Yousef’s Blonde Joke

If you think my blonde jokes are funny, you’ve got to see Yousef’s Blonde Joke.

Saved by a Scream

This woman had a close call. I am re-assured that the family was taking her to Saudi Arabia to kill her; it implies that the climate in Kuwait does not support honor killings. Another tidbit from the Arab Times:

Screams help officers thwart bid to kill girl for soiling family name

KUWAIT CITY : The Saudi immigration officers manning the Al-Riqei border post are said to have reportedly foiled an attempt by an unidentified GCC family to kill their daughter to save their honor, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.

According to a security source the parents with the daughter and another sibling traveled to Salmi post and to prevent the ‘victim’ from screaming for help the family’s relative who allegedly works at the post hurried through the process of stamping the passports to help the family cross into Saudi Arabia as the family waited in their car.

When the girl reached the Saudi border post she screamed for help and told the immigration officers that her father planned to kill her.

The family was temporarily detained at the post until the Saudi authorities contacted the authorities in Kuwait. After the family was returned to Kuwait under guard, the relative who helped them at the Salmi post was arrested and detained for interrogation.

The daily said it is a case of ‘honor killing’. The girl was reportedly involved in an affair with an unidentified youth inside an apartment in Salmiya and she became pregnant.

Meanwhile, the Al-Anba daily added, when the girl was in police custody the brother grabbed his younger sister and threatened to shoot her in front of the building of the Criminal Investigations Department.

He was demanding the release of his other sister who was caught having fun with the youth inside an apartment after a missing person report was filed against her.

A police sniper shot the man in the arm and rescued the younger sibling.

I can’t imagine her life will be easy, if she is pregnant, unmarried, and has a family who wants her dead. I can’t imagine that Kuwait has social services that can help her negotiate a path. Life will be difficult, but it sure beats what was about to happen to her in Saudi Arabia.

Woman Receives Allowance

Sometimes, it’s a little article that has a huge impact. This little article, about a recent court decision in Kuwait, has potential for such an impact;

This is from today’s Arab Times:

Court orders allowance for woman

KUWAIT CITY : The Constitutional Court Wednesday received a petition filed by a Kuwaiti woman, requesting the court to declare the second paragraph of Item No. 2 and fifth paragraph of Item No. 3 of Cabinet decision No. 142 /1992 unconstitutional.

The court then declared the two paragraphs unconstitutional.

In her lawsuit submitted by her lawyer, Attorney Khaled Al-Hamdan, the woman said she was appointed as a lawyer at the Fatwa and Legislation Department in December 2000 and was promoted to ‘Lawyer A’ in December 2006.

The woman was surprised when she learnt her male colleagues were receiving housing allowance of KD 200 for the bachelors and KD 300 for those who are married. She then filed a case as she has not received any housing allowance since she joined the department.

The session was presided over by Judge Rashid Al-Hammad.

By Moamen Al-Masri
Special to the Arab Times

Pretty cool, huh? Wooo Hoooo on Judge Rashid Al-Hammad! Woooo Hooooo on Lawyer “A”, who fought for her rights – and WON. Wooo Hoooo, Kuwait!

Beating Jet Lag: Don’t Eat

Just in time – well, actually, not just in time or I wouldn’t have eaten – a new study reported on BBC Health News finds that if you want to re-set your body clock, fast. If you fast for 16 hours – like no eating en route from the USA to Kuwait – it helps you adjust faster and minimizes the effects of jet lag.

They seem to find something new every year, and then another study comes along and fails to confirm the findings. I do my best, but it usually takes me a week to get back to sleeping during normal hours.

Sunrise 29 May 2008

Holy Smokes – where did May go? 2008 is slipping through my fingers; I have so many plans and ideas and I don’t know how much will l really get done?

AdventureMan kept me busy and talking until I collapsed around nine last night, and did not sleep all that well. I finally gave up around 4:30 ayem and ended up getting some very Turneresque pre-dawn shots. Had to go out on the balcony to take them because my windows are all smogged with the humidity and smeared with the dust and rain from yesterday.

Going out to take a photo on the balcony requires feeding the Qatteri Cat back in his room, then running to the kitchen and shutting the door, then opening the balcony door. We know QC knows there is fresh air out that door, but we don’t want him to discover the balcony and all the dangers it represents to a logic-challenged cat.

Well, it’s not really dramatic enough for Turner but it has those dramatic elements of opalescent sky, translucent waters and hazy horizon that reminded me of Turner:

Moments later, we had sunrise:

And even some surf this morning:

We have a break in the weather today – only 109° instead of the 111’s and 112’s predicted for later on: