An Undiplomatic Display (Photos in W.H. replaced with pics of *)

[kskiska]

State Department types were taken aback last week to find that a longtime diplomatic photo exhibit along a busy corridor to the cafeteria had been taken down. The two dozen mostly grainy black and white shots were a historic progression of great diplomatic moments, sources recalled.

There was an original political cartoon from the Jefferson era showing Britain and France pick-pocketing the Americans; there were pictures of negotiations with Indian tribes over land; President Woodrow Wilson at Versailles; former secretary of state Elihu Root somewhere; Roosevelt and Churchill signing the Atlantic Charter; former secretary of state James A. Baker III and former Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze in cowboy boots at Jackson Hole; a splendid shot of the old State Department building; and a photo of President Ronald Reagan at a meeting with a very young Colin L. Powell seated behind him.

Then they were gone. And what was put up in their place? What else? A George W. Bush family album montage of 21 large photos of the president as diplomat. He's speaking at the United Nations and meeting with foreign leaders. There are several shots of Bush with first lady Laura Bush -- exiting a plane, touring the Forum in Rome and visiting Japan. (There's one of just Laura Bush and Jordan's Queen Noor at a U.N. conference.) There's one of Bush meeting in happier days with his very good friend Jacques Chirac, president of France, and another with his even better friend, Gerhard Schroeder, chancellor of Germany. There's a fine shot of him yucking it up in Beijing with former Chicom boss Jiang Zemin, aka the Robin Williams of the Middle Kingdom.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21378-2003Sep16.html

[Pale Blue Dot]

1. oh...my...god...

I truly think he's gone insane.

[The Zanti Regent]

23. Still have no doubts about Powell?

Powell is the greatest asskisser who ever lived!

[Pale_Rider]

28. That, or his minders are desparately trying to keep his ...

... self-esteem from outright collapse as his polls return to their pre-9-11 levels. Give a little boost to "Little Duce".

[Davis_X_Machina]

2. Deleted message...

...damn not-really html....

[Rose Siding]

3. Does this reporter WANT to lose access!!!?

My fave too:

Our personal favorite is a shot of the president looking out from the official limo in Beijing. The ID placard, done at the State Department, says he's in Tienemen Square.

No. No tiene men. No tiene women either. That would be Tiananmen Square.

[KoKo]

13. I'm clueless and didn't get the "No tiene men. No tiene woman either, line

I'm embarrassed to ask.....but could someone explain? It sounds funny but I just don't get it :shrug:

[Enraged_Ape]

15. I think it's a reference to the Spanish "to have"

As in "tiene usted dolor de estomago" "Si"?

[KoKo]

20. Enraged........?????????

:shrug:

[Enraged_Ape]

49. In other words...

No tienemen. "It doesn't have men." No tiene women either. "It doesn't have women either."

I never said it was funny or made all that much sense, but I believe that's what the writer was reaching for.

[Lucille]

62. No tiene men does not equal Tianamen

Al Kamen uses the play on words to point that they've mispelled Tiananmen--a particularly delicious irony given the fact that the photographs are meant to display *'s sterling record as a diplomat--for the benefit of all those lesser career diplomats who toil away at the State Department.

Al Kamen is pretty snarky. The reference to swimming across the Potomic is mocking Bush as a wannabe Mao, who would yearly display his athletic prowess in a swim across the Yangzi.

[Terran]

65. there there

I thought it was funny! B-)

[noiretextatique]

70. me too

:7

[OldEurope]

39. In Beijing at the Tienanmen, the Place of Heavenly Peace,

protesting students were shot.(Can´t remember the year)

[ixion]

4. well, this is certainly disgusting... really proves Chimp's delusions

of grandeur and narcissistic complex. It's really pathetic, when you think about it.

[AnnabelLee]

5. I like the sarcastic tone of this article

"good friend", "yucking it up". We need lots more sarcasm in the press in regard to this misadministration. Brightening up the halls, indeed.:eyes:

[Beetwasher]

6. This is NOTHING!

This is a mere trifle of an insignificant symptom of the trenchant rot that infects the core of our gov't. Appalling as it is, it's nothing...

[NYC]

9. Yes, it is.

Dictators put their pictures all over.

Why have pictures of historical significance been removed?

[UpInArms]

18. weren't there pictures of Saddam Hussein

all over the place in Iraq??

or am I just being a revisionist historian?

[benfranklin1776]

29. Indeed and I think Idi Amin and Mussolini had the same fetish.

They hung their smiling visages everywhere for their citizens to gaze on and "adore"...:puke:

I see a commonality of insecure, narcissistic, self adulation shared by all three and by all other such petty tryants who have lorded over their citizenry since the dawn of time.

How inspirational it must be for the employees of the State Department to know that "Little Brother" and "the Family" are watching them.

[Pax Argent]

31. Ooh! Ooh!

Don't forget Saddam. Ironic, ain't it?

[hang a left]

50. yep, next he will be erecting statues.

