You loved Kuwait and it loved you back.
May you find peace in the hereafter.
The Al-Sager-Al-Saeedi Confrontation on Al-Rai TV
محمد الوشيح Mohamed Al-Washee from Al-Rai TV is a tough interviewer, at times his belligerent style bordering on rudeness; nevertheless, the man does his homework and his 'Election 2008' interviews are dynamic, devoid of the usual Kuwait media bullshit...
Al-Washees's candidate debates have also added to Al-Rai TV's lustre and credibility this season.
Thank you all for helping this blog hit the 1,500 number of visits a day benchmark.
Fueled by the Election coverage, it looks like 'Hilaliya' - at this rate - will garner over 15,000 Unique Visitors for May (a total of 35, 000 visits).
That's a first in its 3 year history.
Special thanks to Salem Al-Ghanim who has helped me navigate through the electoral smorgasbord of various campaign rallies and inaugurations.
Dr. Aseel Al-Awadhi, a professor of Philosophy at Kuwait University, currently one of eight 'National Democratic Alliance' candidates, is one of the stronger female candidates in this election.
Anyone has who has recently observed her on interviews, rallies, and in person visiting diwaniyas, can detect she is sincere, compassionate, progressive individual who feels strongly about social, civic and humanitarian issues, as well as being an avid proponent of free speech and the values of the Kuwaiti Constitution.
Dr. Aseel Al-Awadhi During a 'Teaching And General Freedoms' Forum
The Parliament is in dire need of some class, pragmatism, intellect and compassion. She deserves one of your four votes in the 3rd District.
Get the vote out! for Aseel.
To become a Facebook Supporter click HERE.
A few days ago I posted a feature about Abdullah Al-Yahya, a 2nd District candidate. The following videos are of his inaugural speech at his campaign headquarters, followed by his Scope TV interview with Kafiya Ramadan.
A elderly lady always knows where her next dinner is from.
But she isn't interested in lavish banquets, broiled shrimp, lobster or grilled lamb roasts...she just wants her shawarma.
Since the onset of the electoral season, this particular lady checks her SMS messages and newspaper ads, and then promptly sends out her driver at night to search for shawarma sandwiches at any campaign headquarters, no matter what area they may be in.
The driver zooms in on the shawarma stand, usually requesting four or five shawarmas, mobile phone in hand, while his 'madam' yells into her mouthpiece condiment instructions to the beleaguered chauffeur, a man who obviously strikes terror into the heart of every caterer due to his numerous visits (sometimes more than once a night) to the campaign premises.
I wonder who 'madam' is voting for.
Saleh Al-Mulla On Scope TV (for the remainder of the interview click HERE)
Reminder: Saleh Al-Mulla will be speaking at 8pm tonight at Jabriya High School For Girls ('Thawabit Albanaat' - opposite the Blood Bank).
Last week I attended Al-Mulla's stimulating, rousing campaign inauguration, featuring Adil Al-Sarawi and Mohamed Al-Naibari. Theirs was a collective cry against mismanagement, corruption, a warning to citizens and Parliamentarians to become infinitely more proactive in the development of this country.
Al-Mulla, a bright, resolute and passionate 3rd District Candidate, highlighted his campaign motto 'A New Vision For A More Beautiful Kuwait,' by urging both the Government and Parliament to cease their continuing squabbles which were "impeding the progress of Kuwait". He also spoke of the cynicism prevalent in young people today, urging them to maintain hope, to continue working for the benefit of the country and to vote wisely on May 17.
The refreshing facet concerning Saleh Al-Mulla's rousing speech was his pragmatic approach, devoid solely of the usual anti-government rhetoric. Indeed, Al-Mulla placed the blame on both parties, highlighting Parliament's inability to lead and legislate in the shadow of government neglect. "If the government has a plan to develop the country, I will support it, but if it doesn't we will take the initiative in Parliament," promised Al-Mulla.
Al-Mulla is one of the new generation of tough-minded, fearless and passionate young leaders who truly loves Kuwait.
I certainly wish him victory on May 17.
If you would like to learn more about Al-Mulla, you can access his Facebook Group and his Official Webpage.
A Kuwait Residential Neighborhood -- Wednesday, 7.5.08, 3:40pm
A female representative of a powerful 2nd District candidate showed up at someone's house in the affluent Dahyiat Abdulla Al-Salem area. A male resident answered the door.
"Hello there, I am Mr. ____'s envoy, is there anything I can help you with? Anything we might be of service to you or your family?" enquired the lady.
The astonished gentleman shot back, "Lady, this is Dahyiat Abdulla Al-Salem. Does it look like we need your help?"
What's with Al-Watan TV's continued coverage (interviews, advertisements etc) featuring HADAS (Islamic Constitutional Movement) candidates? Al-Watan TV started off its election coverage on a seemingly impartial note with interviews with Ahmed Diyan and others; however, they seemed to have switched political gears: it seems like almost every night night either Dr. Nasser Al-Sane, Mohammed Al-Busairi or others from their party are on.
Ali Al-Tarrah Interviewing Mohamed Abdulqader Jassim
With the exception of the classy, intellectual Ali Al-Tarrah - whose one-on-one interview technique is charmingly assertive - Al-Watan TV's election coverage has been the weakest of all the prime time Kuwaiti stations including Scope TV, Flash and Al-Rai, among others.
I've had some posts, for one reason or another, go directly to the 'Spam' folder.
I usually have to manually check the folder to see if there are any valid posts - amongst the thousands of spam posts such as 'Enlarge Your Cobbler,' 'Celebrity Nude Upskirt'' and 'MILFs In Action'- usually there aren't.
But if you've posted on this blog and your message isn't visible then let me know please.
