My trip to Paris

Last week I went to Paris; France with my family. The trip was fun and the kids loved being at Disneyland Paris. The first three nights we stayed at Paris in a hotel called  Radisson Blu Champs-Elysees . Its location was superb because its on the Avenue de Champs Elysees. The first day was hot; the rooms in the hotel were very hot we had to keep the windows opened beside ordering fans from the hotel. The first day we spent on shopping . You can see lots of famous brands and you need to have a fat wallet to shop on that street. The second and the third day we bought a 2 day tour bus tickets where you can use that bus to get off and on any site or landmark you like. We saw mostly the most famous attractions like  Eiffel tower , however we could not go in because the queue was super long. We went to see the Louver museum but we could not finish it , it was very big and warm inside because it was packed with tourists. What annoyed me most was the over-populated tourist in Paris , you just could not  walk into a shop or a landmark without waiting in queue or being squeezed especially when you are pushing a wheel chair which my mother was using. One thing I did not expect from Paris was their unpaved roads and how unsuitable they are for wheel chaired people. I had a rough time pushing my mother’s wheel chair while in the Champs Elysees avenue. The last 2  days we went to Disney and stayed at the Dream Castle hotel.The hotel was close to the parks and there were buses to transport you to the parks. We spent like on average 10 hours each day in each park. There were two Disney attractions the parks and the studio. The kids loved it but I hated it because we had to queue on average 30 minutes and sometimes more for each game. I think next time I might go to other cities in France and I hope I can meet English speakers .  I will leave you to enjoy the pictures.

Tags: avenue de Champs-Elysees, DisneyLand, Eiffel tower, France, Louver museum, Paris

My time as a POW during the Gulf War

I have been asked many times to write a full diary of mine during the gulf war as I was inside Kuwait that time and held as a prisoner of war in Iraq. I will write in this post a short story of what happened and maybe one day I will document (if my memory aids me) the full story.

Since the beginning of the Iraqi invasion in August 1990 I was 17 years old and like other Kuwaiti citizens , I participated in helping the Kuwaitis to do the common community duties such as delivering foods, working on supermarkets and taking care of the rubbish wastes. I did not join the resistance and no I did not shoot or kill Iraqi soldiers.

My daily routine  in short was to wake up early in the morning and go to the bazar in Shuwaikh and buy chickens , pigeons or ducks, as it was my only hobby beside reading during that time. I used to go there with my father and some friends in my neighbourhood. At afternoon I used to sit with my friends and have fun watching our little chicken farm or play games as I used to own a Commodore, Nintendo and Atari. Then at night we used to gather in our dewaneya (visitors room) and watch CNN where our friend used to translate to us what was going on in the world and we were really looking for any progress or hope toward getting our Kuwait FREE and liberated. That routine lasted for nearly 7 months until February when coalition  started to air-bomb the Iraqi army in Kuwait and Iraq. It was an exciting time as we heard the bombs every day and every hour. Houses were shaken by the bombing and the sound of the Iraqi machine guns were none-stoppable . It was a loud atmosphere.

The last Friday  for me in Kuwait , I was captured with my father and almost 80 other neighbours (all were Kuwaitis) after we did the  Friday prayer in the mosque. That time the coalition decided to move in to Kuwait and Iraq so the Iraqi regime decided to gather as much Kuwaiti youth as possible. We heard we will be held and kept in sensitive and targeted locations so we get the first hit. So we all felt that we will be killed for sure.  We were taken to our local police station and kept in the cell until night. Then we were taken by a big truck with our hands folded to a larger prison in Kuwait. We stayed there over night. I saw a huge number of Kuwaiti prisoners ( approx. 10,000). We slept one night over there and the next night we were transferred in buses to Iraq. We did not know that at the beginning but we figured that out after driving more that 3 hours. It was very dark and dim during the transfer and no lights were in the streets as they were scared from being bombed by the coalition planes.

Now we are in the prison in Basra in a village called “Abo Sokhair”. The cells could only fit 50 prisoners and but they fitted 300 in each cell so you can imagine us squeezed and some even could not sit . I don’t remember  even I rested my back against the walls for nearly a month. For the first two weeks we used to pay the guards to buy us food and cigarettes (for smokers) until Basra were surrounded by the coalition , the Iraqi soldiers in our area were cut-off from Bagdad, so they lost all sorts of communication and support. Our hunger started to welcome us as they did not get us food nor water for more than 10 days. I remember some days I did not eat nor drink for almost 2 days. I was dying to have one drop of water. So we started to drink from the rain and the dirty water in the swamps. Many prisoners went unconscious and some died especially those with an illness. That day they brought us dates and they gave me only one, I did not eat it, instead I used to lick it and save it for later when I get hungry. I kept that date for nearly 3 days as it was my only food. Many including me caught infection from the dirty water , and at sunset the gates were closed so if you need a toilet you have to wait until morning , it was terrible. The cell mates were all sorts of people . I remember I saw MPs, ministers and actors.  One of our mates hid a radio and told us one night quietly that Kuwait was liberated. We were really happy and sad at same time because we did not know if we ever be released and see our families.

