Posted on 04/05/2008 5:32:49 PM PDT by silent_jonny
Thousands filled St. Mark’s Square in Zagreb, Croatia today to hear President Bush and their own Prime Minister Sanader speak on the second day of the president’s visit to their country. (Transcript)
President Bush: Laura, who has joined me today, and I are proud to stand on the soil of an independent Croatia. (Applause.) Our countries are separated by thousands of miles, but we're united by a deep belief in God and the blessings of liberty He gave us. And today, on the edge of the great Adriatic, we stand together as one free people. (Applause.)
After meeting with Croatian troops who have served along side US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, President & Mrs. Bush boarded Air Force One and headed to Sochi, Russia, a resort city on the Black Sea, where they met Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Sochi will host the Winter Olympics in 2014)
Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island 
Quote of the Day:
President Bush: Croatia is a very different place than it was just a decade ago. The Croatian people have overcome war and hardship to build peaceful relations with your neighbors, and to build a maturing democracy in one of the most beautiful countries on the face of the Earth. (Applause.) …There are many people who don't appear to understand why it takes so long to build a democracy.
You can tell them how hard it is to put in place a new and complex system of government for the first time.
There are those who actually wonder if people were better off under their old tyranny.
You can tell them that freedom is the only real path to prosperity and security and peace.
And there are those who ask whether the pain and sacrifices for freedom are worth the costs.
And they should come to Croatia. And you can show them that freedom is worth fighting for. (Applause.)
Photos of the Day:
President George W. Bush receives a kiss from a woman after his speech in St. Mark's Square in Zagreb April 5, 2008
President George W. Bush and Russia's President Vladimir Putin take a sunset walk on a pier along the Black Sea during a visit by President and Mrs. Bush Saturday, April 5, 2008, to President Putin's summer retreat, Bocharov Ruchey, in Sochi, Russia. White House photo by Eric Draper
HI
President George W. Bush looks on, with Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, right, at the Governor's Palace, Saturday, April 5, 2008 in Zagreb, Croatia
President George W. Bush signs the guest book at the Governor's Palace as Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, right, Saturday, April 5, 2008 in Zagreb, Croatia
Thanks, silent jonny!
President George W. Bush waves as he and Croatia's Prime Minister Ivo Sanader arrive in St. Mark's Square in Zagreb April 5, 2008
Good evening and thanks for the ping
Hi Jonny - Thanks for the ping. I love the roof on St Mark’s!
Croatian flags fly over St. Mark's Square as U.S. President George W. Bush (background, C) delivers his speech in Zagreb April 5, 2008
President George W. Bush addresses a crowd of thousands who flocked to St. Mark's Square in downtown Zagreb Saturday, April 5, 2008, to see and hear President Bush on his visit to Croatia..
President Bush: Dobro Jutro. (Applause.) Mr. Prime Minister, thank you very much. I'm honored to be here with the leaders from Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia. The United States appreciates the leadership you have shown in the cause of freedom. We're pleased Albania and Croatia have been invited to join NATO. And we look forward to Macedonia taking its place very soon in this great alliance for freedom. (Applause.)Laura, who has joined me today, and I are proud to stand on the soil of an independent Croatia. (Applause.) Our countries are separated by thousands of miles, but we're united by a deep belief in God and the blessings of liberty He gave us. And today, on the edge of the great Adriatic, we stand together as one free people. (Applause.)
American flags are waved by some in the crowd at Zagreb's St. Mark's Square as President George W. Bush addresses the thousands who turned out to welcome him Saturday April 5, 2008. White House photo by Shealah Craighead
President Bush: With the changes underway in this region, Europe stands on the threshold of a new and hopeful history. The ancient and costly rivalries that led to two world wars have fallen away. We've seen the burning desire for freedom melt even the Iron Curtain. We've witnessed the rise of strong and vibrant democracies and free and open markets. And today the people of Europe are closer than ever before to a dream shared by millions: A Europe that is whole, a Europe that is at peace, and a Europe that is free. (Applause.)The people of this region know what the gift of liberty means. You know the death and destruction that can be caused by the followers of radical ideologies …
Today soldiers from Croatia, Albania, and Macedonia are serving bravely in Afghanistan -- helping the Afghan people defeat the terrorists and secure their future of liberty. Forces from Albania and Macedonia are serving in Iraq -- where they're helping the Iraqi people build a society that rejects terror and lives in freedom. It's only a matter of time before freedom takes root across that troubled region. And when it does, millions will remember the people of your nation stood with them in their hour of need. (Applause.)
