GAZA CITY: A cat cafe in the Gaza Strip aims to “cheer up” Palestinian residents and offer them a respite from the trials of daily life in the blockaded territory, its owner said.
At the Meow Cat Cafe which opened this week in Gaza City, owner Nehma Maabad set out food for a clowder of kittens.
“Cats, for me, are a refuge that relieves me of psychological stress. So I thought of creating a project that combines serving people with something to cheer them up,” said the 50-year-old.
Part of the space is kitted out with wooden platforms covered in astroturf for the cats to clamber onto, while feline murals and portraits adorn the walls.
Meow is part of a growing global trend of cat cafes, but the circumstances in Gaza are unique.
The territory has been under a crippling Israeli blockade since 2007 and scars of repeated wars fought between Palestinian militants and Israel are visible across the city.
Customers pay nearly 10 shekels ($2.65) per hour to play with the cats, which Maabad said covers their food as well as costly vet bills.
Visiting the cafe, Manar Abu Samra said it was reasonably priced and she had told her friends and sisters about the new venture.
“The quality of cats here is beautiful and sweet, so it’s a wonderful idea — despite its strangeness to society — and when I heard about it I felt happy,” she said.
Pets are rare in Gaza although cats are ever-present, particularly around the port or fishmongers as they try to paw away some scraps.
Maabad said she had cats at home to bring to Meow, while others came from friends.
“The idea of the cafe was to have something nice with a cup of coffee,” she said.
“A cat that you play with and it makes you smile and forget the pressures of life.”
Cat cafe brings pawsitivity to war-scarred Gaza
https://arab.news/rfyxj
Cat cafe brings pawsitivity to war-scarred Gaza
- Meow is part of a growing global trend of cat cafes, but circumstances in Gaza are unique
Some Warren Buffett wisdom on his last day leading Berkshire Hathaway
OMAHA, Nebraska: The advice that legendary investor Warren Buffett offered on investing and life over the years helped earn him legions of followers who eagerly read his annual letters and filled an arena in Omaha every year to listen to him at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meetings.
Buffett’s last day as CEO is Wednesday after six decades of building up the Berkshire conglomerate. He’ll remain chairman, but Greg Abel will take over leadership.
Here’s a collection of some of Buffett’s most famous quotes from over the years:
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“Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”
That’s how Buffett summed up his investing approach of buying out-of-favor stocks and companies when they were selling for less than he estimated they were worth.
He also urged investors to stick with industries they understand that fall within their “circle of competence” and offered this classic maxim: “Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget Rule No. 1.”
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“After they first obey all rules, I then want employees to ask themselves whether they are willing to have any contemplated act appear the next day on the front page of their local paper to be read by their spouses, children and friends with the reporting done by an informed and critical reporter.
“If they follow this test, they need not fear my other message to them: Lose money for the firm and I will be understanding; lose a shred of reputation for the firm and I will be ruthless.”
That’s the ethical standard Buffett explained to a Congressional committee in 1991 that he would apply as he cleaned up the Wall Street investment firm Salomon Brothers. He has reiterated the newspaper test many times since over the years.
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“You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.”
Many companies might do well when times are good and the economy is growing, but Buffett told investors that a crisis always reveals whether businesses are making sound decisions.
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“Who you associate with is just enormously important. Don’t expect that you’ll make every decision right on that. But you are going to have your life progress in the general direction of the people you work with, that you admire, that become your friends.”
Buffett always told young people that they should try to hang out with people who they feel are better than them because that will help improve their lives. He said that’s especially true when choosing a spouse, which might be the most important decision in life.
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“Our unwavering conclusion: never bet against America.”
Buffett has always remained steadfast in his belief in the American capitalist system. He wrote in 2021 that “there has been no incubator for unleashing human potential like America. Despite some severe interruptions, our country’s economic progress has been breathtaking.”
