“I TOO would like to tell the GCC states the same things which the Iranian Army Chief-of-Staff Major-General Hassan Fairouz Abadi earlier told these countries ‘do not squander your funds to buy anti-missile Patriot missiles, simply because these deals will empty your pockets and fill the pockets of the US weapons manufacturers,” columnist and businessman Bader Sultan Al-Issa wrote for Al-Seyassah daily Thursday.

“In other words, Major-General Hassan Abadi wants to say simple tactics by the Iranians will render the Patriots futile. However, although I am neither a military professional nor an expert on the weapons industry or in Patriot missiles, I would like to emphasize hereby what has been said by Abadi in this connection, because my observations on the performance of the Patriot missiles which the Americans have installed in the Middle East show these are not good at all.

“In this context, we recall how the United States of America at its expense provided the state of Zionist a network of Patriot missiles during the liberation war of Kuwait in 1991, but they failed to shoot down 13 missiles which were fired by Saddam Hussein’s army from West Iraq into the Jewish state.
“The then Iraqi missiles hit the Western borders of the Jewish state because they were of short range. In other words, these missiles could not cover the distance from West Iraq and East of Israel and this was not because of the Patriot missiles.
“Meanwhile, according to the news agencies, the only Iraqi missile which fell inside Israel and wounded one Israeli woman was the missile No. 13, and the Patriot missiles had nothing to do with it.

“In the meantime, we say the only missile which killed 35 Americans was Chinese made, although it is known to be slow compared to the speed of other missiles, a battery of Patriot missiles failed to encounter it, although we say the Chinese missile could even be shot down by stones.
“Apart from the above, we recall during the liberation war of Iraq in 2003, one of Saddam’s missiles reached Kuwait and fell at the Shuaiba Port without being intercepted by Patriot missiles.
“However, the claim that the Zionists are convinced of the feasibility of Patriot missiles is baseless, particularly since we know the network of these missiles which was installed inside Israel was at the expense of the United States of America, not at the expense of the Jewish State.”

Also:
“Here we would like to frankly say ‘no’ to war in the Gulf region and in the Middle East’, simply because this part of the world and the people have suffered enough as a result of three destructive wars over the past 30 years,” columnist Dr Bader Al-Kandari wrote for Al-Watan Arabic daily Friday.
“Since the Iranian revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Gulf region has harvested nothing except destruction, devastation and backwardness.
“The only positive outcome for the wars is the downfall of Saddam Hussein and his bloody regime and dumping it in the waste basket of history because the region had suffered too much as a result of the behavior of this regime.

“The tug of war currently taking place between Iran and the United States of America and its allies including Israel over the Iranian nuclear file and the related psychological, diplomatic and informational wars between the two parties, is likely to bring the Gulf region into the crucible of a destructive blanket war.
“Such being the case, we call on the concerned parties, the influential states in general and the United Nations in particular to play their role to keep the Gulf region away from the ghost of the war that is likely to erupt with the United States of America and its allies on one side and Iran on the other through encouraging negotiations and dialogue among the concerned parties and finding a practical and appropriate solution for outstanding issues.
“Meanwhile, we suggest the UN must shoulder its responsibility to maintain international security and peace away from threats and blackmail which are practiced by some parties, for instance such as Israel.”


“We may understand that some lawmakers have produced a draft law that is likely to become a controversial issue, but what is indigestible is to see some MPs submitting a bill which can be classified as ‘legislative corruption’ to undermine the image of the public interest,” columnist and former MP Ahmed Al-Melaifi wrote for Annahar daily Friday.
“The bill in question has been submitted by MPs Musallam Al-Barrak, Ali Al-Deqbasi, Al-Saifi Mubarak Al-Saifi, Khaled Al-Tahoos and Shuaib Al-Muwaizri obliging the Ministry of Defence to build a residential area consisting 10,000 housing units complete with full infrastructure including health, educational and entertainment services over the next three years for non-Kuwait military personnel.