A young girl, atop the shoulders of a friend to get a better view, applauds in the crowd at Zagreb's St. Mark's Square as President George W. Bush addresses the thousands who turned out to welcome him Saturday April 5, 2008. White House photo by Shealah Craighead
President Bush: The great church in this square has stood since the Middle Ages. Over the centuries, it has seen long, dark winters of occupation and tyranny and war. But the spring is here at last. This is an era in history that generations of Croatians have prayed for. It is an era that Pope John Paul the Second envisioned when he came to this land, and prayed with the Croatian people, and asked for "a culture of peace." Today in this square, before this great church, we can now proudly say: Those prayers have been answered. (Applause.)May you always remember the joy of this moment in your history. And may the hopeful story of a peaceful Croatia find its way to those in the world who live as slaves, and still await a joyful spring.
May God bless Croatia. And thank you for coming.
I DON'T KNOW HOW W DOES IT...I WOULD HAVE BEEN SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TEMPTED TO PUSH THAT LITTLE JERK IN THE DRINK!
This is beautiful to see!
The little kgb jerk would try to pull you in with him, shoot you under the dock and blame the sharks.
President George W. Bush receives a kiss from a woman after his speech in St. Mark's Square in Zagreb April 5, 2008
There I go...using my kind Minnesota brain again—totally forgot THAT angle...YOU MAKE AN EXCELLENT POINT-—so true!
Mrs. Laura Bush visits with a preservation technician during her visit Saturday, April 5, 2008, to the Croatian State Archives in Zagreb. White House photo by Shealah Craighead
Joy to see, but SS NIGHTMARE!!! Oh...thank God W made it through alright-—these things make me tear up with joy and worry my head off at the same time!
Mrs. Laura Bush is shown an ancient map during her visit Saturday, April 5, 2008, to the Croatian State Archives in Zagreb. White House photo by Shealah Craighead
Yeah, maybe I’ll get lucky and hook a Walleye and good CAN come out of this ;-)
Traditional Croatian musicians play during the viewing by Mrs. Laura Bush of a dance ensemble performance, Saturday, April 5, 2008 in Zagreb.
ROTF!
With Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanade (L), Croatian President Stipe Mesic (2nd L)
President George W. Bush smiles as he participates in a working lunch with future NATO leaders Saturday, April 5, 2008, in Zagreb. Next to him is President Stjepan Mesic of Croatia.
there were no granades today????? Being out in the open with all those people make me nervous!!!!!
silent_jonny: THANK YOU for posting this extraordinary DOSE tonight!!
I’m so happy that the President continues to get the ENTHUSIASTIC reception he deserves from appreciative (e.g., Africa), freedom-loving (e.g. Croatia) peoples across the globe! [The twilight photo of the President and Putin has a beautifully ethereal, yet plaintive quality to it . . . I think Putin is going to miss his friend as much as we’re going to miss him (the President that is!!]
FYI: Photos of the President and Putin comprise many of the most viewed photos at Yahoo this evening!
http://news.yahoo.com/i/1776;_ylt=AhlvH3YDc_BhIymKzA9xw6Os0NUE
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MUST READ . . .
IRAN LOSES GROUND IN IRAQ
By Jack Kelly
IN THE opening game of the baseball season between the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics in Japan, 11 runs were scored.
That lead would be unsatisfying to most sports fans because it doesn’t indicate which team won. But it is very like most of the reporting of battles in Iraq:
“The deadliest clashes were in Basra, where at least 47 people were killed and 223 wounded in the two days of fighting,” wrote the AP’s Kim Gamel.
Ms. Gamel was writing about the opening clashes of Operation Knight’s Charge, the effort by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to take control of Iraq’s second most populous city from Iranian-backed militias, chiefly the Mahdi Army nominally headed by the anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Fighting subsided after al-Sadr called for a cease-fire last weekend.
The cease-fire “is seen as a serious blow” to Mr. al-Maliki because “he had vowed that he would see the Basra campaign through to a military victory,” wrote Erica Goode and James Glanz of the New York Times.