One day morning we were assembled outside and a Colonel came to us and gave the magic word “ You are all going to Kuwait” we were screaming and shouting ! we could not believe our ears. They took us to The Red Cross in Safwan. The Red Cross were shocked because no one told them about our release. Anyway they took us and registered our names . They contacted the Kuwait government and the next morning many buses came to take us. We were delivered to Al-Jahra hospital and I saw my mom and many Kuwaiti families waiting. It was a happy day full of hugs and tears. That’s a summary of what happened during that time and I promise to write a complete one in the future.

Tags: gulf war, kuwait pows, POW, pows, q8 pows, أسر, أسرى الكويت, أسير حرب, الغزو العراقي, بو صخير

Kuwaitis gathering in Bangor

Two weeks ago I had a good gathering (Dewaneya) with some fresh Kuwaiti students here in Bangor. There were like 10 Kuwaitis in the meeting and I was introduced to every one . Their ages varied; some were in their early twenties and some were thirties (but few) and there was finally some one who is older than me ; he was 43!. I think the Kuwait student union started to pay attention to Bangor   because the number of Kuwaitis started to grow every year and as a result they asked for someone to volunteer as a representative for the Kuwaitis in Bangor. If you have read my topic that I wrote in  late 2010 “Happy Eid” you would have seen that I already asked them for a representative, but maybe they did not read my post or maybe they aren’t aware of my blog yet and there is a Kuwaiti student who maintains it. If you type “kuwaiti students in uk” you will get my blog listed .

I took my son Ahamd with me that day to the dewaneya we both had cold so the poor fellow slept in there. We had a nice talk with the students and afterward a  nice meal was introduced. From my knowledge of meeting Kuwaiti students in Bangor and sometimes hearing about others that I have not met yet ; I can tell that the most common majors (subjects they study ) classified by departments: Business school , Computer Science , Sports science , Ocean Science and college of Health. The level of education varries from bachelor to master and a PhD.

Tags: Kuwait Bangor, Kuwaiti Bangor University, kuwaiti students uk, National Union of Kuwaiti Students, NUKS, جامعة بانجور ويلز, جامعة بانقور ويلز, طلبة كويتيين المملكة المتحدة, طلبة كويتيين بانجور, طلبة كويتيين بانقور, طلبة كويتيين بريطانيا

Do you really need an accounting degree to be an accountant ?

Have you faced this problem before ?

You plan your whole academic and professional  achievements and suddenly you don’t find what you are looking for ?! Or precisely  you are not accepted because the rules are against you !

When I was in Kuwait I saw that very clearly ! Let me tell you about my academic path.

I have achieved a bachelor in IT and computing , then i studied master in accounting and finance because  I always been interested in business and investments, and accounting fulfils this passion quite well. After I finished my master I decided to do two main things in the future . I decided to study a PHD in accounting and at the part time finish and study ACCA . As you can see the later two are quite different but I wanted to strengthen both academic and professional skills in accounting. All my future plans are concentrated on Kuwait. Which I plan ( after gaining some practical experience) to open a small business in accounting and auditing. Unfortunately in Kuwait the rules does not go easily with my plans. The route to establishing this kind of business is not straight forward. To obtain a license you need to have a bachelor in accounting which I don’t have. You also need to be a member of the “Kuwait Association of Accountants and Auditors” where they have the same terms. I think that’s stupid ! because  one don’t need to have a  bachelor degree to open a practise or join an association . Any qualification or a proof of experience should do the job quite simply. How about my case ? When I  finish both PhD and ACCA I will be over qualified in accounting and any one who said the opposite doesn’t know a thing.

Currently I am living and studying in UK. From my experience you can work as an accountant even if you don’t have a bachelor in accounting. All you need to prove is skills and experience, other wise a qualification is a must. I heard that USA is the same.  So why don’t our friends  in Kuwait do the same !

