Banana Kuwait Blog | Entertainment | Food | Fashion | Electronics

So, I heard Tom CRUIES and Morgan FRRRMAN are starring in Oblivion. Really Cinescape? Really!? And this is the corporate website!!! At least check your spelling mistakes! This is a disgrace to CRUIES, FRRRMAN and to the website itself! It’s sad to see such simple mistakes on a corporate website. I think whoever inserted the names didn’t have their coffee in the morning!

Thanks to [a.alfarhoud] for the tip.

5 people like this post.

Unlike

During my three-weeks-stay in the U.K., I observed some day-to-day things that I’m surprised I haven’t yet seen in Kuwait, such ‘simple’ things can greatly make Kuwait a better place to be.

Safe Road-Crossings: I wish to see traffic department taking action about this, crossing roads (or should I say racing tracks?) in Kuwait can be a one-way-flight with over-speeding and maneuvering cars. We read and hear about pedestrians being ran over almost everyday, add to this the numerous hit and run felonies.

Self-Service Check-Out: It’s year 2013 and I think it’s time for shopping markets and Co-Ops to include such service. This is a very simple thing to teach people be self-dependent, they don’t need to rely on others for everything, even day to day things! I wish Carrefour, The Sultan Center, Lulu Hypermarket, Géant, Gulfmart, Co-Ops Societies and others start installing these machines.

Pedestrians-Only-streets: Isn’t it nice to have such walking-only streets with shops and cafes on both sides without cars honking or hitting you when trying to cross to the other side, where you can enjoy outdoor seating for a cafe or fancy restaurant without having to breathe car fumes? ? Imagine Salem Mubarak Street in Salmiya was only for pedestrians where no cars were allowed wouldn’t it be magnificent?

More Greenery: Numerous scientific studies have found that color green brings serenity through our senses, add to this the pleasing view and the positive effect on our local environment and health benefits. I wish to see Baladiya and other govermental bodies in Kuwait pushing for more greeneries instead of concrete and asphalt pavings everywhere, the interlocking tiles in the streets can be replaced with natural grass and turf. Baladiya can issue a law for planting those open areas and courtyards for nicer landscaping.

New Smart Soda Machines: Last but not least, I wish if all restaurants start bringing those new soda machines that won’t make a mess when filling a diet coke! (see video above) “Kidding”.

2 people like this post.

Unlike

While having my early morning coffee and leafing through AlRai paper I read an article about the increasing Internet and online blackmail/extort people are reporting in Kuwait these days. Apparently, many of the those evil extorters are abusing online social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Keek… etc. to intimidate victims, like by spreading out their personal/private photos or information in order to get what they want like a ransom or even worse. The problem that in many cases the extorters turn out that they were having an affair with the victims (ex-partner, girlfriend/boyfriend… etc).

Many of the victims do submit to the blackmail lest of scandal. Good news is that Ministry of Interior MOI has just launched a dedicated number to report such cases so that they can handle them confidentially, if you know anyone undergoing such electronic crimes then she/he can give the the number below a call and hopefully police will help. Be vigilant!

Phone: 25662703

4 people like this post.

Unlike

I was checking my e-mail and came across this article from CNN, and thought it would be of great interest to you guys:

Bolivia was ranked the unfriendliest country for travelers in the World Economic Forum report. The category ‘Attitude of population toward foreign visitors’ is just one of many used to rank countries in the new Travel and Tourism Competitive Index. Bolivia ranked 110th out of 140 countries in the overall index results. On the positive side, it performed well in price competitiveness due mainly to low hotel accommodation costs.

(CNN) — When traveling, some countries just don’t like you. Or at least, it can certainly feel that way.

A new report, put out earlier this month by the World Economic Forum, has ranked which countries roll out the welcome mat to travelers and which give the cold shoulder.

The “Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013″ ranked 140 countries according to attractiveness and competitiveness in the travel and tourism industries.

Unwelcoming

Among the extensive analyses, one of the most interesting rankings was how welcome tourists are in each country, under the category “Attitude of population toward foreign visitors.”

And the world’s most unfriendly country, according to the data?

Bolivia took the dubious honor, scoring a 4.1 out of seven on a scale of “very unwelcome” (0) to “very welcome” (7).

Venezuela and the Russian Federation were next.

