Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Transfers Power To Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Qatar's ruler formally handed power Tuesday to his 33-year-old son to cap a carefully crafted transition that puts a younger generation in charge of the Gulf nation's vast energy wealth and rising political influence after the upheavals of the Arab Spring.

The 61-year-old emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, used a televised address to note repeatedly the importance of shifting leadership to more youthful hands – an indirect acknowledgment of the demands for reforms opened by the uprisings that have swept the region.

The Western-backed Gulf Arab rulers have managed to remain intact, but have displayed their insecurity by launching crackdowns that have included arrests over alleged anti-state plots and social media posts deemed insulting to the leadership.

"The future lies ahead of you, the children of this homeland, as you usher into a new era where young leadership hoists the banner," the emir said as he announced the anticipated transition to the British-educated crown prince, Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

As part of taking on the mantle, Sheik Tamim will begin the process of putting together a new government that may be in direct contrast to the old guard leaders across the Gulf. Qatar has given no official explanation on the transition – which had been widely expected for weeks – but Sheik Hamad is believed to be suffering from chronic health problems.

Sheik Tamim is not expected to make any immediate policy shifts for Qatar, which has used its riches to become one of the world's most politically ambitious countries. It has served as a powerful player in the Middle East, giving key support to rebels in Libya last year and now in Syria. Qatar also has broken ranks with other Gulf states to offer help to the Muslim Brotherhood, which rose to political dominance in Egypt.

In an important sign of continuity and shared goals, the outgoing emir and Sheik Tamim stood shoulder to shoulder and greeted members of the ruling family and others following the address.

Sheik Tamim has been closely involved in all key decisions since 2003, when Tamim became the next in line to rule after his older brother stepped aside. The outgoing emir is expected to remain a guiding force from the wings.

"Sheik Tamim will be driving his father's car, which is already programmed on where to go," said Mustafa Alani, a political analyst at the Gulf Research Center in Geneva.

But the transition – a rarity in a region where leadership changes are nearly always triggered by deaths or palace coups – also sends a message the wider Middle East. It appears a sweeping response to the Arab Spring upheavals and their emphasis on giving voice to the region's youth, and reinforces Qatar's bold-stroke political policies.

"The time has come to turn a new leaf in the history of our nation," the outgoing emir said in his address, "where a new generation steps forward to shoulder the responsibility with their dynamic potential and creative thoughts."

Under Sheik Hamad, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1995, Qatar has been transformed into a political broker and a center for global investment with a sovereign fund estimated to be worth more than $100 billion. Its portfolio includes landmark real estate, luxury brands and a powerful presence in the sporting world. Tiny Qatar also defeated rivals including the U.S. to win the rights to host the 2022 World Cup.

Qatar has played a role as mediator in conflicts such as Sudan's Darfur region and regional disputes including Palestinian political rifts. Qatar this week hosted a Syrian opposition conference attended by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and is the venue for possible U.S.-led peace talks with Afghanistan's Taliban.

In another sign of Qatar's risk-taking policies, it allowed an Israeli trade office – effectively a diplomatic outpost – for years before ordering its closure following Israel's incursions into Gaza in late 2008.

But Qatar has faced criticism from rights groups for joining the Gulf-wide crackdowns on perceived dissent since the Arab Spring. In one of the most high-profile cases, Qatari authorities have jailed a poet whose verses included admiration for the uprisings. In February, the sentence for the poet, Muhammad ibn al-Dheeb al-Ajami, was reduced from life to 15 years.

Christopher Davidson, an expert in Gulf affairs at Britain's Durham University, believes some of the tough measures by Qatari officials reflect internal squabbles with hardliners trying to exert their influence. Such groups could be among the first housecleaning targets by the new emir, he predicted.

"Tamim is seen as focused on domestic issues first," said Davidson. "One of the main tasks will be to establish a new social contract with the population ... What kind of opposition is allowed and what is not will be part of that."

In Tehran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Araghchi told reporters that Iran supports any moves by Qatar that bring "peace and tranquility" for the region. Relations between the two nations have deteriorated over Syria, where Tehran remains strongly on the side of key ally Bashar Assad.

___

Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

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Spectators Injured After Old Power Plant Implosion

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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Five spectators were injured Saturday after shrapnel was sent flying at the demolition of a decommissioned steam power plant in California's Central Valley, authorities said.