Tags: ACCA, ACCA Kuwait, Accounting, Accounting and Finance, accounting practise, experience, Jobs, Kuwait Association of Accountants and Auditors, PHD, UK

Online money making ways can help you earn more and eliminate debts

Are you tired of the debt obligations that are spiraling out of control? With the present unemployment level hovering around the 9% level, most Americans are frustrated with their personal financial lives as they start defaulting on their loan obligations. An increasingly large number of people are looking for ways in which they can make more money and use the funds in order to repay their debt obligations. Since most of them are desperately looking for some passive income to make ends meet, you can also try to make money online and use the proceeds in repaying your debt obligations. Here are some smart ways in which you can generate online cash.

• A website reviewer: If you come back home early every evening and you find you have enough time to do another part-time job, you can become a website reviewer. As most business organizations have started sharing an online space to increase their traffic, you can get in touch with a webmaster who wants his website to be reviewed by a third-party. You just have to go through the website and detect the errors that can bring down the number of traffic to their website. In short, you have to make ways to boost the online visibility of the website in question.
• An affiliate marketer: There are many merchant companies that are looking for an affiliate marketer who can promote their products and services on their behalf. If you have enough time at home and you’re well-versed with the internet marketing efforts, you can certainly become an affiliate marketer. Sign up with the merchant company and they will give you an affiliate link through which you have to market their products and services. You may use e-mails, the social media as a means for marketing their products. You can earn commission on the number of leads that you generate for the merchant company.
• An online content writer: You must be aware that the content of a website is the most important part and without good, relevant and unique content, it is impossible for webmaster to attract the adequate number of traffic. If you have a flair for writing and you also have enough time, you can become an online web writer. However, you have to make sure that you write unique content and articles that have 100% relevancy with the theme of the website. You get paid well for such jobs.

Therefore, when you have lot of debt obligations to repay and your income is limited, you can try making money online. Choose any of the above mentioned options so that you can repay your debt obligations without having to rush to professional debt help companies.

Can you earn money by writing blogs at home?

There are many people who are interested in writing blogs. But have you seriously thought about earning money by writing blogs. You can turn your hobby of writing blogs into your profession and it will help you make money. Therefore, this article will help you to suggest 3 essential ways to make money at home by writing blog posts. Read more…

The Stock Market Casino

Is trading in stock markets a luck business ? or does it require skills ? How many investors remain making profits for a long time or become rich and stayed one ? I know you might tell me that Warren Buffet is the man ! But was he lucky or does he posses an outstanding skills in investing?. I think he has the two factors, by being lucky and a man of craft.This will open a new discussion called: “Probabilities” and I’m  no expert in that field, but i know some basic knowledge that I can use now to validate my arguments.From my experience of 7 years of securities trading in US market I know for sure that most traders depend on luck. They are in the market like gamblers in Casinos . They are trading for the thrill. Of course there is an exception here , and I mean the sophisticated investors, traders and institutions.

Every one of them (the 2 teams) are looking for the profit. But how do each one of them look at the trading process ? Like I said gamblers and yes I call them so because they depend on luck and probabilities are so different than the professional ones ! But in What way ? The professional do their best to filter the securities by choosing the right bargain . I didn’t mention the long process of filtering , you may ask me why ? Because at the end of financial calculations , investors face a critical  phase : that is the decision making phase to pick the hot stock. While the gamblers don’t get involved in the previous process, all they are after is the quick profit and the thrill of trading and sometimes  the fear of losing. Some gamblers certainly go through a process which is obviously different than common security analysis. What makes both different is the mentality of each one. The investors group use skills finalised by sophisticated decisions. Gamblers however, value profit without knowing the mechanics and fundamentals of stock markets.

Both teams are exposed to luck and losing money, as no one can anticipate the markets surrounded by many economic and political influences . We live in an enigmatic and uncertain world anyhow. No matter how skilful you are , you can not control the consequences . You can get lucky if you are good and gain money. Still you can win many trades while being merely lucky with no skills at all. For example by following experts advice or getting to know insiders. I know many investing-coaches who claim that  they are experts in stock markets but still lose and close many of their own portfolios . Despite that they continue giving lectures and courses. I call that a foolish act because these morons are fooling themselves and their clients. I’m sure you have seen them every where and not just in the finance industry. What was the reason for them for not being able to beat the market ? Was it of their lack of technical knowledge ? I doubt it. Was it because of the “Market Efficiency hypothesis” theory ? Which states that you can not beat the market by using technical analysis or manipulating the insiders information to profit before every one else ? I don’t believe in that theory , because in reality there are plenty  who profit from the markets by using technical charts and insiders secrets.