But Nibras Kazimi, an Iraqi who is a visiting scholar at the Hudson Institute, says his sources in Iraq tell him “the Mahdi Army is losing very badly.”
You can read the entire article here:
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080405/COLUMNIST14/804050327
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JUNK SCIENCE: BUSH BEATS GORE ON CLIMATE?
Thursday, April 03, 2008
By Steven Milloy
In the very same week that Gore launched a $300 million public relations campaign to convince Americans that “together we can solve the climate crisis,” prominent climate alarmist Tom Wigley essentially endorsed President Bush’s approach to global warming while criticizing that of Gore’s co-Nobelist, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC.
You can read the entire article here:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,345969,00.html
President George W. Bush poses for a photo with future NATO leaders at the Vila Prekrisje in Zagreb, Croatia, Saturday, April 5, 2008, including Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, Macedonian President Boris Crvenkovski, Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha. White House photo by Chris Greenberg
his secret service guys must go just crazy with him!!!!!!! And i’ll bet they will miss this family too!
Hi Deb, and thanks. I read the Junk Science article earlier and thought it was a gas!
Tell me alot Bush has lots of soul in his handshake if you know what I mean even Looter guy be proud
THOUSANDS COME OUT FOR BUSH IN CROATIA
ZAGREB, Croatia — We are waiting in St. Mark’s Square for President Bush to speak to about 6,000 people, in celebration of Croatia and Albania’s invitation this week to join NATO.
I spoke to a few people about NATO membership and George Bush, and all of them had positive things to say about Mr. Bush, though two young men I talked to said younger folks don’t really care that much about NATO.
But Eugen Vlasic, a 30-year old military officer, said that today is “one of the most important days in our short history.”
Joining NATO, Mr. Vlasic said, “gives us stability.”
“The world’s uniting,” he said. “It’s necessary to be integrated into NATO. It gives us security and independence. It’s hard for us Croatians to stand alone in the global world.”
Romana Bilesic, a reporter for 24 Sata, a Croatian newspaper, agreed, and said 70 percent of Croatians support joining NATO.
“It’s a big day for us,” she said. “NATO is a good thing for Croatia and we are proud we’ll be a member. We are a very small country, but America is a friend.”
Vjekoslav Vukovic, 71, a retiree who grew up in then Yugoslavia and fled the communist regime in 1962, now lives in Frankfurt but spends half the year in Zagreb at his second home.
Mr. Vukovic (pictured at right holding the Croatian and American flags) called himself “strongly anti-communist” and said he likes Mr. Bush.
“I respect Bush and think he is a good man,” he said through an interpreter.
“I am hardworking and I went to Germany, and I experienced what it was like to work hard. People who didn’t experience this and stayed here don’t work so hard,” Mr. Vukovic said. “I am a supporter of this Western view that emphasizes hard work.”
Ivan Novosalac, 21, and Peter Novak, 23, both police officers, said NATO membership was not a big deal to them but that they both like Mr. Bush.
“Most old people think the politics of George Bush are not so good with all the war and Iraq, but I think the things he is doing are good,” Mr. Novak said.
Iraq, Mr. Novosalac said, is “not good,” but said he likes Mr. Bush because “he is democratic.”
You will find additional information about the President’s trip here:
http://video1.washingtontimes.com/potusnotes/
I love that W got such a wonderful reception in Croatia and seeing all those USA flags in the crowd was a thrill. Thanks for the Dose, Jonny.
President George W. Bush left and the first lady Laura wave at their departure, at Zagreb airport, Croatia, Saturday, April 5, 2008. President Bush was in two day visit to Croatia.
President George W. Bush, left, and First Lady Laura Bush wave upon their arrival at the airport in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, southern Russia, Saturday, April 5, 2008
President George W. Bush, left, and First Lady Laura Bush, right, arrive at Sochi Airport, in Sochi, Russia, Saturday, April 5, 2008. Behind them are the Caucasus Mountains
President George W. Bush, left, and first lady Laura Bush wave from a limousine window upon their arrival at the airport in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, southern Russia, Saturday, April 5, 2008.
WONDERFUL Dose..Thank you,jonny.
God Bless Our President and First Lady.
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