In the comments sections, a couple of people were asking how and why would someone be proud of a company that they do not own or work in…

Feeling proud that a company is Kuwaiti is normal, you dont have to own it to feel proud! When someome mentions a country, my mind goes to the company that probably represents the country best, ya3ny in other words its like a good ad for the country! Examples -

Finland - Nokia
Japan - Toyota and Sony
Saudi - Sabic and Rajhi bank

and so on…

I hope that makes sense!

منها فائدة؟؟

في أحد يقراها؟؟

ليش ما في طبعة ليلية ممكن الواحد يستفيد منها بدل الأخبار البايتة؟

I was out with a friend of mine for coffee a couple of days ago and we were talking about how the number of ghabgas this year has been alot more than any other time before. In the past week alone, I have been to 8 ghabgas!! Twice I had to rush through a ghabga to catch another one.

Ghabgas are a very Kuwaiti thing, I just found out yesterday that it is not a concept that is popular in Saudi! Anyway, for those of you who dont know (SirAddi and others), a ghabga is like a dinner invitation in Ramadan. It comes between Futoor (breaking fast) and Suhoor (just before dawn) timewise, usually around 11pm or 12am. For many people, it replaced suhoor as a meal.
There are several types of ghabgas.

• There are the big formal family diwaniya types, which happen once during Ramadan by each diwaniya, and there are  many many families in Kuwait, so it happens alot more that you would think. The main advantage of those ghabgat is that you get to see everyone all at once, since most of the ones ive been to have had more than 500 guests at least! The main disadvantage is the social obligations part where you cant miss a ghabga because its only a once a year thing, so it messes up your schedule throughout the month.
• There is also the small diwaniya friends ghabga, which I prefer since most of the food is actually homemade, unlike the big diwaniya ghabgat where the food comes from restaurants or hotels. Also, the obvious comfort factor with the people in the ghabga as well as no formalities at all in clothes or anything else. The main disadvantage is that they happen almost on a daily basis and everyone expects you to attend their ghabga.
• There is the corporate ghabgas, which also happen once a year, and the only ghabga I can think of where its mixed. These almost always happen in hotels, and at an earlier time that suits most of the women in the company.

Im sure there are other types of ghabgas but these are the ones I can remember attending recently.

Anyway, the interesting part about the discussion with my friend the other day was that he told me that he actually recieved an invitation to a ghabga! A printed personalized invitation just like wedding invitations! At first I couldnt believe it, its a bit overboard for a dinner invitation…..but then I realized its just another form of evolution in our society! Its an expected step after seeing how the children’s girgai3an has turned into a real business, as well as istiqbalaat and many other things I cant think of now!

I like the ghabgat idea, it makes you fat, but its a good social habit in our socity. I would hate to see it goes the way girgai3an and other things go, where it becomes a way of showing off.

“Business is business” is something we say alot, and it is correct most of the time. The past 2 weeks has seen a takeover in the stock market that has been the main topic in everyone’s discussions, and not for the right reasons!

AlMal has been taken over by AlKharafi group, controlling more than 51% of the company according to latest newspaper sources. This move effectively ends AlSaqer’s control of the company. AlSaqer and AlKharafi are political rivals in the same area and have not had the best relationship.

The business is business slogan does not apply here in my opinion. There are bigger and more important ethical and social factors in this deal -

1. The timing of the takeover - AlKharafi group started aggressively entering the market the day after Jassem AlSaqer (Allah yur7ima) passed away. Mohammed AlSaqer and his brothers were in their funeral and 3aza while AlKharafi took over their company.
2. The purpose of the takeover - The company is not a gold mine, there is nothing really special about the company other than it being owned by AlSaqer. The purpose has been purely personal for political reaons!
3. Bullying and abuse of power - Having alot of money is good, having alot of money with alot of political influence (the recent alliance with the ruling family) is even better, but using that power of money and influence for personal agendas and attacks is ridiculous! The backlash from other Kuwaitis and especially businessmen will not be good. Everywhere I have been in the past two weeks, everyone has been speaking negatively of them. The best quote I heard from a prominent businessman has been - The money AlKharafi has is not considered money, the money Warren Buffet has is what real money is about (he gave away more than 80%, or about $37 billion of his $44 billion fortune).
4. Implications on other MP’s - This takeover could be interpretted as a message to anyone else who messes with AlKharafi in parliament or outside! If you say anything negative about me, I can crush you in the market if you’re involved, and many members of parliament own significant shares or have positions in listed companies. All these members will have to watch what they say from now on when it comes to him.
5. Control of media - This is what pisses me off the most! All newspapers live off AlKharafi companies, either from advertising revenues from companies like MTC, NBK, NIG…and many more that are controlled by them to a certain extent, or from simple things such as materials for the newspapers, since AlKharafi are the only providers of paper used for printing these newspapers!

Yesterday I had my first cup of coffee from Starbucks in Ramadan. I really like the Ramadan design and theme of the paper cups they’re using with the crescent and mosque …. just like the red cups they have for Christmas with nice decorations.

The picture is low quality bcz it was taken with my phone.

I really like this look and what I like most about it is the localization of the theme! International companies should do that more often here!

من غير المسلسلات و البرامج الكوميدية

عشان محد يزعل …

مصدر للسنة

و مصدر للشيعة

بألف عافية