The message of the juxtaposition seems to be: Powerful political wives dominate their husbands. Or: Bow down to women, O ye men!
Here's the story about Carla and Nicolas moving to — of all places to avoid taxes — the UK. You know taxes are harsh when England seems like the way out. (Didn't the English rock stars use to move to France to avoid taxes? (Back in the days when The Beatles contributed to the protest-song genre with "Taxman.")
[Nicolas Sarkozy] and his former supermodel third wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy would be likely to settle in an affluent district like South Kensington – so becoming the most high profile Gallic celebrity couple in the city.
But the former president is under investigation for corruption in France, and if he does cross the Channel there will be outrage.Oh, to be relatively young and super high profile! Carla is waving bye-bye. We'll see what her getaway looks like. (How "Gallic" is Carla Bruni? She was born Carla Gilberta Bruni Tedeschi, in Turin, Italy. How coupled is she? She famously cheated on Eric Clapton with Mick Jagger.)
Meanwhile, in America, I've got no criticism of Barack Obama bowing to his wife as he invites her to dance. Or do you think anytime he bows, he calls up the old bowing-to-dictators meme?
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54 comments:
Althouse, churlishly trying to vilify Bruni in view of the beloved and all deserving Michelle O, seems unaware that more base comparisons will prevail.
She famously cheated on Eric Clapton with Mick Jagger.
Since Clapton, Jagger and Keith have been passing around their girlfriends amongst themselves for decades, I think that "cheating" is not the correct word.
I don't think these guys ever agreed to play by the sacred rules of "serial monogamy" that women like to endorse.
(Didn't the English rock stars use to move to France to avoid taxes? (Back in the days when The Beatles contributed to the protest-song genre with "Taxman.")
Some movie stars came here.
Now they just move their corporations to lower-tax countries like U2 did.
I didn't even think of the bowing to foreign dictators meme when I saw the picture, but if the shoe fits.
Did the Beatles like the Stones ever leave England because of taxes? Evidently, they tried other tax-saving strategies.
The Walrus might have been Paul, but was the Taxman the band's true... "Yoko"?
What the Taxman Wrought
In 1967, the Beatles were informed that they would need to invest the large pile of cash they had amassed if they wished to avoid a major haircut from Her Majesty’s tax collectors. In late 1967 and early 1968, the Beatles duly started the ill-starred Apple group of companies — Apple Records, Apple Electronics, Apple Films, Apple Publishing, and the Apple Boutique.
Most of the companies under the Apple umbrella began losing money extravagantly and quickly. The Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, had died in August 1967, and they had no idea how to stanch the bleeding. John Lennon, after fearing publicly that he would be broke in another six months, brought in Allen Klein, a divisive figure who affected a gangster’s air of bluntness, to take an axe to the Apple tree. Over McCartney’s objections — he was outvoted 3 to 1 — Klein began to manage the Beatles’ affairs.
Klein was on a collision course with McCartney from day one. Klein’s laser focus on money often slighted artistic goals — witness the doctored Let It Be tapes, released without McCartney’s consent. McCartney, finding the prospect of continuing with Klein unacceptable, ultimately enraged the other Beatles by suing them to dissolve their partnership in 1970.
This story is widely known. But what often gets overlooked is the fact that without the potent tax dilemma, it is doubtful that the Apple group of companies would ever have been founded in the first place. In other words, no super tax, no Apple fiasco. No Apple fiasco, no Allen Klein. No Allen Klein, no lawsuit.
In fact, from beyond the grave, Lloyd George had forced the Beatles to spend more time figuring out how to shelter their wealth than making music. It is hard to believe that they would not have behaved more rationally, and stayed together longer as a working band, under a milder tax policy.
The Beatles were not an isolated case. These same tax pressures eventually drove the Rolling Stones to become expatriates in order to continue working, famously living in the south of France in 1971 while recording their masterpiece, Exile on Main Street. While the Stones survived as a working unit, they bore the pain of literal exiles — for some of them, permanent exiles — from their homeland.
Creative ruin. Litigation. Exile. Lloyd George unintentionally, but quite effectively, all but destroyed London’s status as the musical and artistic hub of the world as the 1960s gave way to the 1970s.
