the buffet I thought I should take as many pictures as possible, you know, good blogging material

Check out Yousef's blog for the array of food on the table.

And finally, Hellraiser writes about the purpose of Ramadan:

Contrary to popular beliefs, Ramadan, is not about eating, sleeping, Ghabkas and Sohoor [the last meal of the night before people start their fast]. Its about patience, self control to help oppress passions and temper, helping the less fortunate and Taqwa by reading the Quraan [the Muslim's Holy Book] and to strengthen one's faith

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The mastermind behind the campaign, Ostad Hamam ( استاذ حمام) , from the blog neidans, charges:

لا أعلم الى متى هيبتنا كدولة تنتهك ونحن صامتين، قالوا لا تثيرون الموضوع حتى لا “يعاندنا” الايرانيون ويؤخرون خروجه، وها نحن ننتظر ويمر اسبوعين ولا خبر او علم! وكالة انباء فارس (اذا ممكن احد يترجم لنا الخبر، الموقع العربي لا يحتوي على الخبر!)، تذكر ان جهودا من “خالد الجارالله” وكيل الحارجية بذلت لاطلاق سراح المفقود، هناك تفاصيل مذكورة لم استطع فهمها، ولكن الحقيقة ان اي تقدم لم يحدث في الافراج عن المفقود.

I don't know until when we will remain quiet while our sovereignty is being violated. They have asked us to leave the matter alone so that the Iranians don't become stubborn and delay his release. We have been waiting for two weeks and we haven't heard anything. The Iranian News Agency (If anyone can translate the story! The Arabic site doesn't have it) says that Khalid Al Jarallah, the Foreign Affairs Under-Secretary, is exerting efforts for his release. There were some details mentioned which I couldn't understand, but the truth is that he still hasn't been released.

من ناحيتي، سأقترح حملة بالتعاون مع زملائي المدونين للضغط باستعجال الافراج عن المفقود، وثقتي كبيرة بزملائي المدونين بأن يتحركوا لاثارة هذا الموضوع، فنحن اذا ما المصالح دعت البعض للسكوت، لن يستطيعوا ان يرفعوا اقلامنا عن قول الحق، وما ابسطه من حق وهو المطالبة باسترجاع احد ابناء هذه الارض البرره.

I think we as bloggers should start a campaign to call for the expedited release of Hussein. I hugely believe in my fellow bloggers and that they will participate in this campaign. If some have been forced to keep quiet to protect their interests, we will not be stopped from saying the truth. And it is a simple right we are calling for - and that is the return of one of the sons of this country back to his home.

Kuwaiti bloggers were quick to respond. Enter-q8 introduces a banner for the campaign and explains why pushing for his release is paramount:

ليش هالتحرك و هالحملة و السؤال
عن حسين الفضاله
هل لأن اهو سني هل لأنه اهو ولد بطنها هل لأنه اهو حضري
لا يا سادة
لأنه شريك معانا و معاكم
نعم
لأنه كويتي
كويتي يرتبط معاك بالعقد اللي انت و انا وانتي موقعين عليه
و بناء على قبولنا بهالعقد و بهالشراكة
خذينا شهادة تثبت هالشي
شنو هالعقد اللي الكل يتسائل عنه
العقد اهو الدستور
اللي ينظم حياتنا و دولتنا و عملنا و تصرفنا
العقد اللي موقع عليه حسين الفضالة
نفس العقد اللي انت و انا موقعين عليه
يعني كلنا شركاء و نتحمل المسؤلية معاً
خلنا نشوف احد بنود هالعقد
المادة السابعة من دستور دولة الكويت
مادة - 7
العدل والحرية والمساواة دعامات المجتمع, والتعاون والتراحم صلة وثقى بين المواطنين
التعاون و التراحم صلة وثقى بين المواطنين
المواطنيين شركاء الوطن

You may be asking why this campaign and movement for Hussein Al Fudalah?
Is it because he is Sunni? Is it because he isn't a nomad?
No, it is because he is our partner. Yes, my and your partner.
Because he is Kuwaiti - a Kuwaiti who is linked to you and me with the contract that we all adhere to.
You may wonder what that contract is? Gentlemen, it is our Constitution, which organises our lives, nation and our work. It is the contract that Hussein Al Fudalah has signed - the same contract you and I have signed too, which means we are all partners and are liable.
Let's check one of the clauses of this contract.
Item Seven says:
Justice, freedom and equality are the pillars of society; cooperation and compassion are the strongest link between citizens.
Cooperation and compassion are the strongest link between citizens.
Citizens are partners in the nation.

