Georgian minister accused of stripping at Vancouver club

[SpongeG]

Georgian minister accused of stripping at Vancouver club


A controversial photograph of Georgian economy minister Vera Kobalia (pictured centre), said to be taken at a Vancouver strip club.
Photograph by: ..., Facebook

VANCOUVER -- A racy photograph of the Georgian economy minister, said to be taken at a Vancouver strip club, is creating international media furore.

Vera Kobalia, 28, who lived in Vancouver and was educated at BCIT, is pictured posing salaciously with a group of scantily clad women.

The Russian media has sprung forward, criticizing President Mikheil Saakashvili for appointing "strippers" to his cabinet.

The U.K.'s Independent newspaper is reporting that Saakashvili appointed the brunette beauty to the ministerial post after meeting her during his trip to Vancouver in February during the Winter Olympics.

Kobalia, who is Georgian, was raised in Canada. According to her official biography on a Georgian government site, she graduated from King George high school in 1999 and BCIT in 2004.

The website also says Kobalia worked as a television producer in Vancouver for Global TV and CBC.

However, no one at the Global TV newsroom could recall the name, and Petra Mehner at Global’s Human Resources department said there is no record of Kobalia ever having been on the payroll.

BCIT would not confirm or deny whether she graduated from a program, saying it’s policy to protect students’ privacy rights.

The risque photo of Kobalia, attached to this story, was taken from a Facebook page under Kobalia's name. But the minister denies Russian media claims that it was taken at a Vancouver strip club.

...

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/...#ixzz0v1WcN2WN

[Yume-sama]

So, women having boobies is shocking in Russia, too? I would have thought they'd be more open to this being public knowledge.

[Millennium2002]

I think it's just Russia making a fuss so they can portray the Georgian government as incompetent and what not. Normal case of propaganda ... Keep in mind there's still animosity between the two sides ever since the war in the two separatist regions.

[punface]

Can anyone confirm which Vancouver strip club this is (if it even is in Vancouver, since she denies it.)

[SpongeG]

who cares Vancouver is getting free press all over the world!

this is the stuff kathy griffin dreams of

[mrjauk]

Two points: First, there is no way this is a strip club. Notice the chairs and the seating/table arrangements? This is a restaurant of some sort and the young woman (along with two friends, it would seem--the bookends as they are not dressed in matching costumes as are the women 2nd in from the ends) was letting loose after obviously having had a little bit too much to drink. She and her friends got up onto the table and were dancing, with very few others there at the time.

Second, how in the world does a 28-year-old BCIT graduate become the Economics Minister of a country in which she does not live?

[SpongeG]

its just a nightclub but she is a girl gone wild! and she is stripping! its not been reported as a strip club but the Russians are saying its a strip club


Georgian Economy Minister Vera Kobalia.
Photograph by: Handout, Georgian Ministrye

from a UK paper...

Russia rails at Georgian minister's 'stripper' photos
By Shaun Walker in Moscow

The Russian media has seized upon a raunchy photograph – of the Georgian Economy Minister posing in a nightclub – to release a fresh torrent of criticism at President Mikheil Saakashvili for appointing "strippers" to his cabinet.

Mr Saakashvili appointed 28-year-old Vera Kobalia to the ministerial post this month. Ms Kobalia, an ethnic Georgian, had lived in Canada for 15 years and has no previous experience in politics. She is said to have met Mr Saakashvili during his trip to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in February.

A photograph, apparently taken from Ms Kobalia's Facebook page, has been published by a newspaper in Georgia. It shows the minister, her sister and three friends posing. The Russian state-controlled media, which gives wide coverage to any story that paints President Saakashvili in a negative light, jumped on the story and insisted that the picture was taken in a Vancouver strip club.

...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...s-2036921.html

From Vancouver bakery to Georgian cabinet

Until early this year, 28-year-old Vera Kobalia was helping sell bread and pies in her family’s bakery in Vancouver.

The European Breads Bakery continues, but Ms. Kobalia has moved on to become Economic Development Minister in the European state of Georgia – a post she secured after meeting Georgia’s President while he was in Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

As the country of 4.6 million people continues a tense relationship with its powerful Russian neighbour, the rookie minister herself has had to grapple with the fallout of bare-knuckle regional politics. Russian media this week ran Facebook photos suggesting she was partying with strippers, based on a shot that had Ms. Kobalia dancing atop a table with four other women.

...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1655400/

[Distill3d]

So, she was a stripper? This is a bad thing how? At least if Georgia goes broke, they know who to turn to in order to raise some funds.

[SpongeG]

no she wasn't a stripper just a local vancouver girl

short story seems to be - some important political dude from Georgia came to Vancouver for the Olympics - met this girl who was working at a local bakery - and made her a minister in Georgian Government

Russian Media and now more media is jumping on the non-story about her and the russians will gladly bash georgia and they are trying to discredit her and the georgian government i guess

[nova9]

and more research has revealed that the photos are taken in Miami when she was in college more than 10 years ago.

From NY Times (http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/201...ghtclub-photo/:

Another image in that Flickr set seems to support Ms. Kobalia’s contention that the photograph was taken in Florida. That image shows the Kobalia sisters and their friend standing in front of what looks exactly like Miami’s Colony Hotel.

Considering how vicious the Pravda was of our Olympics, I can see how they would blatantly strech the truth to attack someone their country doesn't see with much regard.

[Hourglass]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

no she wasn't a stripper just a local vancouver girl

short story seems to be - some important political dude from Georgia came to Vancouver for the Olympics - met this girl who was working at a local bakery - and made her a minister in Georgian Government

Russian Media and now more media is jumping on the non-story about her and the russians will gladly bash georgia and they are trying to discredit her and the georgian government i guess

Well, yes, it's the pot calling the kettle black. I mean it's not as if Russians party at all, right? Heck, vodka's weaker than water.

If they think she's not up to the job, they should just come out and say it, rather than use this kind of innuendo. Although maybe Ms Kobalia should change the security settings on her Facebook page...