All I can say is that there are  winners and losers in securities markets and its irrational to categorize their actions into “The seven habits of Highly effective or ineffective investors” book . because even if you apply those habits , it does not mean that you are isolated from risk and uncertainties. I still trade despite of what I just said and I did not write this article to put you off trading or investing. My point is to illustrate that investing is mainly a probability game, however with a spice of skills it can become a non-gambling profession.

Tags: Philosophy, Probability, profession, risk, stock market, trading

Twitter Teachers in Kuwait

The trend now in Kuwait is to use Twitter rather than Facebook. In the past the number of Kuwaitis who use Facebook was far much bigger than Twitter. Very few who used Twitter even though they had Twitter accounts. I personally not sure what made that switch. It could be to follow politics that’s happening in Kuwait- many tweeters were arrested by the government for their oppositional views.There are also  other reasons , probably the potential to get to know more people for socializing and exchanging opinions about many issues.  There are also the zealots who specializes in one thing only : political rumours, feud and recrimination.I personally had Twitter since 2008 and hitherto my activity  isn’t that much. I have seen some Kuwaiti Tweeters who tweet – and I’m not exaggerating – in every hour of the day . Don’t they go to sleep or rest or have other things in life rather than tweeting. This is serious ! It says a lot about them and how they spend their lives. I don’t mean by that to quit Twitter but what I’m calling for is a balance.There are many important things in Life to take care of . It could be your yourself , family , job , business or other things.

I have read an article in Alarabiya News : Kuwaiti government is studying a project to pay teachers money  to use social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Its like an incentive , but hey this is good news for teachers who are already Twitter-Addicts. Not just that, the salaries of teachers have gone up lately and every one now wants to be a teacher including the tweeters

Tags: 4q8, erada, Kuwaiti teachers, Kuwaiti tweeters, Twitter

HMRC Vs Virtual money

I have some thoughts regarding taxing virtual currencies. Virtual currencies that exist in online games, such as World of Warcraft, Second Life and many others.There two ways to have these currencies: inside-game activity or through an external intermediary such as “Gold faming companies” which you can buy these currencies by shopping in their website.I think once the virtual currency is converted into real money and transferred into your bank account ; the tax man will wave at you because you earning money , have an established website and a business , so you need to declare your income and profits and pay the appropriate tax . The Tax man ( for example the HMRC- the UK Tax authority) does not care where this money come from or what is the nature of the business ! All they care about is that your earned money and its time to give him a piece of your treasure   . I have looked at the HMRC website and I could not find a law that describes that issue. All I was able to find is online gambling gaming that resembles gambling machines. IF you know any related law please let me know. I also welcome further discussions on that matter as I will be posting more tax topics in the future Thank you !

Tags: HMRC, Second Life, Tax, Virtual Money, world of warcraft, WoW

When will Kuwaitis start paying TAX ?

I know that this topic will upset many Kuwaitis and they will reject what Im going to mention. But i don’t care about the consequences . Kuwait is a wealthy country-I know that for sure . But what is the source of wealth? Oil only ! this is good news as long as the oil price is high and the supply is still active. But what happens if the price drops or the world no longer needs it? I’m sure that Kuwait will be in a deep trouble. That’s because it has no reliable income that it can use to secure its expenses and to supply the employment with salaries. So in my humble opinion- as I’m not an economist but an apprentice accountant- I ponder: why Kuwait does not follow the developed countries by putting a tax policy in practise?. Taxation will solve many of the above problems if applied right and at the right time. USA and UK’s (for example) main income is from tax and believe it or not its a huge money.Most (if not all) of the developed countries can not function without depending on tax income. Every economist knows the advantages of taxation be it economical or social. Beside I sense that Kuwaiti citizens need to participate in building their country, so when they pay tax they contribute to the development of their country , apropos I’m talking about employee , self employed and business owners. The money goes to boost the country and improve it. Politically is also right , because when Kuwaitis pay tax they have the right to question the government or ask for a raise. We can not always be takers as most Kuwaiti citizens are (unfortunately) we have to be givers as well , and by paying tax we are being responsible citizens.  Looking at the current sad situation in Kuwait,  this is right time to apply taxation. However we have a big challenge, the tax money must be in good hands and must be utilized to advance the country. No more robbery and corruption please, as we can not afford it.

Tags: Kuwait Tax, Tax in Kuwait, Tax law, Tax policy, Taxation in Kuwait