اليوم حسين
باكر يمكن انت
يمكن اخوك
ابوك
و بالاخير مواطن كويتي شريكك و شريكي
لنعيد تلاحمنا كما كان
ندعو الى الله أن يرد حسين لأهله و بلده
المعاناة ما عشتها لكن ابسطها بابسط مثال
اغلبنا يسافر سياحة و يتلهف على العوده لبلده
سياحة فما بالك من لانعرف مصيره
أسف ولكن اكيد لن يكون بنفس حاله بين اهله و بلده
أدعوا معنا لشريكنا في الوطن
المواطن حسين الفضالة بالعودة الى ابنائه وربعه و جيرانه
و الى رؤية بلده الكويت
و لا تنسوا ان تساهموا معنا برفع الشعار
حتى يعود

Today, it's Hussein's turn. Tomorrow, it could be you, or your brother, or father. At the end, it would be a Kuwaiti citizen - who is your and my partner. In order for us to cooperate with each other like we used to, we pray for Allah to return Hussein to his family and country. I haven't been through the agony he is going through now, but let me simplify it with another example: Most of us travel abroad for tourism and are eager to return home after a while. Imagine how it is for him, when we don't even know where he is. I am sorry, but he cannot be like he is when he is with his family and in his country. Pray with us that the citizen Hussein Al Fudalah returns to his children, friends and neighbours, and to his country. And don't forget to post the banner until his return.

comfy zone q8 writes about Hussein's plight as well:

It`s really depressing when you wake up to the ugly fact that your security as a citizen is not among the priorities of the government of your country.
It`s really humiliating when you discover that your value as a human being is not being respected and your simplest right of living safely is not guaranteed
it`s really frightening when you suddenly vanish and no one show any seriousness in finding you.
and it`s really sad when your country give you up for the sake of “the international relations”

Exzombie is frustrated with the government for not exerting enough pressure to secure Hussein's release. He says:

we are a bit disappointed with the level of ignorance the Government and the Parliament is showing to this case and their negligence to suffering of Husain's family.
a month has passed by now and no one could even tell if he was release, where and when, and what his condition is, we sympathize with his family and may he return safe and sound.

3erzala posts an appeal for Iranian officials to release Hussein, written by Enter-q8, which hopes people would email to Iranian officials. The letter appeals for Hussein's release and his quick return to his family.

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According to Kuwaiti Arab Times:

Hamed Al-Othman says in an interview with Al-Qabas daily published Sunday he has prepared a bill that criminalizes promoting vice, incitement against the country’s leadership, divulging state secrets, or insulting Islam on the Web. If convicted, offenders would be sentenced to up to one year in jail and/or a fine, but face seven years in prison if their victims are minors.

Kuwait's bloggers are unhappy with what they see as new restrictions against freedom of expression.

Blogger Forzaq8 warns that two clauses in the draft law are likely to “throw most internet users in jail.” He says the first deals with the unlawful use of the Internet and the second with unlawful distribution of research and literary work.

“going to setup my bag for couple of prison terms,” jokes the blogger.