I've known 2nd District candidate and former Parliamentarian Marzouq Al-Ghanim for over 20 years now so whatever I say about him is bound to be biased.
I will, however, share this snippet of information with you...When the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait occurred, thousands of people scurried to the border in order to escape. Al-Ghanim - outside Kuwait at the time, alongside his family - did the exact opposite: he infiltrated into Kuwait (at grave danger to himself) where he spent the remainder of the seven month occupation.
If that doesn't speak volumes about someone's character, I don't know what will.
Bloggers, journalists, writers, political activists, there is a limit to what we can do as individuals - but collectively we can enlighten others who plan to vote.
Even if you are "not into politics" you have to realize one thing: everything in Kuwait is political, everything orbits around it, it influences your quality of life on a daily basis: the Kafkaesque bureaucracy, the lack of business opportunities, your diminishing finances, censorship of books and films, the rise in crime, the environmental pollution ETC - its all tied to how you live and the future of your kids.
Now many Arabic-language blogs and some English-language blogs are already excelling at the election coverage with its smorgasbord of polemic side dishes, but many of you out there still have not taken a dip into the election lake. I urge the Kuwaiti Blogosphere - at least the ones who haven't touched on the upcoming elections to at least post one story about the upcoming elections, it could be a candidate profile, a television spot, an a campaign rally still, a humorous spoof...you decide.
Do your thing. The results might surprise you.
Note: You are welcome to link your posts under this thread.
A few nights ago I attended the campaign inauguration of a friend and former colleague of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2nd District candidate Abdullah Al-Yahya, whom I've always known to be a candid and fervent defender of the Kuwaiti democratic institution.
Al-Yahya spoke passionately about the deteriorating health sector, which is the backbone of his campaign, lambasting the government, laying complete responsibility at its doorstep for its "feeble, indecisive leadership" leading to the neglect of its health, education and infrastructure commitments to Kuwait.
Al-Yahya's speech was resolute, full of fervor; it was obvious to the crowd that he was a sincere candidate angry about our current predicament and concerned about Kuwait and its future.
An excerpt from the Kuwait Times newspaper:
"...The country needs the guidance of a stronger prime minister ...who will be able to choose ministers capable of taking responsibility. For the past two years, we've heard that at least nine new health centers will be built. Till today we haven't seen any. The last public hospital was built in 1981, whereas the last private hospital opened a few months ago. Does this prove that the private sector is better than the government? How can the government only build a VIP hospital? The health care sector is deteriorating," Al-Yahaya pointed out."
(LINK: Kuwait Times)
If you are interested in learning more about Al-Yahya, you can check his Official Webpage and Facebook Group.
Resources:
Al-Wasat Article (Arabic).
Al-Rai Article (Arabic).
AlAlam Alyoum Article (Arabic).
A veteran of a local civic legislative entity (currently running for Parliament) passed by a 3rd District diwaniya at the behest of the owners - who wanted some real quality time with the candidate in order to formulate their choices for the upcoming elections.
The candidate walks in at 12:15 am, salutes the diwaniya, immediately embarking on his standard ten minute speech, climaxing with "I'm ready for any questions." The owner swiftly asks, "What do you think of local and Islamic blocs who haven't really achieved anything for Kuwait the last decade? Moreover, why has Kuwait developed into such a mess, lagging behind Gulf States, where nobody even respects the law - what do you think is the appropriate solution to this dilemma?"
The candidate stands up, shoots back "The solution is vote for me," promptly making his way out of the diwaniya.
The two guys planning to vote for him swiftly changed their minds; the rest of the diwaniya astounded at the candidate's lack of political decorum.
The next few days I am going to be covering a generation of young and not-so-young bold, passionate, straight-shooting candidates such as Abdulla Al-Yahya, Saleh Al-Mulla, Mansour Al-Muharib, Marzouq Al-Ghanim, among others.
In the meantime, I have been informed that 2nd District Candidate Mansour Al-Muharib - featuring the presence of Guest Speakers and Campaigners Adil Al-Sarawi and Saleh Al-Mulla - will inaugurate his headquarters tonight (7th May ) at 8:30pm in Dahyiat Abdulla Al-Salem.
Trust me, Adil Al-Sarawi, a beacon of honesty, courage and integrity doesn't just show up to support any candidate.
Be there or be square.
The next couple of days I am going to be highlighting a few candidates that I believe would be an asset to the National Assembly. These opinions are solely my own and do not represent any entity, corporate or otherwise. Stay tuned.
I am thoroughly enjoying the run up to the Elections, the myriad of satellite shows on Scope TV, AlRai, Nabeeha Tahaluf and others, the campaign headquarter visits, the newspaper and blog articles fueled by scandals and analysis... The media is indeed helping to shape the results of the next election.
Moreover, there is a new spirit in the air; it's a spirit of cynicism, a mistrust of old school government and MPs. Parliamentary candidates are beginning to realize that the public want their quality of life in Kuwait to improve, they demand less bureaucracy, favoritism, more transparency and fairness - they want to spend less time whizzing from one inefficient, power-hungry bureaucrat to another in order to get their business in order - they want to live as citizens, as human beings with decent health care, decent education, with efficient pricing mechanisms on commodities (as the more progressive Gulf states currently do), without worrying about tuberculosis cow scares, environmental pollution and other typically Kuwaiti 'manifestations'.
Citizens are detecting a lack of compassion emanating from both the inept government and various duplicitous parliamentarians; bitter that this affluent country aids others beyond its borders but cannot or will not help its own citizens - citizens who always seem to be at the mercy of a power or water cut, a bureaucrat, a 50KD carrot...
The 'mad prophet of the airwaves' Howard Beale (Peter Finch) howled in the classic 70s drama NETWORK, "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore."
Is the Kuwaiti electorate angry enough to make a real difference on May 17th?
