Todd DeGain Roadside Memorial

Kuwait 2005 would like to share with you this picture of the roadside memorial in memory of Todd DeGain. Our deepest condolences to all his family, friends, and loved ones. May he rest in peace. Thanks Nate.

Breaking News Arizona Case

Kuwait 2005 has learned from its sources that the American citizen (identified herself as such to police) and Kuwaiti student involved in the Arizona accident have been indicted as following:

• Jeep Driver (American)-
  
• Count 1- Leaving scene of a fatal accident, a class 4 felony
• Count 2- Driving or actual physical control while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, a class 1 misdemeanor
• Count 3- Extreme driving or actual physical control while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, a class 1 misdemeanor
• Ford Driver (Kuwaiti)-
• Count 1- Leaving scene of a fatal accident, a class 4 felony
• Count 2- Liquor-unlawful acts, a class 1 misdemeanor
• Both individuals are set to appear for arraignment on October 5th, 2005.
  

Note: Legal sources expressed their surprise at this decision, stating that drinking, driving, and death usually yield manslaughter or second-degree murder charges. Another informed source attributed this decision to the failure of the responsible individuals to prove that the Jeep driver was driving erratically, despite her hitting Todd DeGain, and a telephone pole a short while after that. Again, an interesting decision by all means. Stay tuned.

Arizona Police Report

The Arizona Republic published excerpts from the police report filed for the 09/14 accident. Following are some highlights:

• Woman in Jeep, who also hold U.S. citizenhip, appeared very relaxed, insisting she had hit a pole. She was also seen on her cellphone making phone calls.
• Both girls were trying to find a friend's house at the time of the accident.
• Both cars hit Todd DeGain.
• Both women admitted drinking before the accident.
• Jeep driver told police she was suffering from jet-lag as she had just arrived from Kuwait the day before.
• Jeep driver asked if she was going to jail for the rest of her life, while making phone calls to family members, and lawyers in Kuwait and the U.S.
• Mesa Police contacted the Kuwaiti Ambassador's Office.

Israel, Kuwait, and the Trade Emabrgo

Al-Rai Al-Aam tipped Kuwait 2005 to news about the trade embargo on Israeli goods being lifted by four countries in the GCC. After searching for the source, the news was verified. Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth published a story today claiming that Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Dubai, will soon announce the end of the economic embargo on Israel. The newspaper claims that this change is a direct result of American pressure on the GCC states mentioned, as they seek to reach free-trade agreements with the U.S. The newspaper also claims that Saudi Arabia was excluded from this deal amid fears of fueling terrorist attacks, a position America accepted.

• Note: Bahrain already announced lifting its economic embargo on Israel.
  

Todd DeGain- Remembered by Friends

Arizona Republic- An article featuring the life of Todd DeGain, the victim of the Mesa hit-and-run accident involving two Kuwaiti citizens. In comparison to previous "opinion" pieces, this article does justice to DeGain, a father of a 7-years-old Ryan, and a person loved by many. May he rest in peace. Other details include:

• Both girls were released on bail and await a preliminary hearing in Maricopa County Superior Court on Friday (yesterday).

Arab Times republished the Arizona Republic's story.
Court appearance was scheduled for 09/23/2005 (yesterday) at 8.30am. State of Arizona vs. Two Kuwaiti citizens. The honorable Commissioner B. Owens presided. Details coming soon.

Jarhead- Desert Storm at the Movies!!

Desert Storm is back! The movie Jarhead is based on a soldier's experiences before and during Desert Storm of 1991. The cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, and Jamie Foxx. The planned release date in the US is sometime during the first 10 days of November, 2005.

New "Old" News

The sister of one of the girls involved in the Arizona tragedy has spoken. This opinion piece was dated September 14th by the Daily Star. Here is a reponse by Kuwait2005:

• "Talking is usually my favorite therapy" 1st paragraph- That is why God Gave us two ears and one mouth- So we speak less and listen more. If you did that, you would not have said what you said in this lousy opinion piece.
• "They turned both my family and my best friend's family tragedy into the hot gossip of the week" 2nd paragraph- Yes it is a tragedy by all means, and no this is not hot gossip. This is news. When prominent individuals, or their relative, get into trouble, they become today's news. Just because the Kuwaiti media is not covering this does not make it gossip! It is still factual news. Besides, remember a guy names De Gains? Do you think his family are in this tragedy too? You say yes but you don't mention him. Why? Because you are a self-centered, typical, snobby Kuwaiti girl who thinks laws were made for the poor. This is what drives this story!
  
• "Did anyone stop to think how these two scared women are feeling"- Not really! They are in the USA where nobody is above the law. The De Gains family, who you fail to mention, are worthy of more sympathy and condolences.
• "I felt sick to my stomach. What kind of society do we live in? When does someone's tragedy become an amusing topic of discussion" 3rd paragraph- Society is not to blame. This is a direct consequence of the actions of these two girls. As to what kind? The kind where relatives of prominent figures are shoved into the news once something happens, just like any other society that has some sort of democracy. As for your sickness,there are many good doctors all over Kuwait, unless you want to be sponsored by the Ministry of Health for treatment abroad, which you can if you wanted to!
• "Do these people not have sisters? Do these people not have a conscience?"- Yes they do. Most have a clean conscience that realizes when to sympathize with the plight of others, and when not to. "Crude judgments" is just being hypocritical! But being who you are, the last sentence would be a redundancy (go look it up in the dictionary!).
  
