Posted: 7/20/2006 7:23:48 PM EDT
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It's good to be President. ollectibles, DVDs, bling highlight foreign leader gift list JUNE 15--President George W. Bush received a $10,000 sniper's rifle, six jars of fertilizer, 11 antique handguns, ten pounds of dates, and a DVD of "Singin' in the Rain" from various foreign leaders, according to a report filed today by the U.S. Department of State. The annual report from the Office of Protocol, excerpts from which you'll find below, covers gifts provided in 2004 to federal employees by "foreign government sources." Included in Bush's haul (which gets sent to a government archive) were assorted Dallas Cowboys merchandise from Saudi Arabia's Prince Bandar, a $125 braided leather whip from the Hungarian prime minister, and a copy of "The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook" from the Sultan of Brunei. The Asian leader also gave Bush DVDs of "Singin' in the Rain" and "To Kill a Mockingbird." Jordan's King Abdullah gave Bush $12,000 worth of antique weapons, including a pistol dating to 1780, and a $10,000 Dakota Arms sniper's rifle. He also provided the president with six jars of "various fertilizers" valued at $60. As the State Department report notes, the circumstance "justifying acceptance" of these foreign gifts is "non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and U.S. Government." The Tunisian president gave Bush $60 worth of dates. First Lady Laura Bush received an $1150 Chanel purse from the French president's wife and a $12,500 Mounier & Bouvard clutch from the King of Morocco. Vice President Dick Cheney scored a $400 set of white gold cufflinks "with Arabic lettering symbolizing good fortune and health" from the Jordanian king, while former Secretary of State Colin Powell received a Bulgari necklace set from Saudi Arabia's Prince Faisal. At $24,500, the gold and diamond jewelry was the most valuable gift from a foreign official. While Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld received some nice bottles of wine, his most unique gift came from Jordan's King and Queen, who gave Rummy a $380 aromatherapy gift set. Though Rumsfeld could surely use the aromatic relaxation, the item was transferred to the General Services Administration. (11 pages) http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0615061gifts1.html |
IIRC (and I'm reaching back a ways here), A gift may actually be kept by the recipient if the value of the gift is below some stupidly low price. If not, it is considered to be govt property, HOWEVER, the gift recipient has the option of purchasing the item from the govt at it's stated value. |
Per SS security directives, food is supposed to be destroyed, lower ranking gov't employees have the option of buying from the GSA any big ticket gifts they 'receive'. The link describes things in some detail. |
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Warlord: The GSA stores them as property of the federal government. The President that recieved them can display them in his library or the sitting President (and maybe the VP, etc) can request it for display in their office.
Kharn |
That expression on his face fits perfectly. 
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I wonder which one it was? www.dakotaarms.com/currentinventory/dakota_arms_inventory.php According to most jounalists, all guns with scopes are sniper rifles. |
Outstanding. That evil old Heddy Lamar... |
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Or Buttsecks? |
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