No driving for me?

There is an interesting news I read today on one proposal to restrict driver’s licenses for Qatar expats in an effort to alleviate Qatar’s traffic problems, then again thought to myself...oppss, nope, not interesting.
Not a good idea...

Reason?
Because the restriction will include stay home people like thus make us a really 'house-bound' person.

After more then five years living tenth months of my yearly life in this country, no doubt, I have seen much difference and development in Qatar. They had a better airport then the one I transited in during my flight in 2001, and the bigger better one will be in operation soon, hopefully (the postponement from couple of months can be dragged to years). There had been more choices of  south asian foodstuff, more non-arabic or indans restaurants, and of course there are more people in malls even not a weekends.
And the traffic is getting bad.

There wasn't any traffic problems when I first arrived here.
Even if there is, it wont consumed much of your time at a roundabout with traffic-lights (an invention I though to be pointless and dangerous-- especially with people's driving attitude here).
But now, try go to the mall on weekends, despite them building more and more malls around Doha-- you'll bound to be having problems getting your car parked besides bound to be walking among loads of people like it was a some sort of festivities going on.  

Being a small country, Qatar will definitely be facing bad traffic just like other developing capital worldwide.
With massive development and upgrading for the FIFA World Cup2022, the proposed licence restriction won't do any justice.

The government should instead look at upgrading their inner roads which link to the main roads, which, in my opinion the real problem maker.  Make new diversions because some of the newly developed highways don't served as highways when there'd be traffic lights and people shifting lanes to get into the inner roads. This sort of highways to me, does not serve any purpose.
Shifting commercial or government offices and an area outside of Doha might help too.

Here the businesses are concentrated.
For example-- if you need to get your car upholstery done, you'll go to one area and there will be more than five shops offering the the services with very minimal price or choice differences.
So does having your car tyre changed, or keys duplicated.

The other problem surrounding this capital is the lack of parking lots both for commercial and leisure  activities (very evident and im do not understand to the whys Qatar don't do multilevel  underground parking lots-- or multi level like the parking lots or better still smart parking lots) which will obviously lead driver to park along the road near favourite malls or favourite spot such as the corniche.

Given a huge allocation for both infra and health of QR48 Billion, hopefully Qatar government will be able plan better transportation route,  developing roads and provide more public transport system.

With latest count of 879,039 cars on Qatar’s roads,an increase of more than 200,000 vehicles in comparison to 2010,  and growing population growing -- Qatar must learn from other developed capital of the world in easing traffic problems.

Inspiration...

Kathryn Stockett takes her interviews to go, which explains why she's huffing, just slightly, into the phone.
"I always do my interviews while walking," says the author, catching her breath, "and you're my 30-minute time slot."

Perhaps the walk makes her less guarded, too. Here is a woman who has been interviewed hundreds of times about "The Help" - her debut novel that touched a major chord with readers, resonating louder and longer than anyone could have anticipated. Yet Stockett doesn't come back with canned answers to my questions. She comes off as thoughtful and frank.

The financial and artistic success of "The Help" has been "a nice outcome," she says, in her melodious Mississippi drawl, down-playing the staggering 10 million copies sold since its release in February 2009.
"And yet … cringe-worthy," she adds, giving herself a few seconds to find the right word.
The book is inspired by a black woman named Dimitri, who worked as a maid for Stockett's family when the author was a child. Aibileen's character in "The Help" is based on Dimitri.
"I feel like I'm earning a living off someone who did our family such a great service and who died poor and alone," the author says. "I think about that, and it's not a comfortable feeling."

So she tries to give back, supporting public schools, arts and literacy programs.
She's come a long way over the past decade.
It took Stockett five years to write "The Help" and three years to find a publisher. She famously endured dozens of rejection letters before Amy Einhorn Books (a division of Penguin) agreed to publish the book.

Since then, Stockett has toured four times for the novel and sat through a movie shoot.
A housekeeper for Stockett's brother later filed a lawsuit against Stockett claiming the author had used her name (Ablene Cooper) and likeness for "The Help." The case was dismissed when a judge determined the suit was filed after the one-year statute of limitations for misappropriation claims.
"I've had a very long relationship with the story," Stockett says. "I'm kind of ready to move on."
And she has - by plugging away at book No. 2.
Expectations for her second novel are high, to say the least. Is she worried about a sophomore slump?
"Everyone's been very … silent," Stockett says. "I think they've seen it happen to enough people. There are those one-hit wonders."
She admits to blowing her first deadline more than a year ago. No one has put any pressure on her since.