Writing in Arabic, As you like posts a few useful tips for bloggers to protect themselves from the impending law. He says:

Blogger Muwathaf is also incensed by the new guidelines. He writes:

Another blogger, Krakatoa notes that the new draft is unclear and needs explanation. He points:

White Wings from is there light presents a number of scenarios such as the following:

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According to Exzombie:

يحسب على الدكتور عدم حياديته في الطرح رغم توضيحنا له مرارا حول المجتمع التدويني الكويتي، فهو دائما يصور هذا المجتمع بان جمه ليبرالي رغم ان المدونات التي اعلنت توجهاتها تشكل نسبة ضئيلة من مجمل المدونات الكويتية، فضلا عن ان مدوناتنا الليبرالية لا تمثل سوى كسر بسيط من هذه المدونات، و تحامل غير مهني على الاخوان او الاقطاب الاسلامية و احتواء الكثير من ما يسطره من مغالطات دالة على سطحية الرؤية في المجتمع التدويني،

Krakatoa-q8 too has his reservations and says:

ثم طينها الاخ رئيس قسم التكنولوجيا و العلوم..بوضعه لمقابلة ( الله اعلم من اين اتى بها ) عن مقابلة مع مدون مصري؟؟!! لحظه لحظه..هل الكويت تعاني من قلة مدونين حتى تذهب الى ارض الكنانه وتقابل مدون مصري لانعلم اصله من فصله يتحدث في امور سياسية تخص دولة اخرى ونحن في الكويت وكمدونين لا نوصي بالتدخل بشؤون الدول الاخرى فلدينا مايكفينا من المشاكل والبلاوي والعلل، حنا شكو والمدونين المصريين..شنو دخل اهلنا فيهم..ماذا تريدنا يا جمال ان نتوقع مستقبلا ؟؟مقابلة مع مدون موزامبيقي او مقابلة مع مدون من جزر الاباطور مثلا؟؟

يجدر بالاشارة الى ان المقابلة مسرووقة حرفيا من موقع نافذة كارنغي على الشرق الاوسط..مع مدون اسمه ساند مونكي..يعني حتى اشارة الى المصدر..ماميش!!!!

As You Like has another take on the issue and is concerned with the nationality of the page editor. He writes:

ظـهرت في الاسابيع الماضية صـفحة في جريدة القبس تهتم بشؤون المدونات، في بداية نشأة الصـفحة، اهتم الجريدة ببعض المدونات، مدونات نفـتخر بها نحن كـ مدونين، لكن ان يتم استغلال الصـفحة لصـعود الموجة، على حسابنا، فهذا مانرفضه، خصوصاً ان يكـون الصاعد على هذه الموجة شخص “عـراقـي” لايمت للكويت بصلة.

هذا الـعراقي، رأيت ردوده في احدى المدونات العزيزة علينا، يشـبه احدى الجماعات السياسية في الكويت بأنها “قذرة” وكـ”الزبالة”، وهذا ما لا نرضاه على ابناء الكويت، سواء اختلفنا معهم، ازدادت حدة النقاش بيننا، الا اننا نظل في الاخير كويتيين،.

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With the mercury increasing as the summer sets in in Kuwait, bloggers are busy looking for distractions this summer vacation.

Among them is Zdistrict, who goes on a trip to Kubbar Island. He writes:

This was a bit of a hot weekend and going to Kubbar didn’t seem like a bad idea, I wanted to jump in some water too cool off. Took about 20 minutes to get things ready on the boat, and waiting for a few people before heading off to Kubbar. It was hot as hell on the deck, and I wanted to jump right into the water but the water in the Marina is somewhat disgusting so I opted out, instead I was rubbing ice cubes on my head which melted rather quickly.

Meanwhile, Desertgirlkuwait goes on a trip to Kabd. She describes her outing as follows:

Kabd is pronounced “chebd” in local dialect. “Chebd” means liver in Arabic. Don't ask me about the correlation. I don't know.

Since the government bulldozed the entire Funaitees area off of Fahaheel Expressway (30) where most of the farms used to be, almost the entire former population has moved their farms to Kabd. Nobody (except for my friend, M, whose wife kicked him out of the house) lives in these places as they were intended for agricultural use. (When I say “agricultural” I mean “party”.)

