KUWAITI NEWS ROUND-UP or SMORGASBOARD: JANUARY 2008

KUWAITI NEWS ROUND-UP or SMORGASBOARD: JANUARY 2008

By Kevin Anthony Stoda


One Kuwaiti friend sent me an online story this morning about one of Osama Bin-Laden’s son’s, who is in Egypt these days promoting a peace ride or race across the deserts of North Africa.

It would appear that the despite the looks of the young Bin Laden, who “bears a striking resemblance to his notorious father — except for the dreadlocks that dangle halfway down his back.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080118/ap_on_re_mi_ea/bin_laden_s_son

The articles in the local papers in Kuwait on this apparently maverick of a child (i.e. from the delusions, hate and destructiveness of the father) all note that although the young man does not wish to disown his father outright, he and his elder British wife want to be Peace Ambassadors in the troubled Middle East.

The younger Bin Laden states, "It's about changing the ideas of the Western mind. A lot of people think Arabs — especially the bin Ladens, especially the sons of Osama — are all terrorists. This is not the truth”

The western press is skeptical of the acorn actually falling far from the tree, “Of course, many may have a hard time getting their mind around the idea of ‘bin Laden: peacenik.’"

Interesting, President Bush—who just came through Kuwait last weekend—has had ties via his own family for decades:

http://www.thedubyareport.com/bushbin.html

The western press hasn’t found that strange enough to write about too much over the decades.

BUSH’S KUWAIT AND MIDDLE EAST TRIP

While Americans in South Carolina and Nevada are heading to primaries, the infamous George W. Bush has returned to the USA from Egypt, Kuwait, and numerous neighboring lands.

One of the few laudable things from his visit was the fact that in Ramallah he openly lamented on the border crossings and check points there and on his trip to other parts of Palestine from Israel.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/04/24/720/


Meanwhile, the “villagers of Bil'in located near the Central West Bank city of Ramallah, along with their international and Israeli supporters conducted their weekly demonstration against the illegal Israeli wall on Friday.”

http://www.imemc.org/article/52273

All Bush seemed to want to talk about in Kuwait was Iran but most of the local papers weren’t too interested, especially in the days leading up to his visit here. Most simply pooh-poohed any possibility of the Kuwaiti regime supporting any more cavalier wars in the area.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=87992

What did get big play in local newspapers was the extremely stark contrast of George W (Juniors) Bush’s visit to the visits of George (Senior) Herbert Walker Bush to Kuwait over the years.

In those time, Bush was king and God in Kuwait. This visit had hardly anyone in the street and it appears that the majority of Kuwaiti’s were more interested in talking about getting the few remaining Kuwaiti’s out of the Guantanamo Prison.

http://www.indianmuslims.info/news/2008/jan/05/bush_vows_look_issue_kuwaiti_prisoners_guantanamo.html


Meanwhile, no mention was made of the fact during W.’s visit to Kuwait that so many poor Asians are still the basic laborers for building US military bases (and running them) these days.

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12675

Likewise, no mention in local press was made till after Bush left of human rights issues in Kuwait. In this weeks Kuwait Times, though there are news conferences in Dubai being noted for condemning persecution of transvestites—who are languishing for over a year in Kuwaiti prisons.

http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=NzYxNTg2ODQ=


Before leaving the Middle East, Bush stopped in Egypt. Former Egyptian military officers here are still telling me that they have been surprised at how quickly the U.S.A. government has turned 180 degrees in terms of its former opposition to the development of nuclear energy—which everyone knows can be turned anywhere on the planet from peaceful to military usage rather quickly.

For 4 decades, Washington has opposed nuclear power and weaponry in Egypt. Now the W. Bush government is promoting this alternative energy source in a resource poor Egypt.

Obviously, Iran is seen as a greater threat by Washington than Israel is, but why open the door to nuclearized Egypt and Gulf states after forcing Libya to back down.

Apparently, though, everyone in Kuwait and other countries in the region are already concerned about the effects of nuclear waste, energy and more nuclear weapons in the region. This weekend’s Kuwaiti papers have lengthy pieces on the problems involved in handling nuclear waste—and the fact that nuclear waste technologies have improved so little since 3-Mile Island when Carter was President.

http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=NjcxMjUwMjU=

By the way, when Middle Easterners in 2008 recall USA presidents of the last century, Jimmy Carter ranks ahead of George W. Bush by a long-shot.

http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/6306


CURRENT KUWAITI ECONOMY STILL TIED TO USA

Kuwaiti investors, unlike people in America and Britain, are currently finding a great purchasing environment in the USA. (So, is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.)

http://shariahfinancewatch.wordpress.com/2008/01/03/arab-times-kuwait-eyeing-investments-in-the-usa-after-subprime-crisis/

Kuwaiti investors believe in tangibles like gold and property. The mess-up U.S. economy should therefore find moneys from the Middle Eastern Oil states flowing back into the USA again in 2008.

Interestingly, the local Kuwaiti retail market is not doing so well. After the original invasion of Iraq by the USA in 2003, Kuwaiti consumers took President Bush at his word and went out shopping—i.e. Happy Days are here again. (They also invested in property big time both in and out of Kuwait.)

Now, however, in winter of this 2008 shopping in Kuwait has been down for a quarter—probably due to the fact that Kuwaiti’s with property in the USA took big hits in 2007.

http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=38927&mailtofriend=1

By the way, foreigners already own half of America’s publicly traded debt and more than 1 and 5 oil producing firms in the USA.
Perhaps the Bin Laden family owns a good sized piece of the American pie, too.

http://www.rense.com/general14/bushsformer.htm