Sunday, March 11, 2012

How Qatar bought Britain

Daily Mail

Creeping steadily above the London skyline, the Shard will be Europe’s tallest building when it is finally finished in a few weeks’ time: an extraordinary monument to glass, steel and sheer ambition.
And an appropriate symbol for the rise of its Qatari owners and their ever-growing influence here in Britain.
From the ruins of the financial crisis, this tiny Gulf state has snapped up a range of famous British assets, and if you were to take a look from the upper storeys of the Shard, quite a few would be in view.
Will there be a mosque at the top, to boast of their conquest?
From a standing start, in the last two years Qatar has become Britain’s biggest supplier of imported liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Last year Qatari LNG accounted for 85 per cent of Britain’s liquefied natural gas imports, providing power to homes across the land.
But that figure is rising, and by the final quarter of 2011, Qatari supplies had jumped to 95.5 per cent of our total LNG imports.
For some, at least, our dependence on Qatar for a major part of our power has become a significant cause for concern. (LNG already accounts for one quarter of the UK gas supply.)
As one union leader put it: ‘They have vast sums to spend, they invest in our strategic industries and that in turn allows them to influence the type of society we are.’
Certainly, as North Sea oil reserves diminish, this tiny Gulf state has become pivotal to Britain’s future energy security and our prosperity.
It is little wonder that both David Cameron and his predecessor as Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, have been assiduous in courting the Qatari leader, Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, and his glamorous wife, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned.

When the Trades Unions are concerned, the same people who said it was fine for hundreds of thousands of Europeans to come and flood our jobs market, you have to wonder what THEIR angle on this is: are they worried their workers will be second class citizens, like all workers are, in Qatar?
Concerns have been raised about labourers’ working conditions, comparing them with neighbouring Gulf countries where human-rights groups have cited exploitative conditions. Qatar denies this and says everyone is benefiting from the regeneration of its nation.

QATAR'S STAKE IN BRITAIN

The tiny Gulf state has snapped up a range of famous British assets, which include:
1. Harrods, the upmarket department store former owned by Mohamed al-Fayed.
2. The Shard, soon-to-be Europe's tallest building.
3. No 1 Hyde Park, the world's most expensive block of flats.
4. The London Stock Exchange, which they own a 20 per cent stake.
5. Camden Market, which they own a 20 per cent stake.
6. The Olympic Village, once the games are over.
7. Sainsbury's and Barclays banks - major investors.
8. Liquefield Natural Gas, Britain's biggest supplier.
To the visitor, Qatar is a city of opposites: the oil rich and the foreign labouring underclass; Western decadence married to Islamic orthodoxy; modernity and Arab Bedouin tradition.

On a state visit to the UK last year, the Emir and his royal consort, the Sheikha, were treated to a stay at Windsor Castle and given the full charm offensive
On a state visit to the UK last year, the Emir and his royal consort, the Sheikha, were treated to a stay at Windsor Castle and given the full charm offensive
The tiny population is mostly made up of fortune seekers of one kind or another, whether businessmen like Bailey or construction labourers from Africa or Asia. Only 300,000 are Qatari.
Concerns have been raised about labourers’ working conditions, comparing them with neighbouring Gulf countries where human-rights groups have cited exploitative conditions. Qatar denies this and says everyone is benefiting from the regeneration of its nation.
Don't forget: Britain is responsible for handing Arabia to these tribal clan leaders, who only now call themselves "kings" and behave like they own the world. And of course, Barack Hussein Obama, who was funded by the Saudis, has no intention whatsoever, of creating genuine alternatives to the oil and gas that HIS owners have!!
Read the rest here.

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