[noiretextatique]

71. malignant narcissist

i believe this was tahiti nut's diagnosis of the occupant.

[salin]

34. Actually, its great fodder...

Remember how often rush and his minions would repeat that everything that Clinton did (does) is about his ego and worrying about his place in history? Now we have documentation to prove that even to those who heard rush's echo chamber enough to believe it - there is evidence that the boyking is exponentially more egotistical and worrying about HIS place in history.

Yep - George and Chirac yucking it up at in unimportant meeting is FAR more signficant than President Wilson at Versailles, or a caricture of Jefferson (and presumably the Louisiana Purchase).

More evidence for us to pass on to those who still cling to the image of "virtuous, humble, and good Christian" bush.

[PartyPooper]

7. This 'monarch' has a Louis XVI complex!

He has no clue as to what he has done to this nation and the world! Everyone at home and abroad despises him and his entire 'royal' family!

:evilfrown:

[Dhalgren]

19. We can only hope

that he goes the way of Louis XVI.

[reprobate]

59. Careful, careful. Only after a fair and speedy trial .........

....being judged by all those who he screwed over. And that's a whole lot of people.

[otohara]

8. Disturbing, Nauseating, Frightening

I want my country back

[deek]

10. narcisstic

egocentric sociopath...an obvious "person of the lie"

wow...I did a search on "People of the Lie" in hopes of finding an online summary to share. Look what I found. Interesting--it was posted in 1998.

http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a629856.htm

[KoKo]

17. What's equally frightening is that the Freeper site that came from thought

the Clinton's were the personification of Peck's "People of the Lie." Trying as hard as I can to put myself in a Freepers shoes....I cannot see the Clintons as People of the Lie.......but I can see Chimp as one.

That worries me though.....that Freeps see Clinton's actions the way we see Chimps.

It's too heavy for me to ponder.

[demgrrrll]

30. I know. I find that disturbing too as People of the Lie is a book that I

have relied on many times to explain the unexplainable.
There is a shallowness in their responses. Bill Clinton lied therefore he is one of the People of the Lie. Not all lies are horrible life/spirit destroying lies, which Peck clearly classifys as evil. In my opinion Clinton was trying to protect others from hurt, not cause pain (and save his own behind too but there at least was an element of consideration for someone else).
IIRC Peck felt that there was no end to where an evil person would go to save themselves from looking in the mirror, and he used scapegoating as an example of where evil might begin. I don't see Clinton in those descriptions. I just don't. I do see the Bush administration and their lies and unwillingness to acknowlege mistakes as being similar to what Peck was talking about. They scapegoat at the drop of a hat. There is something too about being in the thrall of evil and not being able to see clearly. That might apply to FR folks. That's about as philosophical as I want to get this late at night!

[Wonk]

11. Hang these (and the one of him bumping his head exiting the chopper)

[JI7]

37. YUK

that was disgusting. he totally creeps me out. you can use that in a horror movie as the monster without needing any makeup.

[Judi Lynn]

40. Our pResident!

[marigold20]

43. Is the second one photoshopped?

It just doesn't seem real. But then since the appointment, things don't seem real.

[Khephra]

12. It reminds me of how Saddam had his face all over the place

Two sides of the same coin, I guess.

[Enraged_Ape]

14. You've got to be fucking kidding me

When is Emperor Caligula going to put pictures of his horse on the walls? Oh, I forgot; this one's afraid of horses.

[Robin Hood]

16. More like photos of imaginary pigs,

from his imaginary pig farm in Whacko/crawford Texas.

[Art_from_Ark]

22. How about a picture of Barney, then?

[imax2268]

42. Did the dog die...?

I haven't heard a thing about the dog dropping incident...?

[Enraged_Ape]

47. Shrub's drug-abuse-compromised motor skills...

led him to drop Barney on the asphalt in front of a crowd of onlookers.

That picture is real, BTW. The expressions and actions of all the participants make it look like a Norman Rockwell painting. It really should be on a collector plate.

ON EDIT: I should say that Barney appears to be okay. Although animals were harmed in the making of this picture, they weren't killed.

[Zero Gravitas]

21. Hahahahah

LOL! "Bush* As Diplomat" OMFG thats too funny!

Or it would be if it were an ironic or even sarcastic statement about the little fool's failures, but unfortuntely its just more of their Orwellian black is white, 2 + 2 = 5 propoganda.

:puke:

I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK DAMMIT!

[AndyTiedye]

25. Bush* Is Losing It!

This is not someone who should have access to sharp objects or nuclear weapons.
I understand that certain measures were quietly taken at the highest levels of the government during Nixon's last months in the White House.
One hopes that similar steps have already been taken.

[goforit]

24. A Narcissistic family moment!!!!

:puke:

[Whoa_Nelly]

26. Thanks, Pickles!

This is just part of the "beautification" of the WH that Pickles said she had planned on doing.
:puke:

[jayfish]

27. It Reminds Me Of The Talibans...

destruction of Buddhist Statues.

