Posted on 10/01/2008 12:27:22 PM PDT by shhrubbery!
Washington Prowler
Innocents AbroadBy The Prowler
Published 2/2/2005 12:07:29 AM
UGLY AMERICAN OF THE WEEK
So much for Sen. Joe Biden's audition as a future Secretary of State. At least if you ask the Iranians.
Last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Biden agreed to serve as a host and leading U.S. representative at a dinner with senior Iranian government officials...[snip]
Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi was the highest-ranking Iranian official present at the event....[but] for the first hour and half of the dinner others had to lead the discussion, because Joe Biden was a mysterious no-show.
Just as well, because the evening never got on the right footing...[snip] Wine was served -- much to the outrage of the Iranian guests... Then it was discovered by the Iranians that the main course featured non-hallal meat.
And through all of this, there was no Joe Biden to calm nerves or build bridges.
"It was pretty bad from what we heard after the fact," says a U.S. attendee to the Davos conference. "Emotions were running extremely high. The Iranians felt insult had been heaped on insult. They were particularly offended that the hosts appeared to know so little about basic Islamic dietary law."
[snip]...Finally, as the tense discussion appeared ready to, well, explode, Biden showed up with this wife Jill, who was dressed in what was described in press reports as "figure-hugging leather pants" and a tank top...[snip]
...The dining disaster was the talk of Davos, though got comparatively little coverage here in the United States...
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
OK, so this is a blast from the past - 2005. But if Biden is going to be puffed up by the MSM as a man of great foreign policy "expertise" and experience --and Governor Palin derided as an ignorant novice--
-- then this little vignette of Biden as Secretary of State-manqué deserves a re-read.
You know what, in this case I wouldn’t hold anything but his tardiness against him. I’m sick to death of everyone pandering to muslim sensitivities, while they go around ranting and raving about everyone else.
This charge is pretty much crap.
If the Iranians don’t want to drink wine, they can decline.
Why should their standard be paramount.
Similarly with the meat, if it’s not kosher, then skip it.
As far as Biden’s wife sartorial tastes, why should they have another veto?
Jews, Buddhists, Hindus etc attend many international functions but you never see the deference to their practices at a fraction of the level that you see the attention paid to Muslim sensibilities.
If you’re gonna find a charge against Biden, find one that is actually meaningful.
What, he set up the menu, and was responsible for the winelist.
Point is, if Governor Palin had held such a soiree during her meetings with foreign leaders last week —and as hostess had shown such ignorance as to serve, say, a six-pack of beer and BBQ’d moose...AND on top of that had worn tight leather pants— the entire Liberal Elitist establishment would be demanding she be guillotined on the spot.
vaudine
That’s no point at all.
So, the answer to wacky slurs against Palin is to make wacky ones against Biden?
As I said, Biden was responsible for the menu and the wine? Come on. Charges like this are just petty, and more importantly, ineffectual, not to mention from years ago.
Let me ask you, why are you so worried about Iranian sensibilities. See, it’s absurd.
And remember, she met the Pakistani PM, and I doubt he’d have any objection to beer or preferably, JohnnyWalkerBlack, at the least.
>>hallal meat
Inshallah.
Bow to Islam!
Can you prove Biden, ungracious host, was responsible for the menu?
To the point of setting up the menu?
It was an international conference where many meetings are setup and I doubt that the mechanics and logistics of the event are governed by the putative host.
Why not slam the Swiss organizers at Davos, and the event organizers.
Blame Biden if you want.
Are you suggesting that the chef, or the wait staff should bear responsibility? Are they more qualified to plan a cross-cultural event than Biden? A Captain is responsible for everything on his ship & a host is responsible for everything at his event.
I’ve been wondering if Bill Clinton is going to campaign with Biden. In a Feb. 1999 issue of the Daily Oklahoman, Biden was quoted, “ The president is an adulterer and liar”
I had to excerpt the article. If you go to the original at the link, you'll see this:
Last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Biden agreed to serve as a host and leading U.S. representative at a dinner with senior Iranian government officials. WEF staff contacted Biden's staff and said later that Biden or at least his aides took an active interest in coordinating the planning for the event.
Even if it was Joe's highly paid senatorial "staff" (not Joe) who selected the menu, that doesn't explain his wife's choice of inappropriate clothing --inappropriate in any diplomatic setting, even if Muslim dignitaries had not been present.
Feel free to dis foreign leaders and diplomats if you like. Fortunately, you are not our Secretary of State, so I'm not worried your lack of concern for diplomatic etiquette will blow up whatever chances we might have for cooperation from foreign heads of state.
But again, your right to act as a boorish host is not the point; the point is that Biden's alleged education, expertise and experience in the sphere of foreign policy --as compared with Palin's-- is vastly overrated.
Call FOX, this is series and hugh. It’s Biden’s fault.
I’m amazed the Iranians didn’t go to war over this insult.
I never said chef or waiter, there are organizers at Davos you know. Event organizers and those who plan and setup the events.
WAR WITH IRAN NARROWLY AVERTED DESPITE BIDEN’S GAFFE.
On Biden being overrated, I completely agree, I’ve caught a couple of his speeches on CSPAN, and am totally amazed that he is taken as some sort of authority.
His gaffes are numerous. And if Palin had made any of them, Off with her head!
Biden’s staff should have been on this event from the get go - they’d have had this planned before they even got to Davos, so the menu, seating, logistics of who will enter and how they will be greeted, the agenda - all planned weeks in advance. If the central tenant of liberal foreign policy is going to be, “If we can just sit and talk with the Iranians . . .”, then this is germaine, given a lion of the D party can’t get the basics right.
You can lay this ENTIRE fiasco at Biden’s feet. He can’t run his staff, he can’t get to critical diplomatic functions on time, and he doesn’t have the foggiest basic understanding of his adversaries to begin the process of finding some diplomatic alternative to war.
He’s ready for the glue factory, and if he’s trying to run as ‘elder statesman’, then this is prima facia that he’s going to do something needlessly stupid when the chips are down.
I'm not sure what your point is supposed to be.
In any case, the Pakistani PM certainly would not publicly accept any alcoholic beverage. And it would be very bad form for anyone representing our gov't to put the PM -who we hope will be our ally- in a position where he might be photographed near alcohol.
Why? Well here's an example of the kind of thing such a small gaffe can cause : The PM got himself into bad enough trouble as it was with his comment to Gov. Palin that she was "gorgeous." Which, of course, she is. But that remark nearly caused riots in Pakistan.
(And good evening to you. This will have to be the last of my replies today - have to leave the computer now.)
>>I’m not sure what your point is supposed to be.
Not all Muslims are teetotallers. Especially Pakistani elites, like Musharraf who simply love a tot in private, public hypocrisy nothwithstanding.
So what if the Pakistanis rioted? they riot at the drop of a hat.
Yes, let’s pander to the Muslims.
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