There are intelligent spiritual thinkers who speak well, and I'll get to Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso (the 14th Dalai Lama), Pope Benedict XVI, and Cornel West at some point soon, I'm hoping. Then there are straight out political leaders, Americans who try to project themselves as "just folks," or hopeless language butchers like G.W. Bush, or long-winded talkers like Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez and Bill Clinton. And then there are the European politicos . . .
Today's European leaders are a lot more polished than their mid-20th century counterparts. Take one look at Russia's Vladimir Putin or Italy's Silvio Berlusconi and you know what I mean. Are these guys as ruthless as Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler? Possibly. Are they more subtle about it? Absolutely. Would you want to mess with them? Probably not. Nice suits, though. . . . . Are these democratic leaders, of the people, for the people, by the people? Nah . . . But they'd fit in well with James Bond, certainly.
Putin and his special lady friend, former gymnist Alina Kabayeva. Saucy!
France's Nicolas Sarkozy with special lady friend, now third wife, Carla Bruni (Tedeschi). A month prior to their February 2, 2008 wedding, the Italian-born Bruni was quoted in Time (12/31/007/1/7/008) as saying: "I'm monogamous from time to time, but I prefer polygamy and polyandry." Ah, another one worthy of Mick Jagger and 007! The rich just want to have fun -- and rule the world while they're at it. . . . .
Today's Rune: Growth.
2 comments:
Erik...let them rule theirs and I will rule mine and when the chips are counted I will have become the better for my gentle despotism.
Aleichem Shalom
mark
If they could only rule themselves first.
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