“Personally, I believe this bill can be classified as total legislative delinquency. Not just that, this is abuse of power and irresponsible behavior which shall hurt national interests.
“As a matter of fact, I don’t know whether or not the relevant drafters have read Paragraph Nine Item 11 of the Housing Welfare Chapter Pages 69 and 77 related to the New Development Plan Law which was endorsed just recently by the MPs including calls to develop the concept of housing welfare to minimize the applications from those seeking housing welfare, adding the government will be obliged to provide as many as 48,117 housing units for Kuwaitis throughout the period of the New Development Plan.
“In spite of the above, these people have drafted the bill requesting the government to build during three years at least 10,000 housing units for the non-Kuwaitis working for the Kuwaiti Army, ignoring the fact that this bill shall help consecrate the dependence of the Kuwaiti Army on non-Kuwaitis.”


“MPs Saadoun Hammad, Khaled Al-Tahoos and Mohammed Al-Huwaila on Oct 22, 2009 granted the government a grace period of 60 days to solve the contamination problem in Umm Al-Haiman failure of which could end up in filing a parliamentary interpellation against the Prime Minister,” columnist Waleed Al-Ghanim wrote for Al-Qabas daily Friday.
“Needless to say that such a ‘revolutionary’ statement which was issued during a seminar on that day, has come under the momentum of popular pressure, because during this seminar one former member of the Municipal Council embarrassed the concerned MP by submitting a complete file regarding the contamination problem during the seminar indicating the file constituted a well-prepared parliamentary interpellation to be filed by the relevant three MPs against the Prime Minister.
“However, these three MPs quickly took action and pledged to file a parliamentary interpellation against the Prime Minister accordingly without a careful study.

“In spite of the above, three other MPs among those participated in the seminar - Dulaihi Al-Hajri, Saad Zunaifeer Al-Ajmi and Badi Al-Dousari - suggested that the filing of a parliamentary interpellation against the Prime Minister should not be submitted without studying the issue. They hinted this manner shall undermine the issue and will be defeated first in the National Assembly and then by the nation.
“However, this logic did not satisfy the three MPs - Saadoun Hammad, Khaled Al-Tahoos and Mohammed Al-Huwaila - although in reality the suggestion submitted by the MPs Dulaihi Al-Hajri, Saad Zunaifeer Al-Ajmi and Badi Al-Dousari was sound - they had called for studying the issue well before filing a parliamentary interpellation against the Prime Minister.
“Anyway, the time frame has lapsed, but the issue of contamination remains unsolved. When I addressed a query in this respect to the relevant MPs, I got no response.
“At last MP Saadoun Hammad appeared recently to say the Environment Public Authority (EPA) has no power to end the pollution except by shutting down the violating plants in the area within one week. He hinted they are still studying the draft report which was prepared by the parliamentary panel in this connection.”


“In this article, we are not discussing what is acceptable or unacceptable for us when it comes to women’s clothing, but we are just trying to clarify what is suitable and unsuitable for women, in addition to the etiquettes and elegance,” columnist Mohammed Saleh Al-Sabti wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“It is beautiful for a woman to take care of her appearance and clothing no matter how old she is. However, our women these days are criticized for neglecting their domestic duties because they seem to forget themselves and that includes their clothing and appearances.
“We all remember how the elderly women looked nice and wore the ‘oud’ fragrances. In addition to that they wore light scarves and gold jewelry. They put up their best appearances at home some of them when they were even in the 80s and some of them still do so.
“But women these days, especially the elderly, try to imitate the younger generation, which is unsuitable and unacceptable. As for the ‘hijab’, many girls are trying to follow the fashion no matter how inappropriate it looks when they ‘use’ a piece of cloth resembling hijab. This is not accepted by the eyes, logic or even it is bad for public taste.”


“A report by the World Health Organization (WHO) clarified that one of the most important reasons for death among youths and children aged between 10 to 24, is traffic accidents,” columnist Faisal Mohammed Ali wrote for Al-Dar daily.
“The report also indicates traffic accidents are the main reason for sustaining serious injuries in most cases among this age group in different parts of the world. The reports point that the accidents are focused in the developing countries such as the Middle East and North Africa.
“According to statistics and the numbers issued by the Ministry of Interior in Kuwait, a huge number of traffic accidents and human casualties are increasing everyday. Is it not true that with all these data, the Ministry of Interior should reconsider its manner of handling this issue?”  


