Today’s post is not strictly politics, but as it relates to yesterday’s pit stop by George, Jr. I hope you’ll forgive me. The lighter side of presidential summits can sometimes be quite intreaguing and almost funny. In absense of any real news, the government PR people have released the summit menu, for guys and gals alike. Therefore you can sleep in peace knowing that George, Janez and Jose yesterday had Istrian proscutto with green asparagi and was able to wash it down with a glass of Rebula white wine, but…. C’mon, people! George is a reformed alcocholic! He shouldn’t be allowed within 50 feet of a bottle! Ferfuckssake! What were you thinking! George and wine make for a bad time 
The Prez and The Other Prez put their glasses on to read the fine print of the first Slovene Bible (photo: BOBO)
But at least the presents were chosen a bit more carefully. JJ gave the man a state-of-the-art mountain bike which go for a nifty 4k euros a piece which will surely come in handy when George will be doing circles at his Crawford ranch. And when he’s not herding cows, giving speeches or whatever it is former presidents with a ranch do, he’ll be able to contemplate reading a facsimile of the first Holy Bible in Slovene language printed in 1584 by Slovenian protestant intelectual Jurij Dalmatin, which – in all honesty – is quite a beautiful present. It would, however, be even more appropriate if the man were presented with a fascimile of Catechism or Abecedarium by Primož Trubar, the first and second book in Slovene language ever (1550s), especially because Slovenia celebrated 500 years since Trubar’s birth only a day earlier. Wouldn’t that be something? You just threw a big party for the first ever book in your language and the Big Kahuna misses the show by a couple of hours, but you are still able to present him with a copy of your object of celebration. Apparently not all the dogs are barking at the Protocol of the Republic of Slovenia.
But OK, enough bitching and smartassing about it. The guy and his woman were here, they talked the talk and walked the walk. And how did the whole thing look like at street level? Here’s Laura Bush’s motorcade in downtown Ljubljana as shot by yours truly yesterday morning. With a bit of a musical background, naturally 🙂
Exciting times! Especially for the traffic cops.
You have a typo in your post title. 😉
I love such convoys, because my mother used to work on such things and I know what a state-of-the-art it is. I know it’s hard to imagine, but such things are really not easy and there are million things to look after. Plus you all seem to forgot about the fuss when the pope came for a visit. 🙁
The man truly is a cowboy in his behaving and in his way of reasoning but he got one thing right: Slovenia is a big slice of heaven.
Those people of the Protocol really haven’t figured it out yet how much they need Pengovsky for a touch of class 🙂
and if I’m not mistaken he received another mountain bike from Israeli PM like two weeks ago, some shit made of dead sea substances, it wasn’t in our news, but I saw it in local news.
so much for an original gift
i’ll eat my own testicals if he so much as sits on any of those superman bikes
@lisa: Yay! 😀 I especially liked the “cavarly approach” of the motorcade and the not-so-Secret Service guys and gals still high on adrenaline from Afghanistan two days earlier 😀
@Sunshine: Thx! 😳 Don’t know how that happened. But there’s one huge difference betwen Dubya and the late Karol Wojtyla: The pope had a huge following and said “Papež ma vas rad” (Pope you loves), whereas Dubya’s fan club in Slovenia consists mostly of Dimitrij Rupel and his wife, Janez Janša and that that’s pretty much it.
@niko: He won’t, that’s for sure. As far as I know, Presidents are reqired to hand over to the Treasury any gifst in excess of 50 USD.
venera: I have to be fair to the Protocol. I know a couple of people there and I know they overworked to the point of dropping dead. However, this is no excuse for cutting corners on such important visits. You don’t have to like the guy in order to be a good host.
But it is as if this EU presidency is trying ever so hard to be as unimaginative as possible.
OK, they probably did a good job. But there is one thing I hate: seeing children hurdled to such sites and waving various flags of the moment.
Good job? No, I don’t think so. It was OK, but it wasn’t good. Call it a 6 out of 10.
