'Social Sins,' binoculars, Mozart collection among Bush gifts

[Kadie]

'Social Sins,' binoculars, Mozart collection among Bush gifts
by Olivier Knox
40 minutes ago


WASHINGTON (AFP) - In 2006, gift-minded world leaders made sure that US President George W. Bush could listen to all of Mozart while smoking a cigar and reflecting on Gandhi's "Seven Social Sins," according to a US government list.

But both US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Vice President Dick Cheney received presents whose cost dwarfed Bush's priciest trinket, an 11,000-dollar watch, the US State Department reported December 7th.

An Indian lawmaker, Nirmal Deshpande, gave the US president perhaps the least expensive present of his time in office: The yellow linen scroll with Gandhi's warnings, with an estimated worth of seven dollars -- or one per sin.

They are "politics without principle," "wealth without work," "pleasure without conscience," "knowledge without character," "commerce without morality," "science without humanity," and "worship without sacrifice."

At the other end of the spectrum, Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra gave Bush an 11,000-dollar Cartier Santos Dumont watch in April 2006. The Thai military toppled Thaksin's government in September 2006.

But oil-rich Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev trumped that, giving Cheney a Breguet watch estimated at 25,300 dollars, while Saudi King Abdullah gave Rice a white gold and diamond set

more...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071211/od_afp/uspoliticsbushgiftsoffbeat_071211143749


US President George W. Bush (R) shows a typical, handmade "gaucho" belt given to him by his Uruguayan counterpart Tabare Vazquez March 2007. In 2006, gift-minded world leaders made sure that US President George W. Bush could listen to all of Mozart while smoking a cigar and reflecting on Gandhi's "Seven Social Sins," according to a US government list.
(AFP/File/Presidencia )

[Angela Shelley]

1. Thanks for the inexpensive but valuable wisdom

"politics without principle,"
"wealth without work,"
"pleasure without conscience,"
"knowledge without character,"
"commerce without morality,"
"science without humanity," and
"worship without sacrifice."

[Turbineguy]

2. Yes

that is nice.

[jwirr]

3. Is the law enacted during Ike Eisenhower's presidency still in effect?

If so those gifts are all suppose to belong to the people of America and cannot be taken with the criminals when they leave.