As to the men in the pics...
It's just chivalry.
If Obama is doing any good, I'd say that his attempts to convey to black men that they should be married, chivalrous toward women and dedicated to their children might be it.
Bowing is a mark of courtesy.
Doing the kow-tow or making obeisance is quite a different thing.
He still hasn't learned you don't bow and shake hands at the same time.
PS Shout, if Zero is doing any good on the black marriage front, it hasn't shown up in the last 4 years.
The optics of a man bowing to a taller woman are all wrong. It doesn't look like the chivalrous gesture of a galllant knight, but more like a serf paying obeisance to the Queen. You never saw Tom Cruise bwoing to Nicole Kidman.
BHO bowing to Michelle will likely outrage the Nice Guys (TM) crowd.
I ain't bowing to no bitch.
Re tax motivated moves, remember the outrage when Saint Bono did the same thing? Ireland ended its artist exemptions and so they moved their publishing company elsewhere (to the Netherlands).
Could we have a Presidential divorce please. Not that I want the Obamas to split, but man that would be some kind of media circus wouldn't it?
Say Obama gets caught with a White woman - maybe a celebrity. Wow, would there be fireworks. The "dialogue" in the Black community alone would be awesome to see. You can't even write a screenplay that would be close to the wild ride that would be. I think I'm evil, but I can't deny my inner-self.
Doesn't say much for a country when an ex-president emigrates for tax reasons. Putin could score a huge publicity stunt by offering Sarkozy Russian citizenship.
I can see why the screenshot wasn't shorter on the right margin. Imagine the shrieks if the last two letters were cut off the word Night.
At what level of taxation does a citizen no longer owe allegiance to his country? Since when did paying taxes become the sincerest form of patriotism? In the liberal ethos, it is ok to dodge the draft and move to Canada, but to do so to avoid taxes is a base act of betrayal.
At what level of taxation does a citizen no longer owe allegiance to his country? Since when did paying taxes become the sincerest form of patriotism? In the liberal ethos, it is ok to dodge the draft and move to Canada, but to do so to avoid taxes is a base act of betrayal.
Michelle wouldn't divorce the owner of the coattails she's riding on. At least, not until she is safely re-elected to her second term as POTUS.
She's like Hillary! like that.
She'd get all Cabrini Green on the white chick's ass, though.
Lets give Michelle the Palin Piñata treatment.
If Obama were inclined to chase pussy, I think we would have heard about it by now.
The interest doesn't seem to be there.
Oh, to be relatively young...
A backhand worthy of Serena.
Shouting Thomas said...
If Obama were inclined to chase pussy, I think we would have heard about it by now.
The interest doesn't seem to be there.
Well, according to Jerome Corsi, he's into older white guys, although there were rumors of Vera Baker (?).
He may have sense enough just to keep it under wraps.
Willie OTOH seemed to think it made him look cool, so he did nothing to keep it quiet.
William said...
At what level of taxation does a citizen no longer owe allegiance to his country? Since when did paying taxes become the sincerest form of patriotism? In the liberal ethos, it is ok to dodge the draft and move to Canada, but to do so to avoid taxes is a base act of betrayal.
1/22/13, 9:58 AM
Taking liberal logic to its conclusion those on un-earned entitlements must be traitors.
William said...
At what level of taxation does a citizen no longer owe allegiance to his country?
I think they would look at this a little differently. They would ask at what point their need to protect themselves from their rapacious countrymen outweighs the desire to remain. I'm sure in their hearts they remain patriots to the same extent as before the move.
"Since Clapton, Jagger and Keith have been passing around their girlfriends amongst themselves for decades, I think that "cheating" is not the correct word."
That's not the way Clapton presents it in his autobiography, which I've read.
Does Carla Bruni call the shots in that family?
I mean after the homewrecking.
Watch for the TMZ Caption contest... I would love to see the ones that dont make it.
Even funnier...now just to the left of Bruni's pic is this news headline:
Rotten eggs stench reaches UK after French gas leak...
