Social Slave

I just read on Al-Watan Daily that the Ministry of Commerce has activated a 24-hour hotline for consumer complaints. They have increased their staff and have emergency teams working around the clock to handle any complaints. They have also added an answering service in addition to the voice mail service to save the caller’s time.

So if you’ve got any complaints about any product or service, you can now call the 24-hour hotline # 135.

[Source]

Mövenpick Hotel & Resort is the first hotel in Kuwait to be awarded the Green Globe Certification. Here are some of the environmental initiatives carried out by them:

• Water-saving devices in all guest rooms and public areas
• Energy-saving light bulbs to save power
• Active involvement in local and international charities
• Own recycling program for paper, plastic and cans
• Engaged a ‘Zero Emission Aim’ regarding their carbon footprint which includes travel to and from
• Involving guests in the sustainability programs by inviting them to use the recycle bins placed across the property, making them aware of special measures such as air conditioning cut-off when they leave their rooms as well as linen reuse

[Source]

Arabian Business has compiled a list of the Top 10 employers in GCC based on their research into various issues like salary, benefits, chances of promotion, working conditions, perks and the quality of the people. Kuwait’s MH Alshaya Company came in at #2 on the list as the only retailer to make the grade. Here is the full list:

1. Emirates Airline
2. MH Alshaya Company
3. Omnicom Media Group
4. Batelco
5. Emaar
6. GE (General Electric)
7. Standard Chartered
8. Qatar Foundation
9. Siemens
10. Aramex

Read more about them all [Here]

My friend emailed me about this malfunctioned VIVA Quick Payment Kiosk at the Kuwait Airport. Apparently there is some glitch in the system when you try to pay your bill, the machine takes the money but then it displays an error response saying ‘Failure Transaction’. This happened with a few people there and they haven’t put the machine out of order yet. So if anyone’s planning to pay their VIVA bills at the airport, please avoid this kiosk.

Thanks Ral

I was just reading on Gulf News that Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD) recently conducted a study into 82 weight loss products and found many of them contain ingredients that have major cardiovascular and psychiatric side effects.

The products contain an ingredient called Yohimbine that is banned in UAE since 1988 because it causes cardiovascular side effects, heart failure and even death. Other common ingredients in these fat burning pills are Ephedra that causes psychiatric symptoms, palpitation and death while another called Tryptophan causes a potentially fatal muscle disorder that could lead to death too.

Here are the ten products have been recommended to be taken off the shelves:

- Hydroxycut Hardcore
- Hydroxycut Max for Women
- Redline
- Lipo 6
- Lipo 6 Hers
- Lipo 6X
- Lipo 6 Black
- Xenadrine RFA-X
- Dymaburn Xtreme
- Atro-phex

Reading all these harmful side effects, Kuwait should ban these products as well if they haven’t already because a lot of people in Kuwait including some of my friends take these pills and they would always find them sold out at all the stores. Even Hash’s gym trainer had once suggested him to take these pills for making it faster to lose a few kilos but he didn’t. The pills actually worked for the people I know but as soon as they stopped taking them they put it all back on and more with other health conditions. In the end, a good balanced diet and regular exercise is the only way to lose weight safely and keep it off. So steer clear of these supplements.

[Source]

Has anyone noticed this solar panel on the Istiqlal Street in front of the Kuwait Continental Hotel? It looked like a 2-lane speed camera to me at first but then I didn’t notice any camera lens, or it could be some sort of a traffic monitor. I couldn’t get a closer look and didn’t have my camera with me to zoom in. Whatever it is, it’s a good idea to power them with solar energy.

In fact, I was reading in the Arab Times few days ago that Kuwait’s electricity demand is increasing by 6-8% each year and 70% of that is mainly in summer. Wouldn’t it help to have solar panels in Kuwait on a large scale? It could save electricity, reduce power shortages maybe and is good for the environment as well. We could get the self-dusting solar panels that were actually developed by NASA for the Moon and Mars missions, since dust deposits on the panel can reduce solar power conversion.

Anyways, I guess we are a long way from all this. For now I am just wondering what these panels on Istiqlal are for.

There is a beautiful mosque opening up in Dahiat Abdullah Al-Salem tomorrow, August 1st on the first day of Ramadan. The Mohammed Jassim Al-Saddah Grand Mosque is a 2,800 sqm project designed and constructed by bab.nimnim design studio. From the looks of the mosque’s design, it perfectly reflects the Islamic heritage within a contemporary framework. I really like the modern minimalistic touch fused with the elements of Islamic architecture which is quite impressive and adds value to the community without taking away from the culture.

The main concept revolves around the oneness of Allah through the repetitive use of the circle. A sense of continuity was applied with the use of one pattern originating from a Damascan mashrabiya screen and the squared Koufi font type which is extremely modern yet one of the oldest forms of Arabic calligraphy. A minimal color scheme was used throughout the entire structure and the exterior facades are constructed of Syrian gray and off-white stone. The liner stone application follows in the tradition of the Fatimid period mosques of Egypt.

[Website]

Recently a reader had commented on the Sabah Al Ahmad Sea City Post that Kuwait is finally joining the likes of Dubai, Bahrain and Qatar in making islands and lagoons. This hit my mind that Green Island was actually the first man-made island in the Middle East and it was constructed back in 1988 with an artificial lake filled with water from the Gulf. The island itself covers an area of 785,000 square meters and is linked to the main land by a 134 meter long access way.

Green Island is a beautiful place but it’s just neglected and a bit outdated and TEC can do a lot to improve and develop the island for attracting more visitors. They should add more activities, maybe add a small theater that could run documentaries & cultural movies, have better restaurants & cafes to make the island a more interesting place to visit.

Update: I found some old photos of the Green Island taken in 1988 [Here].

There has been some renovations going on at Mais Alghanim for over a month now and I noticed that they closed the balcony to expand their indoor seating and added another floor on top which might have the open area. For now only the ground floor is operational and I guess it will be completed just in time for Ramadan.

A friend of mine shared this website on Facebook called Kuwait Evidence that has about 1,200 high resolution photos of the destruction left behind from the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The website is created by Adel Al-Yousifi and all the photos are his eyewitness account of the devastation he found when he returned home.

After checking on family and friends, he took his camera and began recording the devastation. Starting in the South, he made expeditions into the desert and then worked his way up the Coast, to the City, the Suburbs, and finally the North. Al-Yousifi took pictures every day from March till the last fire was put out in November.

The quality of the photographs is really amazing and the gallery is divided into the different types of damage suffered by each part of Kuwait during and after the invasion.

[Website]