Saturday Morning Miscellany - Of Set Ups and Shenanigans

Well we all know by now why this man is smiling

As he should be now that his accuser, the African immigrant chamber maid,
has been found to be a liar, a money launderer and an all around salope.

A month or so ago I was told by my French Connection,
who knows all about these kind of things,
that the rape accusation was a set up by Sarkozy's people to put DSK out of the running.
The report that I read involved a cozy relationship between a New York Police commissioner and Sarkozy. It was too convoluted for me to believe, but at this point who knows the truth, I certainly don't.
Maybe it was a political set up or maybe it was just the criminal maid acting on her own to try to extort DSK at any rate his DNA was found and he was up to some sort of sexual shenanigans with the maid.

DSK had his defenders right from the beginning, his wife Anne Sinclair first and foremost.

And of course  BHL, who leaped into the defense of his accused friend, now has the last word to say on the subject with this article from The Daily Beast.

End of the DSK Affair
The Dominique Strauss-Kahn affair isn't over. And won't be until his honor is restored. Bernard-Henri Levy on the lessons of the case.

Certainly his honor and reputation will be restored...as will his amour-propre.
But is it truly too late for the Presidency?

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan addict blog writing

Lots of celebrities write blogs, but no one blogs quite like Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan who this week marked three years of writing in which he has often produced 1,000 words a day.

Bachchan celebrated the anniversary of his Internet outpourings with a characteristic array of long postings covering family news, spiritual thoughts and updates on his health, travel plans and sleep patterns.

Each Bachchan message attracts a huge readership and hundreds of comments contributed by adoring Indians who view him as a national father figure as well as an ageing screen star.

"Thank you for your presence and for your gratitude," Bachchan wrote to followers who congratulated him on his blog landmark.

"You have stood by me in rough weather and fair," he continued in inimitable style. "You have commented and encouraged, analysed and assessed, laughed and cried."

"This is indeed a superior class of people and I am proud to have been an initiator for all."

Bachchan, who is universally known as "the Big B", blogs about 5,000 words most weeks - a rate that would give him a total output of about 780,000 words since his first posting on April 18, 2008.

Almost every day, and often in the middle of the night, Bachchan - who admits to being an insomniac - writes in detail about his children, his dog "Shanouk", politics, philosophy and memories of his movie career.

As the patriarch of Bollywood's leading family, Bachchan's news is followed avidly, especially concerning his son Abhishek, a successful actor who is married to actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai.

As well as his "EF" (extended family), Bachchan's other favourite topics include cricket, his life on film shoots around the world, and current affairs ranging from Indian government issues to unrest in the Arab world.

Blogs often end with him saying his eyes are about to close with exhaustion.

"I know it's late - very late! But no matter what time it is I get disturbed and anxious until I put down my post for the day," he wrote in a piece uploaded at 3:30 am on Wednesday.

After 600 words in which he wondered whether he could post blogs while in his sleep, he complained of "black squares" in front of his eyes and signed off with: "Goodnight my dearest loves."

The physical exertion on Bachchan, 68, should not be underestimated.

He types all the words himself before posting them on the Internet, though secretaries are thought to help edit and spell-check the reams of often verbose copy.

Any mention in the blog of health problems or family disputes is immediately picked up by readers and soon reaches the national press and TV channels.

Last year fans were aghast when Bachchan blogged that he was suffering from cirrhosis of the liver and needed regular medical care.

He tried to reassure followers that he was not at death's door, explaining that the disease was linked to a serious accident in which he ruptured his spleen on the set of the 1982 film "Coolie".

Bachchan, who is treated like royalty in movie-mad India, made his name in the 1970s as a handsome young man playing lead roles in Hindi blockbusters such as "Sholay" and "Deewaar".

His career later took a dive, but hosting the Indian version of TV game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? put him back in the spotlight and his blog has become a key part of his image as Bollywood's elder statesman.

"Thanks for writing on the net each single day without fail for three years... feel connected with you... it's a great feeling," wrote blog follower Madhu Jain this week.

And for those who still can't get enough of Bachchan, he has also developed into a keen Twitter fan, filing updates several times a day.

Bachchan blogs at http://bigb.bigadda.com and tweets as SrBachchan.
From:www.independent.co.uk/

P.J. O'Rourke and Politics As Ususal

Now with the elections California elections coming up next month we are getting our fill of October surprises.
We've got perpetual candidate Jerry Brown, or possibly his assistant, caught on an audio tape calling Meg Whitman a whore. Then we've got, Gloria Allred, promoting herself as usual, while creating a Nannygate scandal for Whitman.
In other words here in California it's all politics as usual.
So, I was happy to accept an invitation to an event a block away from my office at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel to hear P.J. O'Rourke speak about politics and his new book.

 

I've been a fan of O'Rourke since the 1980's when I read his "Holidays in Hell" and I've been reading his books ever since.

"Don't Vote it Just Encourages The Bastards" is a very amusing book that manages to mix the serious political theory of Adam Smith, Thomas Paine, John Locke and Thomas Jefferson and their ideas of power, freedom and responsibility with the verbal game Screw, Marry, Kill.  O'Rourke, now the H.L. Menckin Research Fellow of the Cato Institute,  is above all a humorist and a clever chronicler of the political evolution of the baby boom generation.

Needless to say I laughed a lot and I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

So what did I wear...yes the all important question.

The usual 100 plus carats of diamonds of course

No not really, it was a bit much for lunch

Instead in theme with the Cato Institute, I chose the Saint-Gaudens 1924 Liberty Gold Coin set in a Modernist Pendant

here's the detail

Saint-Gaudens 1924 Double Eagle Coin and Diamond Pendant from Beladora.com $2450

Commissioned by President Theodore Roosevelt in the early years of the 20th Century to beautify American coinage, renowned sculptor Auguste Saint-Gaudens set about creating the now famed Double Eagle series. The face of the coin features a beautifully crafted Lady Liberty stepping out of the sun and bearing a staff and olive branch. The word "Liberty" stretches above her head framed by 48 stars which represent the states in the union. The reverse is inscribed the words "United States of America" and "Twenty Dollars" which arch over the finely detailed figure of a bald eagle in flight. Radiating lines, representing the sun, seem to emanate from the words "In God We Trust" inscribed at the bottom of the coin.

(nice description isn't it...that's the kind of fine work we do at Beladora)

and a bunch of gold bracelets 

The first week of October started off with an unseasonal rainstorm.  I was so perplexed by this phenomenon of nature that I was muttering to myself "what does this mean?" like the double rainbow guy. 

Now, thank god, the sky is clear and we are going to have hot sunny weather again. 

Happy Friday everyone.

Checking In On The Czechs

After last week's blog discussion on  the wardrobe of Australia's new female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard  I thought that we should check into what's going on with these Czech politicians

And all this time I thought that it was only in America that people voted for politicians for their glamour rather than for their ideas or their capabilities.

From the Telegraph UK

Female Czech MPs pose for Calendar

On one hand I think that it is great to bring attention to women in the Czech government

On the other hand I'm not so enthusiastic about this
As further evidence that few in the Czech Republic have qualms over spicing the world of politics with touch of glamour and sex appeal, in the days after the election the glossy women's magazine "Ona" (She in English) encouraged readers to vote for "Miss Parliament", asking them to choose their favourite female MP.

I guess that anything goes when you need to get elected
Public Affairs has previously used glamour to highlight its strong female presence. During the election campaign four of the women who appear in the calendar posed for a billboard poster wearing black swim suits.
Years ago people used to "vote with their feet", not it seems that they are voting with something else entirely.