Interestingly, despite their huge tourist arrivals, South Korea and China tied with four other countries for the eighth least friendly spot.

At the other end of the scale, Iceland and New Zealand were ranked the world’s most welcoming nations for visitors.

You can see a top 10 for friendliest and unfriendliest at the bottom of this article.

Strengths and weaknesses

The “friendly” ranking was just one aspect of the report, analyzing each country’s competitiveness in travel and tourism. That competitiveness is “based on the extent to which they are putting in place the factors and policies to make it attractive to develop the travel and tourism sector.”

In the overall Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, Europe was the top region with the first five positions all held by European countries. Switzerland, Germany and Austria were the top three in that order. Switzerland has headed the ranking since the index began five years ago.

Excellent tourism infrastructure and facilities, business travel appeal, sustainable development of natural resources and rich cultural resources were among the key factors in landing the highest positions in the rankings.

Safety/security, underdeveloped infrastructure and concerns about sustainable development were among the factors bringing down countries’ competitiveness.

Haiti scored the lowest on the competitiveness index.

The United States (6th) topped the combined Americas, Singapore (10th) just pushed out Australia and New Zealand to lead the Asia Pacific region, the United Arab Emirates (28th) was the highest performer in the Middle East and the Seychelles (38th) overtook Mauritius to head Africa.

The report emphasized the need for continued development in the travel and tourism sector particularly for its role in job creation in a relatively stagnant global economy. The industry currently accounts for one in 11 jobs in the world.

The report used data compiled from the World Economic Forum’s Executive Opinion Survey and hard data from private sources and national and international agencies and organizations such as the ICAO, IATA, UNWTO, World Bank/International Finance Corporation, IUCN, WHO and UNESCO.

Attitude of population toward foreign visitors

(1 = very unwelcome; 7 = very welcome)

Friendliest

1. Iceland  6.8
2. New Zealand  6.8
3. Morocco  6.7
4. Macedonia, FYR  6.7
5. Austria  6.7
6. Senegal  6.7
7. Portugal  6.6
8. Bosnia and Herzegovina  6.6
9. Ireland  6.6
10. Burkina Faso  6.6

Unfriendliest

1. Bolivia  4.1
2. Venezuela  4.5
3. Russian Federation  5.0
4. Kuwait  5.2
5. Latvia  5.2
6. Iran  5.2
7. Pakistan  5.3
8. Slovak Republic  5.5
9. Bulgaria  5.5
10. Mongolia  5.5

Kuwait is ranked #4th Unfriendliest country in the world? Really CNN? Is that all you got? This article outraged me. What do you guys think? If Kuwait was to be rated, where would it fall? Waiting for your feedback.

5 people like this post.

Unlike

“Happiness is not a destination, it’s a method of life…” – Burton Hills

I’m sitting here, tapping at the keys on my keyboard and all I can think about are the many unhappy faces around me. All unhappy for many different reasons – heart break, deaths, low salaries, boredom, etc.

The thing that gets to me most though is that just one bad thing happens and for some people it’s like the end of the world. But why?

Why should we let one bad thing affect our day, our lives even? Why can’t we just wake up in the morning, put a smile on our faces and say to ourselves, “today is going to be an amazing day.”

You see, I was one of those people that would let the littlest of things tick me off or ruin my day and put me in a state of depression but a couple of months ago, I got into a very bad car accident that without the grace of God would have cost me my life. I got out of the car and started inspecting myself – my head, my hands, my legs, my feet – I was all in one piece, al HamdulilAllah.

When I woke up the next morning I rushed to the mirror and stood in front of it, again inspecting myself and making sure I was okay – I was. I was complete, ten toes, ten fingers, standing tall and straight.

What I’m trying to say is, when you wake up in the morning with a roof over your head and you stand up on your own two feet, and you use your own two hands to have breakfast and get dressed and get to work then you are a healthy, happy, very blessed person and you should never ever let anything get you down. Whatever happens throughout your day, just brush it off and smile and when you wake up the next day just look at yourself in the mirror and say, “today is going to be an amazing day.” – That is how I’ve been living ever since the accident and until now I feel like I’ve been the happiest, luckiest person on the planet.

People may read this and laugh, others may read this and relate. All I’m saying is life’s too short to waste on bad memories… Embrace it.

8 people like this post.

Unlike