More than 1,000 people had gathered at 6 a.m. in a nearby parking lot to watch the planned implosion at the plant owned by Pacific Gas and Electric in Bakersfield. After structures on the property came crashing down, a police officer at the scene heard a man screaming for help and saw his leg had been severed, police said.

"It was a piece of shrapnel that came flying out of the explosion and came across and went through a couple of chain link fences, struck him and impacted into a vehicle," said Lt. Scott Tunnicliffe.

The 44-year-old victim might lose his other leg as well due to his injuries, Tunnicliffe said.

Four other spectators were treated for minor injuries, said Kern County Fire engineer Leland Davis. All of the injured spectators were standing beyond a perimeter set up to ensure public safety, Davis said.

Residents of the city about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles were eager to see the old plant torn down to make way for new development. The plant was decommissioned in 1986 and has been idle ever since.

Pacific Gas and Electric reached an agreement with the city to clean up the property and prepare it for sale. The company hired subcontractors to handle the demolition of the plant's boiler structures and worked with local authorities to set up a safe perimeter 1,000 feet from the site, said Denny Boyles, a company spokesman.

"We are deeply saddened that this happened," Boyles said. "We're looking for answers like everyone else."

Boyles said the boiler structure consisted of two towers measuring 140 feet high that supported four 200,000 gallon tanks.

The incident was first reported by the Bakersfield Californian.

Polly Campbell: Use the Power of Suggestion to Move Ahead

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Ever had someone tell you that the procedure would "really hurt" or that the test was "really hard" or that the boss was "impossible to deal with" and then had those scenarios play out just as predicted?

Turns out those early suggestions probably shaped your reality. Psychological scientists Maryanne Garry, Robert Michael and Irving Kirsch explore this phenomena in an article in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science and found that deliberate suggestions can influence how well people remember things, how they respond to medical treatments, and even how they'll behave.

The reason, they say, is attributable to something the bigwigs call "response expectancies." This means that the way we anticipate our response to a situation influences how we will actually respond. In other words, if something is suggested or you expect an outcome, your behaviors, thoughts, and reactions will actually contribute to making that expectation occur.

If someone suggests you'll ace the interview, you're more likely to do a good job. If you think you'll win the race, you're more likely to train and prepare and perform in a way that gives you a greater chance of winning the race.

Using suggestion in this way can be a powerful tool in accomplishing our goals. But, it can also sabotage our success. If you internalize a suggestion that you aren't good at math, or don't have a clue about parenting, or probably won't ever make much money, you're more likely to create those scenarios too.

Making Good With Positive Suggestions

The influence of suggestion and our expectations is so far-reaching that scientists are now looking at how they can influence medical treatment, criminal investigations, policy decisions and educational processes.

"If real treatment and suggestion lead to a similar outcome, what differentiates between the two?" says Maryanne Garry, one of the authors of the journal article. "If we can harness the power of suggestion, we can improve people's lives."

I'm becoming more aware of the power of suggestion in my own life when it comes to accomplishing my own career and health goals and while helping to raise my daughter.

Before going out to a social event, for example, I'll say to my daughter: "I know you'll be polite and respectful because that's just how you behave," instead of suggesting that she better NOT be a pill. She's a good kid, with good behavior, is that because of the suggestions we make around here? Who knows, but it can't hurt.

I do this for myself too, particularly when it comes to exercise. I am constantly suggesting that I will feel strong and healthy during my workout. Does it always play out? Nope. But, if nothing else, it almost always helps motivate me to head to the gym. Suggesting that I'm too tired or wimpy, doesn't inspire me at all.

This is all a little law-of-attractiony, but I don't think it matters how this stuff supports us -- or even why -- just that it does. We are exposed to so many thoughts, ideas, beliefs, influences. When we take charge of our experience and choose those that actually help us, those that actually empower, motivate, engage, enliven, and inspire us, good things are bound to happen.

If you want to work with the power of suggestion in your own life, here are a few ways of doing it.

1. Become conscious to what is coming in. This is good advice for just about anything. But as is with so many things, awareness is required to help us identify the suggestions that are coming our way in the first place. If you are not aware of the messages you're sending or receiving from others, it's tough to counteract what you hear with conscious suggestions of more positive scenarios. Tune into what's going on around you. Get curious about it and the suggestions that are influencing you will be easier to spot. Also, notice what you hear or see the next time you decide to do something and allow the suggestions that are most helpful to inspire you.

