The Critics Still Totally Ridiculous!

[mylye2222]

Btw I love this idea of skpping a Nato summit to go to theater.
Plus Hamilton seems to be an amazing show!

http://www.showbiz411.com/2016/07/09/hamilton-all-star-send-off-for-original-cast-john-kerry-jane-fonda-jlo-charlie-rose

[Mass]

1. Was there an actual criticism of Kerry going there?

In addition, I doubt he skipped a NATO summit for that. It was a meeting of head of states and governments!!!

[mylye2222]

2. Not here but in other links you´ll find easily...

And you are right.
He was before attending a wedding.

[karynnj]

3. You're right he attended all the foreign minister level conferences

and had a lot of pre summit meetings and visits to Georgia and Ukraine. Not to mention, the Friday SD daily briefing spoke of him returning later that evening. This is the NY Post and Daily Mail ... and other right wing sources. It is a very strange criticism as he has kept up a schedule that has been amazing - even when he broke his leg.

Here is the response of the SD spokesperson at today's briefing.

Can I just move from the Durand Line to Broadway? (Laughter.) Secretary of State Kerry left the NATO Summit earlier than his – than the President or Secretary Carter or indeed Secretary Nuland, and many of the other principles from other NATO allies, and then on Saturday night he attended a production of Hamilton on Broadway. Did he leave early to go to the theater?

MR KIRBY: Well, a couple of things on this, Dave. I think, number one, it’s important to note that he had a very full schedule, very comprehensive agenda in Warsaw – actually the entire week, but certainly at Warsaw.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR KIRBY: And he completed all his commitments at the Warsaw Summit before departing, each and every one of them, and no event that happened the day following involved leaders at the foreign minister level. It was a heads of state day, basically, of topics. So he worked very hard in Warsaw. He completed all the meetings and discussions that he had intended to complete, but yes, he did depart before the President, and he departed because he had committed to attend the wedding of the son of a very dear, close, personal friend of his back in New England. That is the reason why he left Warsaw a little early. But again, I would stress that even if he had stayed, he would have already completed his entire agenda. So I think press reporting and speculation out there that he left Warsaw to attend a play is just patently false.

QUESTION: But the play didn’t appear on his public schedule.

MR KIRBY: He did go to the musical on Saturday night. That is a fact. He did, as a private endeavor, something that he wanted to do with his daughter. So he did attend. But that had nothing to do with his Warsaw agenda whatsoever and it had no effect whatsoever on the work that he was able to get done in Warsaw.

Yeah.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2016/07/259568.htm

Could this be jealousy? Kerry is certainly well liked by many cool people. Apparently, people who came to the show were very happy to see him.
http://www.vulture.com/2016/07/scene-at-lmms-final-hamilton-performance.html?mid=twitter-share-vulture

[karynnj]

4. Kerry was invited to come for Bastile Day in France

Finally, a programming note. Secretary Kerry will travel this week – starting this week. He’ll travel to Paris at the invitation of President Hollande to attend Bastille Day celebrations. He will – the travel starts Wednesday. The Bastille Day celebrations are obviously on the 14th. Later that evening on the 14th, he’ll travel to Moscow where he will begin a series of meetings with senior Russian officials to discuss Syria, Ukraine, Nagorno-Karabakh, among other issues. He’ll then travel to Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, on the 15th of July, where he will meet with the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn to discuss a range of bilateral issues, the transatlantic relationship, and a variety of other issues of mutual interest to us both.

The Secretary will then travel to Brussels from July 17th to the 18th where he will meet with EU member-state foreign ministers and EU High Representative Federica Mogherini ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council, and there to discuss of course key foreign policy priorities across the continent.

Next, the Secretary will travel to London on the 18th and the 19th, where he will attend multilateral meetings on Yemen and on Syria.

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2016/07/259568.htm


France seems the fun part of this otherwise pretty tough travel week.

[MBS]

5. Just reading this schedule makes me tired! n/t

[karynnj]

7. Me too! That is why trying to tag him - as the RW tried - as playing when he should be working

completely fails. (The surprising thing is that he has the energy to do something other than rest when he is off. Maybe there is something to being as fit and athletic as he is. )

The schedule seems as mentally taxing as is it physically taxing.

[mylye2222]

6. He surely will attend the traditional parade on the Champs-Elysées.