• "I am not condoning what my sister and friend did" 4th paragraph- Please do. You think people care what you do now!
• "Life has a funny way of showing us"- Funny? What is funny about this whole episode?
  
• "Let us just take this story with a grain of salt"- A man lost his life and you do not have the decency to use better wording out of respect for the victim. I am surprised you made it fine through 24 years of life. You come off as even snobbier than the other two girls!
• "Posting cruel comments about them in an attempt to feel better about yourself"- If news commentary became what you said it is, then why not post a decent opinion where you acknowledge the loss of the De Gains family instead of pointing at people? Told you, you are even snobbier.
• "They have strong, beautiful souls"5th paragraph - Save the cliches.
• "Other stories will come along and take its place"- Thank you. Finally you say something that is not offensive, and true!

General response to the opinion piece by Shahad Bishara:

• This is an appalling opinion piece that reflects your true skewed image of yourself and things around you. People are not slaves and you their master for you to label, point fingers, and tell them what to do. This is the age of technology, where even people in remote locations can find out what is going on around the world. Show some decency and respect to others.
• One thing I looked for in your opinion piece is an apology, or at least condolences, to the De Gains family. Nothing was there which again reflected the "high" moral and behavioral standards you hold. Offering an apology or condolences is not by any means an admission of guilt. It is simply an admission that a man lost his life, and that we as human beings sympathize with the De Gains family.
  
• Near the end, you mention how this is news today, and something else will be the news tomorrow. Thank you. I have been trying to make this point ever since the story broke! This story is already dying down, and nobody really cares what happens, except for a few family and friends.
• Finally, before you start getting defensive and point fingers at others, you must know that your fathers social standing is driving all of this. If it was two other girls named A and B, this story would not have made it into the news cycle in Kuwait. But since it is girls C and D, this story rocketed across the Atlantic and back a few million times. You made the Dean's Honor List in 2001. You should know better. This is life.
  

Arizona update- Rolling Story

• East Valley Tribune story - passports in custody and bail info.
• KPHO Phoenix- Court appearance. You need to scroll down to the video titled "Women arrested in fatal hit and run."
• Al-Watan newspaper- Pathetic news about making bail of $300 thousand when it is actually $150K plus $75K= $225K!!! The pathetic news also fails to say that one of the girls is not a student at ASU. Finally, Kuwaiti girls never ever drink and drive! Welcome to freedom of press Kuwaiti style! Note: Does this mean any Kuwaiti citizen who gets into trouble will be bailed out like this? Food for thought.
• Arab Times- azfamily.com story republished here (updated Sept. 17, 2005 at 4.30am US Eastern Time Zone)
• ASU Web Devil- Accident occured on Alma School Road near Baseline Road (updated Sept. 17, 2005 at 6.00am)
• Al-Watan- News about Kuwaiti Foreign Minister and Kuwait's Ambassador to the US trying to help, and how that despite making bail, the two girls remain in captivity (updated Sept. 18, 2005 at 2.25am)

P.S. If this post is not displaying correctly it is Blogger's fault!

Unfortunate Incident in Arizona involving Kuwaities

No comment!

Video

Story

Story #2

Human Development Report 2005- Kuwait

As you might have read in local newspapers, the Human Development Report for 2005 is out. To obtain a complete official copy of the report click here (I advise you to use save as.. option from the UNDP site instead of opening the .pdf file right there. Also, the 6.3 megabytes .pdf file is completely searchable!). For Arabic, there are parts, including a summary, available here.
The report includes detailed data about education, economics, political participation, the environment, technology, gender-related development, and other areas of interest. Brief notes about Kuwait from the report include:

• In the Human Development Index, HDI, (2003 data) Kuwait ranks 44th with a value of 0.844. Norway ranks first with a value of 0.963.
• Life expectancy at birth is 76.9 years
• Adult literacy rate (15 years-old and above) is 82.9 percent
• GDP per capita is $18, 047
• Live expectancy index value= 0.87
• Education index value= 0.80
• GDP index value= 0.87
• HDI trend for Kuwait
• 1975= 0.763
• 1980= 0.777
• 1985= 0.780
• 1990= N/A
• 1995= 0.813
• 2000= 0.837
• 2003= 0.844
• Demographic Trends
• Fertility rate (births per woman)
• 1970-1975= 6.9 births
• 2000-2005= 2.4 births
  

Kuwaiti Tennis - US Open

Abdullah Muqadas again represented Kuwait in the juniors competition of a Grand Slam. This time it was at the US Open where he faced 9th seeded Thiemo de Bakker from Holland. Muqadas lost two sets to nil with a score of 6-1 and 7-6 (7-3 tiebreak). He will not feature in the junior's doubles competition. Better luck next time. Muqadas is currently ranked 1161 in singles, his highest rank ever. As for doubles, Muqadas is ranked at 795. His career record stands at 3 wins and two losses. For more information click here.

Kuwaiti Prisoners in Cuba

• I came across a website, by coincidence, that is dedicated to the Kuwaiti prisoners in GITMO. If you are interested, God Forbid, click here to access the site.
• Kuwait University advertised its scholarship offerings in July. Just in case you missed it here is a re-run. Scholarhsips advertised include Medicine, Business, and the Languages Center. Click here to access the advertisements.
• An interesting country study published by the Library of Congress. Looks at politics, economy, society, etc. in Kuwait. Very interesting!