2. Cultivate support. This is big-time important when it comes to the power of suggestion. Whenever possible, surround yourself with encouraging and supportive people. People that buy into your dream or believe in you. Psychologists have shown that we are influenced by both deliberate and non-deliberate suggestions. How people talk to us, their gestures, tone, and implications matter, as do their words. Positive influence begets positive suggestions. Positive suggestions beget positive outcomes.

Simply by showing interest or by doing things that make other people feel important or special also creates a positive suggestion that is powerful enough to prompt them to work harder and longer on a task, says the Psychological Science article.

Keep this in mind when you are parenting or otherwise relating to others. You are always making deliberate or non-deliberate suggestions through your behavior and those can build-up, inspire and motivate people -- or not.

3. Stay open to different possibilities. Another way to tap into the power of positive suggestion is simply to remember that it is always working, therefore stay open to any outcome. Since, anything can happen, don't allow the influence of suggestion to limit your possibilities. When someone suggests you can't achieve something, immediately suggest otherwise and create a new expectation. Then be open -- not attached -- to any outcome. In this way your attitudes and behaviors will create (often unconsciously) the experience you desire -- or at least the one suggested.

For more by Polly Campbell, click here.

For more on emotional intelligence, click here.

Follow Polly Campbell on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PLCampbell

Get Alerts Ever had someone tell you that the procedure would "really hurt" or that the test was "really hard" or that the boss was "impossible to deal with" and then had those scenarios play out just as predict... Ever had someone tell you that the procedure would "really hurt" or that the test was "really hard" or that the boss was "impossible to deal with" and then had those scenarios play out just as predict...

Alejandra Ruani: Do You Really Want The Top Job? 7 Lessons Gloria Feldt Taught Me About Our New Female Power

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"The most confounding problem facing women today isn't that doors aren't open, but that not enough women are walking through them," argues Gloria Feldt, best-selling author of the book No Excuses and founder of the movement Take The Lead.

So, what's the solution?

In my recent interview with Gloria, she explains how you can let go of that outdated male-oriented definition of power, overcome your internal resistance to having a successful career and feel fulfilled in all aspects of your life.

Gloria believes you really can have it all.

In the next few paragraphs, she'll teach you how.

Lesson No. 1: Don't give away the power to define yourself.

Alejandra: One of the first things that stood out in your book is your regret about giving away the power to define yourself. Tell me about that.

Gloria: Even if you've done what other people think are amazing things in your life, that doesn't necessarily mean that you've come to terms with embracing your own potential. I had lived the first part of my life doing what I thought the culture of the time wanted me to do. I wanted to be the perfect wife, the perfect mother, and then I became a community volunteer. I wanted to do all those things perfectly well, but I didn't do it starting from my own intention. There's nothing wrong doing things for other people, it's a good thing, but I think you can lose yourself in it. In order to realize your potential, you need to define yourself first, before someone else defines you. We are all going to be defined. Better to do it for ourselves in a way that is authentic and meaningful to us than to allow others to present us to the world.

Lesson No. 2: It's not your lack of ambition. It's your lack of intention.

Alejandra: Let's talk about your 'Hillary moment.'

Gloria: In 2008, I was asked by Elle Magazine to write an article about women running for office. That was at the moment when it appeared that we might have had our first female president. The article was supposed to be optimistic and positive. Instead, what I found was that only 18% of Congress is female. It's not because they can't win. It's because women don't run. If women run, they're as statistically likely to win as men. Despite the fact that there are now dozens of organizations spending millions of dollars every year to recruit and train women to run for office, they're still 40% less likely than men to even think about running for office. There's been some research and the conclusion was that women don't have as much ambition as men. But, after interviewing women all over the country, I concluded is that it's not a lack of ambition at all. If a woman sees an injustice or if she feels that something is not right for her children or her family, she will do almost anything. She doesn't seek power for power's sake. So, I concluded it's not a lack of ambition, it's a lack of intention. There's something that men have: Baby boys bounce out of the womb knowing the world is their oyster. They don't question whether they have the right, whether they should run for office or whether they should be CEO. It's assumed. It's so much part of the culture. It's the standard when it comes to 'leader.' Women are still the 'other' when it comes to being a leader. We don't see ourselves as leaders and we don't have that intention in the same way that men do from the moment of birth.

Lesson No. 3: If you want to lead, don't think about how others feel about you.

Alejandra: What's holding women back?

Gloria: Girls are still socialized first to think about how others feel about them, and to be concerned about that. That's not a bad thing, but it works against you when in this whole field of leadership. It turns out that the dynamics are exactly the same whether we're talking about politics or business or the workplace, and even personal life. From the boardroom to the bedroom, you can say. The dynamics are exactly the same. It's our own relationship with power that holds us back. A culturally learned aversion to taking power.