Jay

[colorado_ufo]

32. Deck the halls with

pix of folly

[Kool Kitty]

66. Good one!

:D

[Tatiana]

33. Disgusting.

Absolutely disgusting. Of course our dictator has no shame.

[proud patriot]

35. I'm speechless

Two thumbs way down for that

[Voltaire99]

36. Compare this with baby brother Jeb's decision...

...to shut down Florida's historical records department.

These good ol' boys live in the eternal present, where the self is all. They're frat boys, nothing more.

This triumph of idiots and vulgarians is progressing nicely, too. The first stage is the messiest; once democracy is thoroughly vetted and civil society has been reduced to martial farting, the real fascism will follow.

See the cover essay in the latest issue of Harper's Magazine...

[JawJaw]

38. Great Diplomatic Moments (Contd....)

[R Hickey]

46. I wonder if ther is a picture of Rumsfield selling North Korea

nuclear technology. I'm refering to when Rummy worked for the global technology company called 'ABB.'

[Buns_of_Fire]

41. It's going to "liven up the halls"

I have no doubt of that. Since it's a corridor to the cafeteria, I figure career people in the State Department will be sprinting the whole way to avoid losing their lunch. :puke:

[kayell]

44. This should fit right in in that gallery

OMG, I just realized how ironic my sig line "one person can make a difference" is under that picture. :scared:

[Dead_Parrot]

45. Bloody hell

What a nut. When does the 50ft statue on the lawn go up?

[Gman]

48. Mao did the same thing

it's the American Cultural Revolution.

[GregW]

51. Here's some more for the "Bragging Wall"

[ikojo]

52. Once again the Democrats remain silent...

Had Clinton had the chutzpah to do such a thing the Repugnicans would have cried to their lapdogs in the media and called for an investigation. They would have said it's a waste of taxpayer dollars. The pugs would have accused Clinton of being a demogogue and having asperations of godhood.

Why don't the Democrats (who are SUPPOSED to be an OPPOSITION party) not speak up?

Why?

:wtf:

[tabasco]

53. History Has Begun Anew!!

Under Our Fearless Great Imperious Leader!! The past can be forgotten and is irrelevant. All events before the Great Leader George W. Bush came to our rescue do not matter. All patriotic Americans must hail the Great Leader!

[kodi]

54. all hail our maximum leader, chairman bush the great helmsman

watch him swim the potomac to prove his virility.

this is fundamentally a reflection of the trait in the far right of adherence to a cult of personality and its concommitant feature of regarding the leader as equivalent to the state.

[phillybri]

55. Narcissistic dickheads....

If Clinton did this, about $40 million of our tax dollars would have been pissed away investigating it...:grr:

[ikojo]

58. You are SO right...

So why don't the Democrats call for an investigation? Why? This is why people tire of politics and many don't bother to vote. Democrats don't say ANYTHING against one of the WORST presidents in HISTORY. They just let him do as he pleases.

Politeness will not win races.

:argh: :argh: :argh: :argh:

[Oilwellian]

56. If this was done this past week...

Bush waited until Powell was out of the country before doing it. I'd love to see his first reaction to the display after he returns home. For Bush to paint himself as some kind of beloved worldly figure, is just too hysterical for words. Excuse me while I attempt to regain my composure.

[0007]

57. I think these cats are on LSD

Something is distinctively wrong and I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with LSD, just the folks that are taking it!

[zbdent]

60. You know, I would like to visit the White House

but only after W's stench is fully eradicated.

[maxanne]

61. alcoholics are known

for inflated egos and grandiosity.

We should expect to see crowds carrying signs with pictures of Bushista - much like the signs carried by the Peronistas.

I'm beginning to think we're kidding ourselves about an election in 2004. Stay tuned for the coup.

[robbedvoter]

63. Mao referrence - what, no swim in the Potomac?

One of Mao's stunts- swimming in the Yang-tsee river at 77. Well he actually did it at least! W loves to photograph himself in empty circumstances (see the ME roadmap fiasco)

[Lucille]

64. Which is worse: "Wall of Myself" or

"Press Badge of Glorius Leader"

I mean, as a symptom of mental desease or defect.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40105-2003Sep7.html

Power Picture

Some White House reporters who accompanied George Bush to a military base in California are grumbling about having to wear press tags emblazoned with a picture of the president in a flight suit from his aircraft-carrier landing.

"The press advance office tries to include a small picture that reflects the theme of the event," says spokesman Scott McClellan. He says the "nice keepsake" shouldn't make any scribe feel like "a propagandist for the president."

[Teaser]

67. Welcome to the New Year. Welcome to Year Zero. (n/t)

n/t

[sattahipdeep]

69. That's scary. n/t

[Carmerian]

68. Didn't Nixon do something like this, too?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he did. Yeah, * is more like Tricky Dick than anyone wants to imagine.