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Rave reviews for Rices gala peformance
KUALA LUMPUR: US top diplomat Condoleezza Rice won rave reviews yesterday for her musical performance at Asian security talks, despite skipping the traditional rowdy skits in favour of a sombre piano recital.With North Korea firing off missiles, carnage in Lebanon, rockets raining on Israel and killings convulsing Iraq, Rice was in no mood for the kind of frivolity staged in previous years. In keeping with her serious mood the Secretary of State performed two pieces from the brooding repertoire of Johannes Brahms a solo Intermezzo number two, and Brahms Sonata for violin and piano, opus 108, with a Malaysian guest soloist. She arrived at the Istana hotel in downtown Kuala Lumpur for the annual gala dinner wearing a glamorous red dress and red jacket made of traditional Malaysian batik material. Rices decision to take the stage alone was a relief to some of her entourage. Karen Hughes, former spin doctor for President George W Bush, now czar of US public diplomacy, admitted she had been let off the hook. I cant even hum, she confessed on the eve of the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) gala. Last year, Rice rumpled Asean feathers by skipping the foreign ministers meeting and sending her then deputy Robert Zoellick. Posted by: CrazyFool 2006-07-28 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=161166 |