How I love the humiliation of Arab oil and gas sheikhs

"The prime minister of the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar was rebuffed this weekend in his attempt to spend $31.5 million for two of the New York co-op apartments of the reclusive heiress Huguette Clark.  A person familiar with the decision said the co-op's board declined to grant the sheikh an interview, concerned primarily that the quiet character of the elegant building would change with the security demands of a foreign leader. He would be replacing, after all, a woman who was the world's quietest neighbor, having lived the last 20 years of her life in New York hospitals." (thanks Pierre)