News roundup: economy, labor camps, Danish boycott

[qatarperegrine]

According to the Peninsula, Qatar's annual GDP growth is now at 20.8%. Yowza. (The real headline is patently incorrect, and the Pensinsula desperately needs a statistics editor.)

A local psychiatrist is alleging that living in a labor camp is more psychologically beneficial than living with a family. Um, yeah. That explains all the suicides.

On Friday, numerous imams (including Qaradawi) called for a boycott of Danish products because a cartoon in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten depicted Mohammad as a terrorist. So no more Lupak butter for us.

Parenthetically, it looks like Clinton's in town again, and Cat Stevens will be later this week.

Comments

To the Power of N

[shmuelisms.livejournal.com]

On first reading your headline regarding boycotting Danish products, I couldn't for the life of me, figure out what they have against these pastries. But then the "strangeness" of the newspaper name, triggered the correct interpretation. Danish, not Dannish. Sheesh, Shmuel, get a grip!

Yusuf Islam will be speaking in Arabic, I presume? Otherwise, I'd love to hear what he has to say.

[materjibrail.livejournal.com]

I can't believe that psychiatrist! That like commending the bracing air and exercise in the gulags as a health cure.

[y-pestis.livejournal.com]

And the excellent balanced 100% chickpea diet. Side effects may include paraplegia.

So I read the one about the GDP and couldn't believe that the picture of the finance minister is a PAINTING. Who carries stock footage of paintings anymore? Does the guy not have a decent headshot? Is he so scary-looking he needs Hans Holbein to make some improvements?

[aristopheles.livejournal.com]

Why is the figure patently incorrect? You may know a more accurate figure, but I am reasoning in terms of oil prices.
Qatar's main product is oil, and oil prices in 2005 look more than 20.8% higher than the same time in 2004.
What is the best figure you have?

[qatar.livejournal.com]

It's the phrasing, not the numbers. The article says that the GDP reached QR 125.56 billion; the headline says that GDP growth was QR 125.56 billion.

I do think it's amusing that the growth is attributed to the emir's wonderful economic policies, and not to the price of oil.

[aristopheles.livejournal.com]

Quite right; I'm not reading carefully enough. Heh.

Hello

[(Anonymous)]

hello,
I love your blogs! I'm a european woman in Qatar, just arrived and find it pretty difficult to live in, looking for a new job, then the cultural differences... poooh... But reading your blog makes all this Qatar thing seems rather funny than sad reality, thanks :) As I can't often go online you can find me on yahoo under Sunshine_Kitty_79@yahoo.de if you would like to stay in touch with me. Anyways, I'll try to come back to your block as often as possible as I really enjoyed reading it :)

Re: Hello

[qatar.livejournal.com]

Hi! I'm glad you're enjoying my blog. I'm sort of going through some culture shock at the moment, too, since I got back from my Christmas holidays. Overall I'm not sure I'd say Qatar is a funny reality or a sad one -- it's just reality. :-)

Stay in touch!