“The customs unit is one of the key state apparatuses, given that it is the face of the government to foreigners, Dr Hassan Abdullah Jowhar wrote for Al-Jareeda daily.
“The agency is the state’s second highest source of income after oil. The real meaning of customs involves original and profound history, besides the geographical significance of the nation. This is the reason why the customs sector has remained one of the oldest institutions in the country, dating back to the existence of Kuwait in the 18th century.
“The fact that the customs is a major trade window involves talk about exports and imports and taxes and tariffs which business persons and importers always avoid payment. Bribery has also become synonymous with officers in the sector.
“The clerics have issued several edicts connoting that working in the sector is prohibited due to ambiguities surrounding the job. Considering the aforementioned facts, it appears the customs sector should be the most vibrant and transparent sectors in the world, with the adequate technology to enhance its performance.
“The minister in charge should properly equip the customs and reconstruct the sector to meet with the required standards.”


“Recently, a group of Arab and Iranian students studying at Stockholm University in Sweden wrote a letter to me saying they had formed a society to study human rights issues in the Middle East. The students said they are currently collecting information and documents on human rights violations in the entire Middle East region,” columnist Mohammed Hilal Al-Khalidi wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“One of the students asked me to search for violations specifically in Iran. I feel these students will file suits against authorities which violate human rights in these states.
“I fear that a similar group might take action against Kuwait for not solving the Bedoun issue since the last 40 years. We hope our government takes the initiative and settles this issue before we are forced to accept solutions imposed by others.”


“Egypt has finally sent back its ambassador to Algeria. The ambassador was recalled more than two months ago when a football match between the two countries turned ugly and riots erupted. Egyptians and their property in Algeria were targeted during the riots,” columnist Ayman Nasr Allah wrote for Alam Al-Youm daily.
“I wonder if diplomacy can repair the damage in relations between the two countries. How can normalcy be expected after they exchanged all kinds of insults and accusations against each other. Moreover, Algerian media is still said to be carrying out its hate campaign, especially after Egypt’s victory against Algeria in the semi-finals of African Nations Cup.
“I hope the situation returns to normal before the two teams meet again for the qualifying round of the next World Cup. I think that is the reason the ambassador was sent back to Algeria and I hope both the countries reconcile.”


“The zeal to obtain higher degrees like masters and PhD has led to a dangerous phenomenon which needs checking,” columnist Salem Al-Nashi wrote for Arrouiah daily.
“Any and everyone these days wants to obtain higher degrees, irrespective of the market’s need and the quality of education imparted at higher education institutes.
“This has led to an increase in the sale of forged certificates as well as commercial institutes which do not deliver quality education. This serious issue should be tackled immediately and the Ministry of Higher Education should accredit certificates issued by only good and reputed institutes.”


“It is unfortunate we have reached a stage where we embark on settling scores and killing of ambitions due to conflicts among certain personalities linked to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s elections, Mohammad Al-Mulla wrote for Al-Shahid daily.
“This problem has extended to internal wrangling among factions supporting a notable Sheikh, and sports reformists. The latter group seems to have gained the upper hand over the other due to financial support which enabled them to buy commercial licenses, where one person alone secured 400 licenses for grocery business under different names. We are right to categorize this as an aspect of visa trading and monetary benefit, during the Chambers’ elections.
“After the sports crises, there were attacks against the Chambers, and the search for legal lapses began. Everybody is aware the Chambers has a long-standing history dating back to 1920, so it is a golden treasure and a mine for the leaders. The basic objective then was to settle rift among traders, which the Amir presided over.
“It is high time we forestalled all imminent political rifts, and remembered there are positive and negative issues to contend with. The Chambers plays a vital role in building the nation. We should also remember the past achievements of the Chambers, which assisted citizens and financed them before the emergence of oil.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb