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Arts and Culture

Condi Tickles the Ivories for the Queen

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Posted on Dec 1, 2008
Condoleezza Rice
AP photo / Akira Suemori

Jolly good: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice smiles during a news conference with Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband after their meeting in London on Monday.

Of all the items we might have expected would rank high on outgoing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s wish list of things she’d like to do before leaving office, playing Brahms in a private concert for Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II wouldn’t have been one of them. However, that’s exactly what Rice just did.


Telegraph:

The stateswoman—who is a concert level pianist—was allowed to use a music room at the palace after expressing a wish to play for the Queen before leaving office at the end of the Bush administration in January.

The Queen listened to part of the performance, and afterward presented Miss Rice with an audio recording of the recital as a gift.

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By RAE, December 9, 2008 at 1:17 am #

That poor Queen… I wouldn’t have her job under any circumstances… the crap she must endure in her role is far more than I could put up with no matter how much I was paid. Can you imagine… you’re 82 years old, likely had a busy day, and all you really want to do is put your feet up and veg… but no, as Queen, you’ve got to get all gussied up and PRETEND to enjoy some BORING performance. She might be rich and famous but she’s NOT FREE. It’s very sad.

I wouldn’t swap my freedom to CHOOSE what I do, with whom and when for all her wealth and status. But she promised to do this duty when she became Queen, and dammit, she’s done it better than any other Head of State on the planet. She gets all my admiration and support… but I’d never swap my humble existence in FREEDOM for her luxurious life sentence in servitude.

But still, it must be nice to be able to order anything and everything without ever looking at the price tag.

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By Purple Girl, December 7, 2008 at 11:13 am #

I honestly had to laugh when AQ’s 2nd Banana said Obama was merely a ‘House Negro’....did he not realize how many Black Muslims populate the WORLD?
I’m betting that phrase won him no popularity contests throughout Africa (the Continent).
Ya Know much like this current Admin, Ya gotta love when they pull such a Rhetorical Boner.
Basically he is stating that Blacks still hold a postion which would allow them to be used as Such, wonder what color his servants are? No doubt he has Some otherwise he wouldn’t be familiar with the concept. I wonder what he call these slaves who arren’t allowed in His House? Isn’t it funny that one Such as he , who proclaims his oppression can so easily dismiss the woes of others who are oppressed…and apparently by the same people.
Wouldn’t it have been more advantageous for Him to have Praised a fellow ‘slave’ for seizing the WH? Not only to commemorate the achievement, but also further scare the shit out of the Racists here? thus signalling that ‘conquest’ is at ahnd for his followers and Defeat was emminent for the White folks. Wouldn’t it sound more like ‘Mission Accomplished’ for their side?
What he did acheive was to not only offend the American Public who voted Obama In, but all those around the World who cheered US On.Making Friends and Influencing People Ah?
Is there a IQ test that requires you to fail to acheive political power?Obvously Yes in this country between W & Rove- about as Studpid as Binny’s mouth piece.Seems both got through Psych & Soc 101 but never attended the more advanced classes. Dumbasses.

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By Little Brother, December 6, 2008 at 3:26 pm #

Very gratifying—maybe next month, when she’s cut loose from the public tit, Condi can begin employment as a piano player in a bordello.

Provided, that is, that she can find a bordello with operators willing to considerably lower their standards for employees’ personal character and integrity.

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By hippy pam, December 4, 2008 at 3:21 pm #

Some one should tell her——Hey-Condom-YOU ARE DONE-FINI-OLD NEWS-No more Power!!!!!Go Lay Down!!!Shut up!!!No body CARES…You lay down with “ole bullshit”-you got up with"cooties”.........

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By dsmith, December 4, 2008 at 8:41 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Last night I heard Bush is sending Condi to India to calm things down.

“0000000000000, Condi’s in town.” the Paks and Indians said with quivering voices.“Let’s hurry up and make peace before she gives us a stern talking to!”

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By Sodium, December 4, 2008 at 1:37 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Music requires a sensitive soul to excell in it.Condi
has no such a beautiful thing-only slaughtering soul
that excells in lies to cover it up….....

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By msgmi, December 3, 2008 at 8:08 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Before Condi leaves office, GW should designate her as the Commodore of the Seven Seas, have Conoco donate a supertanker, stock it with Navy Seals and let her chase and wipe out the Somali pirates.  This should add gusto to the GW/Condi legacy.

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By crysh, December 3, 2008 at 3:51 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

I didn’t think this story deserved much more than a shrug yet you all have used it as an outlet to spew venom. Interesting. There are certainly other problems with this Sec State and the Administration that deserve more attention than the merits (or lack thereof) of her concert for the queen.

Her day job aside, which she will soon be out of, it’s pretty darned cool to fulfill a life long dream and play in a venue like that, regardless of her well she did.

Also, while I am not British, I guarantee that the QoE has more class and manners than to walk out of a performance simply because she is less than impressed with the “concert quality”. By no accounts did Rice “suck” and the QoE has done more distasteful things, with dignity, than listen to Condi Rice play piano.

Puhlease.

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By troublesum, December 2, 2008 at 8:50 pm #

It’s enough to make one believe in Hannah Arendt’s concept of the banality of evil.  While the slaughter goes on in Iraq, Afganistan, and Gaza she reveals her dreams.

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By Blackspeare, December 2, 2008 at 7:34 pm #

For some reason this reminds me of Nero!!

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By Russian Paul, December 2, 2008 at 5:01 pm #

I heard part of the piano quintet she performed and it sounded wooden, lacked emotion, and she even seemed unable to control the most basic dynamics of the piece…no wonder the queen left.

Bloodthirsty reptilians just can’t play music the same way humans do, they don’t have any SOUL.

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By kloe, December 2, 2008 at 3:41 pm #

As a professional musician who did study Music and graduate with degrees in Music Performance, this makes me cringe. “Concert Level” Pianist - what a joke!  Concert level butcher is more like it.

I guess not much has changed since the Classical era when court musicians were mere servants on the level of the gardener and cook for the Royalty.  Even some of the Royalty themselves were accomplished musicians after a fashion.  What else did they have to do all day except live in luxurious palaces while the citizenry toiled, served their every whim and suffered from their poor, inbred leadership?

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By dick, December 2, 2008 at 12:24 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

An accomplished liar, and maybe pianist as well, but back to her war-crimes record in Washington.

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By Stephen Smoliar, December 2, 2008 at 12:00 pm #

For the record, Rice is NOT “a concert level pianist.”  Her own memoir states that she abandoned serious study of music because she realized she could never rise to that level.  (I suppose many of us wish that she had stuck to her music career plan.)  This “event,” such as it was, revived the age-old tradition of amateurs playing together in a house’s music room.  This house just turned out to be a bit grander.

I am not surprised that the Queen did not stick around for the entire performance.  I heard Rice play the Schumann piano quintet at Stanford once, and I suspect she showed more respect to Brahms than she has shown to any member of the Legislative Branch.  Still, Brahms doesn’t wag his tail and go for walks on demand;  so I can understand why the Queen lost interest.

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By hippy pam, December 2, 2008 at 10:40 am #

“ole rice cakes” doesn’t even realize….Paul McCartney was KNIGHTED….and DAME JUDI DENCH….all “ole condom” got was a $.99 cent CD which is about what she should be paid for the “great job” she performed as S of S…...

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By gads1, December 2, 2008 at 1:10 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

At least she’ll have something to do to pass the time in prison.  At least that is my prayer (and I NEVER pray).

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By 95flhtcu, December 1, 2008 at 11:59 pm #

So that’s what she’s good for….

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