And you’re totally correct about children. Seeing all those kids waving the little flags made me sick. I mean, really… Funny thing is that in socialism noone forced me and my friend to attend any kind of parade, whereas in democracy we are apparently back into having young and pure minds into worshiping leaders with shady past and unclear future. Rings a bell?
Peng, you were obviously just lucky. 🙁 Me and my whole group of (afaik) 4 years old peers were forced by my tutor in kindergarden to wait for Gorbačov on Trg republike in the freezing weather with temperatures below zero for more than two hours.
My only concern about the kids is whether their parents agreed or not. If they did you cannot do anything about it. After all kids get i.e. baptised without anyone asking them. Just because their parents wanted it. And I’m sure there are enough USA-supportive parents to fill a class size of kids and are willing to send them to the front line. Democracy and freedom can be a pain in the ass if that means making decisions we don’t like. 😈 But we somehow have to accept it and suck it up. (Although “enlightened dictator” as an option comes to my mind from time to time. 😉 )
They are really funny, these gloomy looking secret service guys peeping out through open rear door, Jesus Christ, do they think there’s a Lee Harvey Oswald sitting on every tree in Ljubljana? By the way, Peng, you didn’t mention it, but I would be really surprised if these guys didn’t pay a visit at your little Firm, since it’s such an Oswald-friendly place 🙂
this incident with kids pisses me off, i sure hope they got an approval by parents. i know i would not allow it if they wanted to use my kid
maybe someone will push this thing further, our kindergarten luckily was not involved…
ok, so apparently they did ask:
http://217.72.81.236/george-bush-zastavice/novice/slovenija/53278
(not sure the source is know for its reliable reputation though)
@sunshine: isn’t being “forced” a bit strong word here, if a kindergarden teacher takes the class out for a procession? What about the kids, that are forced standning in the freezing weather for two hours to watch a Santa Claus parade or the singing tree in front of Maximarket? For my part, I trade you a singing tree for Gorbačov anytime.
> to wash it down with a glass of Rebula white wine, but….
what a clever, subtle plan…
> George is a reformed alcocholic!
Jup! Just think about thanking him for bringing us a completly unnecessary war in Iraq or for forcing states whether and when to acknowledge some declarations of independence, “unclear” declarations afaik when it comes to international laws. So just ruin his life again and send him back to the other side of the ocean with an “Oops, sorry…” 😈 😉
Luka: Nope, it’s not. There was nothing in that procession for the kids. I hated waiting for Gorbačov and loved watching and visiting Dedek Mraz (at my times that was still the case). Not sure about other kids and I can’t speak on their behalf. I was a “normal” 4-year old and preferred Dedek Mraz over Gorbačov anytime. 😈
First case is an exploitation of kids for political purposes, the second one is something done for the kids’ joy and entertainment.
Ok, ok, sunshine, sure, I was provoking a little bit. But still, it’s probably not as black and white. It all depends on the ideological horizon we live in. Maybe that teacher was sincerely thinking, that seeing Gorbačov is something good, done for the kids’ joy. 🙂 And as for me, I don’t ever remebmer me believing in that old guy (I’m refering to Dedek Mraz), so all the joy was just in getting presents from him. If Gorbačov (or anybody else) would be giving them away, I would wait for him as gladly as for DM. 🙂
The guys (and gal, if I saw correctly) grimmly staring out of what looked like a kicked-in rear window provided an excellent WTF moment.
Also, what kiddies with flags? I didn’t notice any…
Not in my video. But right after the press conference the three amigos did the ropes at Brdo and there were little kids waving US, EU and Slovenian flags…. It wasn’t a pretty sight.
I figure since Michael has (for the time being) left the blogoscene, you might be the next best candidate to know: Jon Stewart did some stuff on Slovenia (not too flattering, but we’re used to that, aren’t we?): http://www.thedailyshow.com/episodes/index.jhtml?episodeId=173245
Hey wait… he was here? I never noticed… 🙂
Meta the MadHatter did, however, by pure chance decide to go see the exhibition on Slovenian impressionists at the National Gallery *just* when Laura and Urška were there. I’m sure it was a coincidence and she has her cup of coffee there every day… Kofetarica’s treat 😉