"I almost wish they would," Stockett says. "All the pressure is coming from within."
As yet, there is no title for the second book, which follows a group of women with no marketable skills who must somehow find a way to survive in the early decades of the 20th century.
"It's set in Oxford, Miss., and it straddles the Roaring '20s and the Great Depression because I like the dichotomy of the time, and I like to think about how it reflects on our times," Stockett explains.
"I don't know anyone … who is going without food, but that was very common in the 1920s. You had to stretch everything. So I love the idea of these women living in Mississippi, not having any training or skills, not even expecting they'd have to earn their own living. All the men die or run off; the men don't have a huge part in the story. I love to see what people do when the pressure is really on. That's when we see the best of ourselves or the worst of ourselves."

Stockett told her publisher she'd have a draft ready by February.
"I don't know if I'll make that deadline," she says gaily, "but you can write, 'She's working furiously on her new book and hopes it comes out very soon.' "



Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com.

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This writer received dozens of rejections letters before The Help was published.

An inspiration for beginners and soon to be writer like me.

'The Help' --  a very good book made better having to watch it on screen.
Having watched it for more than four times, I know I wont get bored if Im ask to watch it again.

Inspirational stories like this or The Pursuit of Happiness, a story about Chris Gardner, must be on one's book shelf.

RBA

Sharing the following from http://syedsoutsidethebox.blogspot.com/

• Red Bean Army semakin gelisah
• Pihak berkuasa diminta terus memantau pergerakan tentera siber pembangkang, Red Bean Army secara serius memandangkan kumpulan itu boleh mendatangkan ancaman kepada negara selain memecah-belahkan perpaduan dalam kalangan rakyat.
• Saranan itu diutarakan Kevin J. C. Chuah, yang baru-baru ini menyatakan sokongan supaya tindakan tegas diambil terhadap kumpulan Red Bean Army.
• Menurutnya, ketangkasan polis mengenal pasti beberapa individu yang didakwa terlibat dengan tentera siber tersebut menyebabkan sebilangan besar mereka mula gelisah, cemas dan kini wujud kemelut antara mereka.
• Paling penting, matlamat Red Bean Army adalah menjatuhkan kerajaan Barisan Nasional (BN) walau dengan apa cara sekalipun.
• Apa sahaja isu yang baru mendapat liputan media terutama melibatkan BN pasti disebarkan dengan pantas dan diputar-belitkan," katanya 
• Semalam Utusan Malaysia melaporkan polis telah mengenal pasti sebanyak 30 individu yang bertanggungjawab merancang menggulingkan kerajaan menerusi pergerakan Red Bean Army.
• laman sosial yang dimiliki Red Bean Army menggunakan bahasa Mandarin 
• Facebook 'We Fully Support PKR' dan 'Hew Kuan Yau' mendapati, komen-komen mereka mula ke arah memberi amaran sesama sendiri supaya tidak membongkar identiti ahli mereka sekiranya ditahan pihak berkuasa.
• "Ada antara mereka sudah mula mengalih haluan termasuk menghentam rakan-rakan mereka yang telah dihubungi polis. 
• Mereka mahu dilihat seolah-olah tiada kaitan dengan individu-individu yang dikenal pasti pihak berkuasa.
• "Contohnya, seorang tentera mereka 'Sam Chen' meminta rakan-rakannya menghentikan tindakan menghentam sesama mereka 
• Sam Chen ..bersetuju bekerjasama 
• Seorang lagi tentera Red Bean Army 'Medoli Siang' .. disoal siasat.
• 'Woodstock Lee' ..mencabar pihak berkuasa menangkapnya

So the cops are investigating the Red Bean Army. Very soon they will become the Ma Soo Tong. 30 of them have been identified. These are their Facebook account holders. 

What is going to happen is that they are going to find out that their party will abandon them. Once they get caught, it will be every man for himself. No one is going to care for them. 

They are already in disarray and threatening each other not to squeal about their identities.  They are finding out now that they are quite alone.

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Waiting patiently for the elimination of this RBA.

Known in spreading provocative news and good insinuator this group of people should be held behind bars under ISA -- if ISA is still around. IT should be around, again.