Posted on 10/01/2012 8:14:06 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Is Obama tone-deaf in the extreme — or is he blatantly rubbing our noses in it?
What else could explain his bizarre decision, after weeks of violence and anti-American rioting in cities across North Africa and the Muslim world, to check into a Las Vegas resort with a North African theme?
As reported by the Business Insider, Obama chose the new Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort to do his debate preparation:
President Barack Obama arrived in Nevada last night to begin three days of debate preparation at the Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort, a luxurious golf community just a few miles from the Las Vegas strip.
According to the White House pool report, the “resort is a strange mix of desert sand pits, green lawns, palm trees and new homes. We passed a replica of the Ponte Vecchio and some luxurious lakeside estates, also unfinished lots and a browning golf course. The president’s hotel has a Middle Eastern theme and a view of the lake from the lobby.”
Actually, that White House Pool report is inaccurate: Obama’s new hotel doesn’t have a Middle Eastern theme, but rather a North African Muslim theme, with an emphasis on Morocco. From the Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa home page click on “Overview” -> “View Hotel Map” to access this detailed pdf of the hotel floorplan, which reveals that just about everything in the hotel or on the grounds is named after North African, Islamic and/or Moroccan places and themes. Here’s the main part of the hotel grounds:
(GRAPHIC AT LINK)
(These names are confirmed by the hotel’s online list of meeting rooms.)
As you can see, most of the hotel’s elements have North African, Moroccan or Arabic names, which are listed here (along with explanations):
Casbah is the name of the Old Town quarter of Algiers, the capital of Algeria. It can also refer to the oldest walled area of any North African city.
Medinas refers to the medinas of North Africa, which are the ancient maze-like urban areas mostly in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Medina is also of course the city where Islam was founded in Saudi Arabia.
Souk refers to a marketplace anywhere in the Arabic-speaking parts of North Africa and the Near East.
Mushrabiya is an architectural feature common in North Africa and elsewhere in the Arab world.
Baraka is Arabic for “Blessing” — and more interestingly is the actual birth name of Barack Obama Sr., who later changed his first name from “Baraka” to “Barack.” So, in a sense, “Baraka” is also President Obama’s first name. (How many Nevada resorts have a gambling casino accidentally name after the President?)
Soltane is the place name of various sites in Tunisia.
Tajine (usually spelled “tagine”) is a traditional dish served in Tunisia, Morocco, and elsewhere in North Africa.
“Sandsabar” is a pun on the name of Zanzibar, the former Arab slave-trading center on the east coast of Africa.
Moulay refers to Moulay Driss Zerhoun, the town where Islam was introduced into Morocco, and which has a Muslims-only section.
Aleuj refers to a famous gateway in Meknes, Morocco. Interestingly, according to the link, the term “aleuj” means “apostate” and refers to the fact that the gate was built by a former Christian who had converted to Islam.
Casablanca, Rabat, Fez, Tangier and Marrakesh are of course the largest cities in Morocco.
Asilah, Kenitra, Agadir and Safi are all smaller Moroccan towns.
Menzeh is a place name associated with various locales in Morocco.
Majorelle is a famous garden in Marrakesh, Morocco.
Arabesque is not a place but simply an Islamic art style.
(“Nuala,” “Marssa,” “Skala,” “Andalusian” and “Sultana” just seem to be random words tossed into the mix because they sounded exotic, not because they had any unique connection to North Africa.)
Is Obama trying to send some kind of message? And if so — what message, and to whom?
After the events of the last weeks in North Africa, why – out of all the hotels and resorts in Nevada — would Obama pick the only one in an Islamic North African theme?
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Pure speculation from this point on:
Many hotels and resorts in and around Las Vegas have over-the-top “themes,” but it’s all just window-dressing: flamboyant decorations to lure in tourists. In most cases, including the Westin Lake Las Vegas, it seems as if the designers just flipped through a book of images or place names from whichever theme was chosen, and implemented them haphazardly, without ever staying “true” to the theme. Thus, the Excalibur is not actually a medieval castle with medieval plumbing, any more than Caesar’s Palace is made out of hand-chiseled white marble. Slaves did not build the Luxor.
Thus, it’s not as if the Westin Lake Las Vegas is an actual North African-style hotel operating on Islamic principles; far from it. It’s still a typical high-end American hotel, that just happens to have North African decorations. So, if that’s the case, why choose it?
