Qatar news: CMU faculty, humidity, rain, temporary wives

• This week both faculty and student orientation are taking place at CMU, so suddenly there is life in the hallways again! It is most wonderful. The Peninsula published a list of our new faculty: Carnegie Mellon appoints new faculty members.


• In less good news, the weather shifted this weekend. June and July are the hottest months in Doha, but August is more humid. So it's down to around 110, but now with 90% humidity. Residents hit by high humidity. (Check out the accompanying picture if nothing else.)


• So what does Qatar do when it's dissatisfied with its natural environment? Silly question; the answer is always We do exactly what Dubai does: MMAA plans to bring artificial rain to Qatar.


• And, finally, the Peninsula decries the trend of married men entering temporary marriages in order to have a summer fling: Wife for vacation: Qataris marry poor women just for the holidays! I love how the social worker blames temporary marriages on "the mushrooming of TV channels and information explosion." While American TV may be responsible for much evil in this world, it does seem a bit sketchy to blame Western cable for a form of polygamy sanctioned by Islam and outlawed in the West.