Diary
When I first heard the news about Dominque Strauss-Kahn’s arrest, I thought there was a slim chance that he is innocent. After reading what people who know him well say about his relationship to women, DSK is likely to spend a lot of time in a room far less plush than the Soffitel in Manhattan. STRAUSS-KAHNIKOV by Philip Gourevitch (New Yorker)Postcard from Paris: It does not look good for DSK
Update July 1: Sensational Reversal of Fortune. Case against DSK close to collapse… Click on More and scroll down for details.
Update August 23: Case against DSK dismissed… Click on More and scroll down for details.
In Paris the other day, a woman arrived late to a lively dinner party, accepted a glass of champagne, and, taking a seat, asked, “So? What are we talking about?” Then she let out a mirthless chuckle to signal that the question was rhetorical. Since Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s arrest in New York on charges (which he has denied) of sexually assaulting an African immigrant hotel maid, there really was no other topic of conversation in the Parisian society that had produced him, particularly among the left-of-center caste of politicians and journalists of which he and his wife, Anne Sinclair, were stars.
Diary
The outgoing secretary of defense gives a blunt analysis of how little Europe contributes to world security. Gates: NATO alliance future could be ‘dim, dismal’ By ROBERT BURNS and DESMOND BUTLER, Associated Press BRUSSELS: In a stern rebuke, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned Friday that the future of the historic NATO military alliance is at risk because of European penny-pinching and distaste for front-line combat. The United States won’t carry the alliance as a charity case, the outgoing Pentagon chief said.Some NATO countries bristled, but Britain quickly and heartily agreed. Gates’ assessment that NATO could face “a dim if not dismal” future echoes long-standing concern of U.S. policymakers about European defense spending. But rarely, if ever, has it been stated so directly by such a powerful American figure, widely respected in the United States and internationally. The remarks, at the close of Gates’ final overseas trip, reflect a new reality of constrained American finances and a smaller global reach.Gates: Europe is not paying for its defense!
Diary, Curious News
Other countries, other customs. Arnold Schwarzenegger apparently remarked upon reading this story: “Life is unfair!” An Islamic faith healer in Nigeria has married 107 women. The wives seem happy, but religious authorities are not amused. By Robyn Dixon, Los Angeles Times He fell in love with his first wife because she was sincere and eager to please. His second wife, a cousin, was irresistible because she did everything he wished and nothing he didn’t. “That alone made me love her.” His third wife won him because she submitted to his every request.87-year-old Nigerian faith healer has 86 wives
“I saw her, I liked her. I went to her parents and asked for her hand in marriage.” Wife No. 4 was very obedient. So was wife No. 5. Wife No. 6, the same. As were wives 7 and 8 and 9 and ...
Well, by then—it was the late 1980s—things had taken off for Bello Maasaba, an Islamic faith healer in this city in Niger state. He went from a wedding every few months to one every few weeks.
Diary
I don’t share the politics of Arnold. But I feel for him. He was the American dream. He even wanted to get the constitution changed to become president. But then the dream stalled. He didn’t turn California around and now is marriage crumbles. This was not how the Arnold story was supposed to end. See the excellent documentary Pumping Iron to get a sense how Arnold rose to the top. Update May 17: My intuition that the terminator was terminated by his wife was confirmed today. Oops, another Republican with a sex scandal. Click on “More” for more of the story… Schwarzenegger and Shriver Announce SeparationBreaking News: The Terminator is Terminated
By ADAM NAGOURNEY (NY Times)
LOS ANGELES—One of America’s most unlikely and riveting couples—Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Austrian body builder and movie star who became a Republican governor, and Maria Shriver, the journalist and member of the Kennedy dynasty—have separated.
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