My theory is that Obama wanted to retreat into an “Orientalist” fantasy of what North Africa should be like, a dreamy, exotic and totally non-threatening resort area. Retiring to this particular hotel is Obama’s way of suppressing the ugly reality of what the North Africa of 2012 has become, rife with anti-Americanism, Al Qaeda and out-of-control revolutions, and instead allowing him to drift in haze of hookah smoke through a colonialist’s dreamworld of a North African Neverland.
He couldn’t do this in the White House? He had spend taxpayer money to do it? How many people did he bring?
GRRRRRRR!!
The whole theme of the resort is pretty strange, is their an embassy-type thing?
He couldn’t stay in the White House.
No He had to fly to Las Vegas.
This booger has cost us Millions of Dollars flying all over the country.
We can cut the budget just by landing Air Force One once in a while/.
Ali-Foreman Rumble in the jungle. Gettin’ his roots on.
Yeah. I think the White House has plenty of rooms that they could have found one that was appropriate.....or even Camp David. He was just looking for another excuse to vacation.
I’m sure he’ll get in a round of golf before going back to the White House. Wonder where the Wookie is. Still at the WH and flying in on a separate plane (at separate expense to the taxpayers) at a later time?
Maybe someone could go pull the fire alarm Tuesday night so he doesn’t get any sleep before the debate.....
Obama needs his gay sex. What better way to relax before the debates.
Guess he needs to get all worked up, he can’t do that thinking about the United States flag, he has to go somewhere else for inspiration. Can’t be anywhere where he would be distracted by anything that is patriotic, he’s gotta get his grove on, can’t do that in the White House. How did we ever elect someone so resentful?
That was my first impression when I first heard about Obama’s strange way of getting worked up for the debates, maybe he can snort something while he’s there too. You know, they say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, Obama needs to unwind before the big day. He is not my idea of where I want this country to go, he is very hedionistic, just heard his spokeswoman say today Obama was appealing to people hanging out having you know what on the sofa. This is their mentality. No wonder why Obama has to hang out in Vegas to get prepped for the debates. The socialists have spent the last who knows many last years converting young people to a godless point of view, and that’s who they are targeting. This is so shocking, I don’t even know how to express how this really makes me feel, it’s beyond words.
Obunghole is just following his hedonistic lifestyle. It gives a little insight to his true nature and more importantly what he thinks about the rest of the USA.
Most normal people would be showing a real desire to get at the work of the people...not this narcissistic arse. He is a little petty “do nothing” that really thinks he is king. Obozo sees himself as a muslim saudi prince ruling the world.
He has deceived so many people; and now, the scary part, he is deceiving himself.
God help us if he wins reelection.
“He couldn’t do this in the White House? He had spend taxpayer money to do it? How many people did he bring?”
Why are taxpayers paying for this? I’d like to see a total of how much Obummer has spent flying around campaigning and how much they’ve paid back the American people. It’s my understanding that if the Pres has ‘business’ on a trip, then it’s on our time, otherwise it’s on the campaign’s dime. I get that we had to pay for his trip to NY to speak at the UN, but from what I’ve read, most of the other trips have been campaign-related only.
Perhaps he’s prepping in Vegas so Michelle Ma Belle could get a vacation in without it looking too obvious (she couldn’t have take another $$M Spain trip this year with the election on and all).
It would be interesting to see the tab for this stay, including details of room service (wagu beef, lobster, champagne??). I’d also like to know how many people he brought along and the bill for them.
1.—“He couldn’t do this in the White House? He had spend taxpayer money to do it? How many people did he bring?”
...etc etc...
2.—It would be interesting to see the tab for this stay, including details of room service (wagu beef, lobster, champagne??). I’d also like to know how many people he brought along and the bill for them.
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1—Or Camp David....
2— Not to worry.
Boehner and McConnell are on top of it.
They should have the finalized report for all the BS doings inre the last 4 years about 10NOV or so...
THE ONLY thing that the rest of the R’s can do is get rid of the UPPER echelon leadership of the House and Senate.
BUT the system is so corrupt and mired in mud that unless the whole mess is overturned it isn’t going to change.
As long as they continue to run weak, uneffective candidates when the country is ready to change it never will.
I cite Kerry, Dole, and now Romney for starters....
Watch them start pushing the FL Bush down our throats as quick as Romney fails......
Yeah, you know Baraq and his Wookie are not eat at McDonald’s. since it is on someone else’s dime they are living large.
“Mr. President, can you explain, please, without the usual run around,just why you and your wife had your law licenses revoked? And a follow up, please; do you feel the revocations are justifications for your continued fleecing of the taxpayers?”
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