Knives, rifles and a whip. Are Bush's gift-givers trying to say something?

June 17, 2006
The Guardian

A braided leather whip, a sniper rifle, six jars of fertiliser and a copy of the Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook were among the presents foreign leaders have given George Bush. They are clearly trying to tell him something.

The inventory of official gifts from 2004, published this week by the state department, reads like the wish list of the sort of paranoid survivalist who holes up in his log cabin to await Armageddon, having long ago severed all ties with the rest of the world.

The president received a startling array of weapons, including assorted daggers and a machete from Gabon. He got the braided whip with a wooden handle from the Hungarian prime minister. The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, a gift from the Sultan of Brunei, has some tips on how to use some of these implements in a tight spot.

The paperback also explains how to wrestle with an alligator, escape from a mountain lion and take a punch. But the small arsenal of guns presented by Jordan's King Abdullah, including a $10,000 sniper rifle, would presumably render much of that advice unnecessary.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1799834,00.html


Gee, what are these gifts trying to say? Sounds pretty kinky to me.

I'm sure. You know how cowards are, stay behind someone when danger lurks.

"It is apparent that a lot of the foreign dignitaries do not do much research before buying gifts. President Bush, a reformed drunk, was given a cellarful of wine over the course of 2004."

They must feel pretty safe over there, at the Guardian.

belief that if someone gives you a knife as a gift, you should pay them something, even a couple of pennies, so it will be a purchase, not a gift. I don't know the specifics of why.

On edit:
Here is some folklore on knives as gifts:

Something as simple as cutlery has developed quite a myriad of folklore surrounding it. Here’s a small sampling of what knives traditionally mean for their owners:
A knife as a gift from a lover means that the love will soon end.
A knife placed under the bed during childbirth will ease the pain of labor.
If a friend gives you a knife, you should give him a coin, or your friendship will soon be broken.
It will cause a quarrel if knives are crossed at the table.
It is bad luck to close a pocketknife unless you were the one who opened it.
Unless the are immediately straightened, crossed knives on a countertop or table indicate that an argument will ensue
In previous centuries a knife was a very personal possession, carried at all times by its owner and used for hunting and work as well as cutting food.
A steel knife was regarded as being protection against fairies and curses
A house could be protected by a knife being thrust into the door
A baby protected by a knife stuck into the headboard of its cradle (certainly not a recommended practice now!)
A knife could also be thrust into the mast of a boat for luck, although the word 'knife' was never spoken at sea.
A knife falling to the ground means the arrival of a male visitor.
A knife with a white handle could be used to divine whether the enquirer's future spouse would be fair or dark. The knife was spun round, and if it came to rest with the handle pointing towards the enquirer, the spouse would be fair; if the blade pointed at them, the spouse would be dark.

My brother bought her a set of knives for xmas once and she freaked out. Very bad luck supposedly. She pulled some money out of her purse and gave it to him to get rid of the bad luck. I don't know if it's a Sicilian thing or more general?

also would often give a penny as well as the knife and the person to whom the gift of a knife is given is to pay for the knife with the penny. I think with her it was a little bit more of a tradition then a real superstition but that was an under current even though she was not an overly superstitious person as a rule.

It's interesting to find out others share some of the same superstitions even though from different cultures. B-)

that is the funniest story i've read in some time.

.