Chillnite goes to the Kuwait Aquarium and writes:

Over the weekend we decided to visit the Kuwait Aquarium located in the Kuwait Scientific Center. One word ‘Fantabulous‘…

If you are bogged down by the heat, or over stressed with work, or would like to let off some steam…just drop by at the aquarium.

Image Credit zdistrict

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Politics shouldn’t interfere in games , i was shocked and sicked to hear that people want laws to to control what games we can buy or not.
I don’t want laws requires all retailers to check ID from any child trying to buy games.
I believe that Parents should take responsibility , not the government , its not freedom thing , its responsibility

Another blogger, Ajel turns his attention to newspapers in Kuwait. He says:

لدينا في الكويت – حتى الآن – 14 صحيفة يومية سياسية ، وهناك المزيد منها بالطريق ، توجد أيضا مواقع إخبارية ومدونات الكترونية شبه إخبارية تزود قراءها بكل ما تعزف وسائل الإعلام المختلفة عن نشره ومنها القنوات الخاصة التي باتت تخصص جزء من برامجها لمناقشة الأحداث المحلية الساخنة بصورة أفضل من تلفزيون الكويت الذي يتجنب عادة الخوض في تلك المسائل
موضوعنا هو كيف نقرأ ما سوف يقع وليس ما وقع ؟ وأي الصحف التي تخدمنا في هذا المجال على الصعيد السياسي بالدرجة الأولى ؟

Until now, we have 14 daily newspapers in Kuwait, and more will be published soon. There are also news sites and blogs which cover news of all that media refuses to publish, in addition to the private television stations which cover hot local issues better than Kuwait's national television station, which usually avoids covering such topics. Our topic today is how to read what will happen and not what has happened and which newspapers serve this purpose when it comes to political coverage.

SpiKeY writes what he thinks is an accurate description of Kuwaiti female bloggers. He notes:

So female bloggers….do you think being open to the world helps the (Kuwaiti) internet users know about you?

By open…I mean…that you talk about the “taboo” stuff….like doing it…like smokin..like drinking…like havin fun alone….like cussing…drugs….sexuality…. lesbianism..(NOTE: these are considered taboo in our society it aint ma opinion)…..

Bahsar, over at blogallalong, wonders what the Ministry of Communications wants. He writes:

The Ministry of Communications (MOC) is the central authority in Kuwait for internet and phone, which includes ISPs, phone lines, and mobile operators. Such a big responsibility that can take the country both ways. And unfortunately, the way they’re doing it can only take us backward I am afraid

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Aggz The Aggressor writes:

We will strike with an Iron Fist!”
“We may die, but Kuwait will live on!”

I always remembered his words during those terrible days of the Iraqi Occupation, they gave us hope, enforced our need to remain steadfast in our hopes of returning to our country.

Estekana sums up his feelings of sadness in a poetic manner, saying:

Shagran writes:

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Amer over at Hilaliya gives his reason why he is so into the elections this year:

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not 'social' individual, not social in the Kuwaiti ‘political animal' sense of visiting diwaniyas, campaign headquarters, and ‘getting out the vote'

“What's gotten into you?” relatives and close friends ask.

But the answer is simple really…The country is in a severe state of gridlock, buffered by corruption, waste and inefficiency. Now we have no control over who the government appoints to run the country but we do have the power to make the right choice on May 17.

Forzaq8 over at 5-Q8 writes his final thoughts on the elections:

Election should be taken seriously , it is not a game
Tomorrow your Vote decide your future and your sons future
for example don't ask why didn't they build a new hospital when the member you voted for didn't approve the funding for it , and more example could be said

Still on the topic of the elections, Aggz The Aggressor writes a brief history of democracy in Kuwait:

Many may argue against this post, though I hope it ‘at least’ makes sense to most readers.

We’ve come to realize that democracy in Kuwait is something of a unique experience, especially to those of us that never saw Kuwait in it’s infancy

Away from the elections, Dr Mahbob brings us news of an agreement between the government and Knet (Knet is a national company providing electronic banking services to all the banks in Kuwait) and what he thinks of it.

