A satisfactory outcome

Jacques Chirac stormed out of an EU summit meeting when Ernest-Antoine Seillière, president of the EU employers’ federation, decided to speak in English instead of French. Chirac interrupted to ask why he wasn’t speaking French, and Seillière told him that English was the international business language. Chirac and his entourage, including his finance and foreign ministers, then stalked out. The Times: “Embarrassed French diplomats tried to explain away the walk-out, saying that their ministers all needed a toilet break at the same time.” (That’s toilet, from the French toilette.)

Musharaf made a speech today calling for all foreign terrorists to leave Pakistan. Oh, so that was the problem: they were waiting for an engraved un-invitation.

Ambassador/Viceroy to Iraq Khalilzad cites as a sign of progress in the 100-day long negotiations since the Iraqi elections that the sides actually talk to each other now, rather than using him as an intermediary. Hurrah!

Condi Rice has called Karzai about the Christian convert, Abdul Rahman, demanding a “satisfactory outcome,” whatever the hell that means (other reports say “favorable resolution”; possibly she really put the screws to him and demanded both a satisfactory outcome and a favorable resolution). It’s unclear whether Rahman’s being thrown into an Afghan insane asylum (imagine what such an institution must be like) would be satisfactory to her. It should be noted that earlier in the week, the State Dept was merely calling for a fair trial – a fair trial under a law that makes apostasy a capital offense. Like a fair trial for witchcraft.

Barbara Bush, as you must know by now, donated money to the Katrina Fund her husband is associated with, with instructions that it be spent on educational software hawked by one of her other idiot sons, Neil. Also, she donated money to the fund for the tsunami, with instructions that it be spent on Asian hookers for Neil.