Lesson No. 4: Your definition of power is the wrong one. Try this one.

Alejandra: We think of power as something not so positive...

Gloria: We have in our minds an old, outdated and no longer really functional definition of power: as the 'power over'-- the power to make you do something. So we, as women, at best we've been discriminated against, and at worst we've been raped and beaten. So, why would we want that kind of power? But we can change the definition of power in our own minds. From that outdated and hierarchical male-defined 'power over,' to an expansive, full of promise, innovative 'power to.' The power to make life better. For ourselves, our families, our communities, our world. The power to transform our work, our businesses, our creativity. Women will then say 'I want that kind of power.' As soon as we can change the paradigm of power in our own thinking and in our culture, we'll be in a much healthier place for women and for men. For children and for everybody.

Lesson No. 5: If you can't find female role models, become one.

Alejandra: Perhaps we don't have many examples to look at?

Gloria: We don't have many female role models in high-powered positions. If you can't see it, you can't be it. Women's history is not typically taught, even though there are some amazing women in history. I use the example of Ada Lovelace, who actually is the reason why we have computers. She created the first algorithms that enabled programming to ever happen. But the credit for her work was all taken by the man she was working with. Nobody knows about her. There couldn't have been a Steve Jobs if she hadn't done what she did. So, we need to learn our history and we need to understand that reaching equality is a long-term process. Even though now we have doors open and women can apply to any job they wish to, many women don't apply for them. Partly because they can't figure out how they can manage to take care of their families and go for that high-powered job. So, the problem is now that the doors are open and women are certainly capable of doing the CEO job or some other high-powered job. But she needs to take the lead and change the system.

Lesson No. 6: Don't follow your dream, lead it.

Alejandra: She's a mother who would love the top job, but holds back worried about having no time or energy left to enjoy her children. How can she overcome this internal resistance?

Gloria: One of the things that I do is to talk about what I call 'sister courage' -- the principles that I used in movement building to change any kind of system. For example, if you're in a workplace where you feel that having flex time would be beneficial and would make for a healthier workplace for you and other employees (including men), instead of isolating yourself and thinking it's your problem, you need to reach out. You don't have to figure out by yourself how you can juggle everything and miss your child's piano recital or something like that when you don't need to. Instead, use these very simple principles:

Be a sister. Reach out to somebody else who you think may have the same problem or who you may have heard talking about the same problem or issue.Have the courage to ask for help. We often feel isolated. We feel like we can't ask for help. Sometimes it's just a matter of asking and the other person is usually very happy to help out. Have the courage to put the issues on the table and talk about them. Join forces. If you think there needs to be some systemic change, then you need to get your facts together and talk to other people who share your concerns. Make sure that you all have the same message and the same information. Let's assume it is about flex time. There is now sufficient data to show that by giving employees flexible hours and by evaluating them based on accomplishments rather than by how many hours they sit at their desk, that actually morale goes up, and, more importantly, productivity goes up. So, there is your little mini-movement. You can go to your HR department or you can go to your CEO. You can present your case, and you'll most likely get some change.

The message is that we all have power. Even if you're not in a powerful job. If you have quite a few people that have the same concerns, together, you go talk to a senior person or HR, there's strength in those numbers. You can make change happen. We see that all the time out there in the world. We have reached a point where we have to take that responsibility ourselves.

Lesson Number 7: You deserve that leadership position, so take the lead.

Alejandra: Tell me more about your goal to bring women to a fair and equal share of top leadership positions by 2025.

Gloria: Just to give you a comparison, at the current rate, it will take 70 years to reach leadership parity. We need to speed things up. So, last year a colleague and I decided to form an organization which we call Take The Lead. One of our programs is a webinar series. I talk about women's relationship with power, explain each of the nine power tools and give women a template that they can use to solve problems or reach their goals. I invite you and all the women who're ready to take the lead in their lives and careers to subscribe to our newsletter and participate in our upcoming online events. Together we can make change happen.

Take Action Now

You've heard Gloria. Define your intention. Embrace your power to lead positive change. You might be the one who inspires the next generation of young professionals.

Join the conversation. What's your biggest frustration when trying to get ahead in your career? What is it costing you not to have this problem handled?

Add your voice in the comments area below. Be a sister...

Follow Alejandra Ruani on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Health_Divas

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