That's not the way Clapton presents it in his autobiography, which I've read.
I don't know, Althouse.
I worked for a while with a female musician who was passed around and did a turn with every member of a very famous band that I was close too.
Cheating doesn't really seem to describe this situation. Maybe a new term has to be devised?
Is Bibi looking at Bruni?
Clapton should have been thankfull... I mean Carla went up in class... she didnt go and ride dirty with the security or the driver.. or some such.
NTTATWWT.
I can only guess at what sort of psychological adaptations are required to offset the obvious fact that one is a star fucker.
Catty time. Who dresses this poor woman? Last inaugural she was wearing a chenille bedspread, and now she's wearing a look that accentuates her breasts, disproportionately small to large hips, and makes her look round-shouldered. Damn it!
https://www.google.com/search?num=10&hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1024&bih=649&q=michelle+gown&oq=michelle+gown&gs_l=img.3...5380.7934.0.8189.13.10.0.3.3.0.148.1016.3j7.10.0...0.0...1ac.1.wpQLxkOxrGk#imgrc=SSmFSyOO01M9vM%3A%3BD0xXyB_TGB5eSM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fmedia.nbcmiami.com%252Fimages%252F654*368%252FInaugural%252BBall%252BMichelle%252BDress%
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Lol, Armstrong and Getty were correct; she looks like a Romulan:
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I definitely like the new hair-do.
Clapton, obviously has missed a big opportunity!
Why hasn't he written a song titled I've Got a Ton of the Clap?
Deborah, are you talking about Michelle Obama's hair do? If, so, those are wigs that she wears. She has natural black hair which is about 3 times the length of Barack's.
While I'm not an Obama fan, I have to give him a pass on the bowing to the wife thing. Not only is it courteous in that kind of situation, to not do so risks sleeping on the couch. It's basic husband logic.
France and California - two beautiful places with incredible attractions for humans: culture, weather, food, geography and nature. Yet people who love these things feel compelled to move away. Why? Government.
And people are moving to places like England, Nevada, Oregon, Texas. They are going where they lose almost everything they loved about their previous homes. They hate having to do it, but can't live in those places any longer. That is how onerous is this thing the left loves so - this government, these bureaucrats.
What happened to you lefties that you would build these inhuman monstrosities and love what they do to us. You've lost your souls.
Didn't know that, Allen. Still like the look, though.
I wish there was a photo of Ray Lewis and his wife. The world's not that wonderful a place though.
All the super wealthy need to start their own country. Maybe they can take over a Carribbean Island.
I would expect a curtsy in return. There must be a mutual respect between husband and wife.
A curtsy would have been utterly charming. Maybe they didn't teach curtsying at her school or in her era. I know I was taught, circa '65 :)
Nothing says I love you like a playful slap on the ass.
Deborah, a brief tutorial about the a href. Just get the first part, don't worry about target, because that doesn't work here.
Colonel Angus, out loud...very funny. Don't recall seeing your handle before.
Come here often?
lol, Liz, I knew I was crossing a line with that much of a cut and paste.
"Or do you think anytime he bows, he calls up the old bowing-to-dictators meme?"
Yes, there's that. The Obama kowtows to dictators thing but it's more than that. Bowing is a purely sentimental almost corny (because it's old-fashioned) gesture that can either signal respect or "respect." It's open to interpretation.
Obama's great at allowing other people to define him in ways that appeal to them, even as all the while he relentlessly pushes his own agenda FORWARD. He is the Grand Poobah of the Holy Order of Passive Aggressive Beta Males. Everyone else does all the work superimposing their own agenda onto his. (Just ask Congress.)
https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRRpEdFv9n1zpIgdoV5Z1Lk6r65MIA8Nsfp7-q2B97lbmVDQ1wSRQ
Baby steps! Good.
Now, you can embed the same link, but instead of having that big ol' ugly link, just put the tags around a word or phrase. Like this.
It is good style to only hyperlink a word or phrase and not a whole sentence or paragraph.
I know...I do that sometimes too but I'm trying to get better.
lovely orange tulips
Thanks, Liz and Lem :) The lazy me must thoroughly memorize that code!
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