On the right, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, ex head of the IMF.
They are attending a jolly organised by a PR group owned by a friend of the latter, in Yalta.
A grandly named European Strategy conference, graced also by the presence of Gordon Brown and the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Erdogan.
B list then.
Strauss-Kahn appears to have put his problems behind him.....no penal proceedings for the Sofitel affair and no court appearances in the case of the Lille based prostitution ring.
He's on the circuit again.... a small start to be sure, but with a little help from his friends.....
But what is Condoleezza Rice thinking of to be sitting next to him. Accepting his presence.
This is a man whose attitude to women has been all too clearly revealed. Women are objects, to be used and, in his case, misused.
I know she worked with Bush but can her sense of decency be so dimmed that she would consent to have any dealings with a man like this?
Or is it all right, in her view, as he is not going to lunge at a woman whose status is on a par with his own.
Women employees and prostitutes are another matter...on another planet. None of her concern.
Given his conduct and her tacit acceptance of it, which one is the 'arsouille' of the universe?
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I used to admire her. Seems like she doesn't really live up to the image she once portrayed. Shame.
ReplyDeleteShe is in a perfect position to make it clear that he is unacceptable...another powerful woman with no thought for her sisters.
DeleteHello:
ReplyDeleteWe are somewhat surprised, like you, to see this. And whilst we do not in any way share Condolezza Rice's political leanings, we do acknowledge that she is a highly intelligent woman which makes this all the more strange.
Taking a completely different line, another conspicuous waste of public money.
I've never understood how it is that taxpayers do not revolt at all these uneccessary jollies.
DeleteI note that when something is really urgent the politicians use video conferences which, I think, makes the point!
Not sure that this is a taxpayer-funded jolly Fly. Pinchuk is a billionaire and this Conference is his brainchild. It seems to be a Ukrainian wheeze to pull strings and get them into the EU. Greasing the wheels of power. And paying to bring all the 'movers and shakers' together... (though how many B listers would it take to change even a light bulb - not illustrious company).
DeleteI am disappointed that Gordy baby thinks this is a good thing for him to be attending - he has delusions of grandeur? he still believes he'll take over from Lagarde when she faux pas?
I've never been a fan of Condoleeza Rice. She's never been troubled by a political conscience or consciousness as far as I can see. What more can we expect from someone who worked for Bush?
Strauss-Kahn is odious. Competing with Berlusconi on the odious-meter.
Ugh. Depressing.
No, quite right, not directy...but given the amount of publicly funded stuff awarded to DSK's tame PR firm who put this on then still illgotten gains.
DeleteThe guest list ran from the unspeakable to the uneatable....
The photo seems to capture a moment where she is actually enjoying his company.... completely unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteIt is.
DeleteDefinitely either or both! Well argued, Fly.
ReplyDeleteWe'll call it a draw, then...
DeleteShe has a short memory, obviously. Even his (now ex-)wife won't sit next to him. Maybe Condi fancies her chances... equal to equal, natch...
ReplyDeleteIt will be like a game of chess...each trying to find out how much money the other really has....
DeleteI think it was a French woman who was credited with saying something along the lines of "we will have achieved equality when our women politicians are as mediocre as our men politicians." Looks like Condoleezza really took that to heart, and is doing her best to speed us on our way.
ReplyDeleteDown the shaft like a lift with no cable....
DeleteI thought better of her. Slimey, creepy man.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't say much for her sense of herself as a woman.
DeleteSome people have no shame, especially an arsouille like DSK!
ReplyDeleteShame is alien to him, I agree.
DeleteLove your header for this subject, perfect me thinks!! Take care Diane
ReplyDeleteA favourite term of abuse of General de Gaulle....applied particularly to Mitterand in respect of his coat turning from Vichy to resistance (in a safe office far from the fray).
DeletePerhaps she landed an unfortunate seating assignment and is trying to put on a good face. One can only hope, anyway.
ReplyDeleteThere is precedent in an English song..
DeleteYou can tell a man who boozes by the company he chooses
And the pig got up and slowly walked away.
Act like a pig..... and walk away.
Re your “But what is Condoleezza Rice thinking of to be sitting next to him. Accepting his presence.”
ReplyDeleteMaybe ‘Ms.’ Condoleeza is a bit ‘Mizz’. Maybe she’s just a tad lonely and frustrated these days. Maybe she secretly wishes she’d been that chambermaid in that New York hotel that day. Maybe she was originally ‘meant’ to be that chamber maid in that New York hotel that day – but was just running horribly late (There goes my first & last trip to Disney World). Maybe she’s got some weird, repressed, fantasy thing about hairy vintage frog’s legs. Maybe she likes the smell of day old moules and rancid garlic. Maybe back in the happy days, GWB’s private attempts at a carousing French accent were a complete and utter disaster…and she’s just in the process of twigging it. Or maybe she’s just so hopelessly bladdered on Ouzo and Leibfraumilch, she can’t see the toilet for the pissoir right next to her.
Boy! Will Homeland Security have your number!
DeleteBeware of any unexpected invitations to take a mystery flight....
It wouldn't let me reply directly to your comment, so I'll add it here. Love that English song. :)
ReplyDeleteI went to look it up for the full lyrics...and, guess what! It's American from the 1930s....
DeleteShe probably just liked listening to him serenade her...listen to the end.
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/avwJPNmCDh0
If the link doesn't work type Condi Condi Steve Earle into Youtube and pick the top clip (live)
That was super, Ken!
DeleteBang goes frying off the aubergines, peeling the chestnuts and hurdling the dog...I'll be listening to more of Steve Earle.
Maybe he's put rophipnol in her drink?
ReplyDeleteI puy nothing beyond him...but sure as eggs are eggs someone else will have paid for it..on past form a man who does not need pockets.
ReplyDeleteAs you said, all of them B'listers together. A free beano, a photographer to prove that you can still get your picture in the press, even if it is at a second-rate party, and the feeling that you still count. So you wear a little more perfume to kill off the stink.
ReplyDeleteI am a cynic.
I wonder which scent could compete with the charnel house stench of Strauss-Kahn's reputation....
DeleteI know our rulers are corrupt, but it still comes as a shock....even to the cynics among us.
And yes, you made it past Google!
Entirely agree. how do these people live with themselves.
ReplyDeleteAll too easily...but they wouldn't last long alongside me...
DeleteGreat post...and I agree wholeheartedly.
ReplyDeleteAll it takes for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing...
DeleteShe has influence....she could do something to demonstrate that this man is unacceptable.
The cynic in me says they are both has-beens trying to make a comeback and willing to do what it takes. I agree - how can she?
ReplyDeleteNo moral compass, that's how.
Delete