barbara amiel black

so conrad black has been found guilty, and while his wife did not give evidence, the word is that it was only because he was trying to finance the extravagant tastes of his wife that black got into such trouble in the first place.

i don't really know very much about barbara amiel except that my father enjoyed talking to her. in reporting the verdict of the trial today, the telegraph had this to say:

"Lady Black, of course, won't be sharing in the next, less comfortable, stage of her husband's life if he goes to prison. But so far she has proved a staunch supporter during the bad times. Writing her off as the ultimate hard-nosed gold-digger, some had confidently intoned long before the trial that the marriage was already over. However, the sight of the Blacks turning up at court each day, often holding hands and frequently exchanging tender glances, suggested otherwise.

Lady Black contributed nothing to the trial apart from an unfortunate lapse at the start when - descending in the lift outside the court - she described journalists as "vermin" and denounced one television news producer as a "slut". Such language comes less from the Kensington salon and more perhaps from her proudly proclaimed roots as a north London girl who had to make her own way in life. "My husband is very rich, but I am not … I have been a bitch all my life and did not need the authority of money to be one," she once wrote. "I am a north London Jew who has read a bit of history. This means I know this: in a century that has seen the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian, British and Soviet empires, reversal of fortune is the rich bitch's reality. One might as well keep working and have the family's Vuitton suitcases packed."

And as Barbara Amiel, a writer whose combination of good looks and fiery Right-wing journalism proved decisive in attracting her current husband, she did indeed keep working, even during the trial."

so i read this and thought well yes a powerful woman must be a bitch mustn't she i mean if she is tough and can take care of herself then she is threatening so bring her down with insults, eh? then i read the profile below

here is a profile from 2004 in the grauniad

and she sounds like an incredible role model until i get to the bit that says:

"Like many of today's rightwing commentators, she ... promoted her belief that homosexuality is an abomination."

damn and blast it, i really wanted to root for her and now i don't want to any more. i wonder ... if this were not a personal issue, would i be more inclined to say well yes she has her flaws but basically i admire her? i do hope not!