I think this is big step toward e-payment and I hope hackers don’t show up when the smell chance of stealing money online.

Q8Ba7th writes about his experience going to P2BK2008:

P2BK is a new youth initiative to organize annual forum for small and startup businesses. A healthy and definitely needed concept I say for startups and small business who can’t afford to take place in big expos like Info Connect and others.

And finally Ducatiq8 explains his feelings when he abides by the new law of not using his cell phone while driving:

اليوم كان اول يوم يطبق فيه قانون منع استخدام الهاتف النقال يدويا أثناء القيادة
طبعا ديكاتي مواطن صالح وملتزم و تقي وورع وكل الصفات الزينه فيني
اليوم اول ما ركبت المركبة(أخييه يا انا يا ابو مركبه) المهم حطيت عدتي
وطلعت السماعه وقعدت اضبطها لإن وايراتها متعربكه فقعدت اطلعهم وحطيتها على رقبتي

Today was the first day for the implementation of the law that forbids using mobile phones while driving. Of course, Ducati is a good law abiding devout committed citizen and all the good things are in me. As soon as I got into my car today, O got my kit out and the earphone and started setting them up because wires were tangled and then put it around my neck.

ووصلناها بالتلفون واستلمت القياده
الواحد واهوه يطبق القانون يحس بشعور حلو يعني وانا اسوق واطالع يميني ويساري يعني شوفوني ترا مطبق القانون
المهم وصلت الكلية ونزلت من السيارة وانا معلق السماعه
والناس تشوفني الله شوفوا ديكاتي مطبق القانون والبنات يأشرون شوفي شوفي مطبق القانون

I then connected it to the phone and started to drive. When a person follows the rules, he develops a good feeling. I was looking left and right, trying to show others that I was abiding by the law! I then arrived at the college and got out of the car, with the earphone dangling around my neck and people were looking at me and saying to themselves: ‘Oh look! Ducati is abiding by the law! Even the girls were pointing at me.

وصلت عند المحاضرة والربع واقفين سلمت عليهم والكل يقولي ها ديكاتي مطبق القانون
اقولهم اي والله شسوي طبقت القانون
دشيت المحاضرة وبدأ الدكتور بالكلام وافتتحها بالكلام عن القانون واخذني كمثال جيد لتطبيق القانون
يقولي الدكتور ها ديكاتي اشوفك مستانس شكلك اول مره تطبق القانون
وانا اضحك اي والله شنسوي يا دكتور طبقنا القانون

I arrived at my lecture location and found my friends standing there. I said hello to them and everyone was saying: ‘Oh Ducati, you are implementing the law?' I told them I had to. At the lecture, the professor started his talk speaking about the new law and set me out as an example of someone who abides to the law. He then told me it looked as if it was the first time for me to implement the law. I laughed and said: ‘What can I do Doctor, we followed the law?'

تدش الجمعيه ويشوفك الكاشير ويقولك طبقت القانون اتقوله اي
تروح ستاربكس يطلعلك الفلبينو هاي سير يو سيم ذات يو طبقت القانون او الرول
وانا اقوله يس يس مي طبقت ذا قانون
تروح المسجد تصلي ويقولك الشيخ احسنت جزاك الله خير انت مثال يحتذى به لتطبيق القانون
ترجع البيت ابوك يشوفك يقولك عفيه على ولدي انا ربيتك على تطبيق القانون وتربيتي ما راحت بلاش وهذا انت طبقت القانون

You enter the supermarket and the cashiers see you and asks: ‘You are following the law?' and you say yes. And then you go to Starbucks and the Filipino there says: ‘Hi Sir. It seems that you implemented the new law!' and you reply: ‘Yes, yes, I did.' You go the the mosque to pray and the Imam tells you: ‘May Allah reward you for being a good example and abiding by the law. And finally you return home, where you meet your father, who tells you: ‘Congratulations to you my son. I raised you to respect the law and I have not failed in that as I see you implementing the law!'

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