Diplomats and Davos, Snow, Fondue and Less Parties.

Diplomatic Circles
By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Angelina Jolie won't be there. Either will Claudia Schiffer. But there will be hundreds of world diplomats sludging through the thick snow in Davos this week. But after partying hard for the past five years, the world economy is suddenly looking more sick and tired than a Davos delegate on a Saturday morning after Google's big shindig.

"There will still be parties, but not as many as in previous years," said a source at the forum.
"Things have changed now. The economy is on a down turn."

The meeting rooms and hotel bedrooms are more cramped and less luxurious than most executives usual fare and the journey to and from the resort can be hellish for those without a helicopter.

"You all come together in a very confined place-relaxed atmosphere-not to mention the fine wine and huge portions of fondue. It gets delegates in the mood to talk."

Mood to talk? I'm there!

"Anyone looking mildly suspicious or missing their security pass will not gain entry," said a member of the Davos security team. "We don't tolerate party-crashers here."

Humm....too bad!

France's Famous President Speaks!

Diplomatic Circles
By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Nicolas Sarkozy's family taught him the values of Gauilism, Love of France and the refusal of defeat. A native of Paris, he studied law and political science, before becoming a lawyer at 26.

For more than 20 years he practised law and during that time he became more and more involved in political activities. All this experience gave him the opportunity to develop important contacts with French society.

Sarkozy entered the government for the first time in 1993, as Minister for the Budget and Spokesman for the Prime Minister, Edouard Balladier. After Jacques Chirac's victory in the Presidential election in 2002, he returned to the government first as Minister of the Interior, then as Finance Minister in 2004.

He also increased police prescence on the streets of France in an effort to curb crime and delinquency. He also saved Alstom, a then ailing French conglomerate, from bankruptcy, and forced big retailers to lower consumer prices.

"All my life I have had a dream of serving France," he said in an interview."I want to revive the work ethic and I want those who work hard to earn more than those who live on welfare. I also want every French citizen to own his or her own house. I want people to get mortgages even if they have no capital or live in subsidized housing.

I will be accountable for all my actions to Parliament and the citizens. I want to be the President who fights the injustices of life."

When asked about his current relationship with Italian model Carla Bruni, he laughed, "That I don't want to talk about. But good try."

Diplomats Head to Davos

World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos 2008
By: Vickie J. Rubinson

More than 2,500 participants from 88 countries will convene in Davos Switzerland, including 27 heads of state or government, 113 cabinet ministers, along with religious leaders and media leaders.

U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, will be on hand, along with Henry Kissinger, Michael Dell (Dell Computers), and Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman and CEO of Sony Corporation of Japan. These are just some of the big name participants who will be schmoozing and cruising in the famously quaint Swiss ski village.

Among the heads of state appearing are: Shimon Peres, President of Israel, Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan, Viktor Yushchecko, President of Ukraine and Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Celebrities from the cultural world contributing to the debates in Davos will include musician Peter Gabriel of the U.K., Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, actress Emma Thompson and representatives of the world's media.

"The unique combination of the world's top business and political leaders, together with the heads of the world's most important NGO's and media leaders allows us to approach the problems that face the world in a good way and with an eye to tackling the major issues that face us all. The annual meeting gives all of us a chance to understand and shape the Global Agenda for the year ahead and beyond, serving global society by making sense of a rapidly changing world and harnessing collaborative innovation to the benefit of us all," said Davos Founder, Klaus Schwab.

Date: January 23-27, 2008.
Plenty of hotels and ski chalets still available.

HERSHEY

Book Review: HERSHEY
Author: Mike D'Antonio
By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Hershey. The name means chocolate to America and the world, but it also stands for an inspiring man and a uniquely successful experiment in community and capitalism that produced a business empire devoted to a higher purpose.

One of the 20th century's most eccentric and idealistic titans of industry, Milton S. Hershey brought affordable milk chocolate to America, creating and then satisfying the chocolate urges of millions. He pioneered techniques of branding, mass production, and marketing and gained widespread fme as the Chocolate King.

In childhood, Milton was torn by the constant conflicts between his mother and father and he watched his father go bust in the oil fields. As a young entrepreneur he failed in Philadelphia, New York and Chicago, before finally succeeding in Lancaster, thanks to a borrowed caramel recipe and a lucky break provided by a British importer. Then, at the history-shaping Columbian Exhibition, Milton found the chocolate making technology that would allow him to bring a new taste to America. When they heard about his plan to build a chocolate empire complete with its own little city in rural Pennsylvania, his friends thought he was crazy.

Ten years later, Milton controlled the US chocolate market and his town, Hershey, Pennsylvania, was the ideal American village, with free amenities that rivaled the best in big cities. Trams brought thousands of tourists every day to see the chocolate works, the miracle town, the Hershey zoo and huge amusement park.

Milton Hershey had reached that level of celebrity where his reputation and his name were every bit as powerful as his physical presence. The persona of M.S. Hershey had become so important that it governed the mood and activities of his company and his town even when he was absent.

A great many factors had helped to build the image of MS Hershey. Fawning publicity, which certainly aided his company's sales, was one of the forces that slowly turned Milton from a man to icon.

Remarkable as Hershey was, his legacy is even more powerful. It includes the $8 billion Hershey trust, an idyllic company town in central Penn. and a corporation that proves that the ideals of community and commerce can lead to profit.

A delicious romp through chocolate history.