Shrub, Master of the Snub

snub (noun) -

1. a refusal to recognize someone you know

"the snub was clearly intentional"

Synonyms: cut, cold shoulder

 

2. an instance of driving away or warding off

Synonyms: rebuff, repulse

 

snub (verb) -

1. reject outright and bluntly

Synonyms: rebuff, brush off, repel

 

2. refuse to acknowledge

"She cut him dead at the meeting"

Synonyms: ignore, disregard, cut

-- AnsMe.com

 

 

"Who cares what you think?"

-- George W. Bush

 

 

Even though he is no longer President of South Africa, a meeting with the legendary Nelson Mandela is always high on the agenda of visiting heads of state and indeed most foreign dignitaries.

 

But President George W Bush, leader of the world's most powerful country, the United States, will not get to meet Mr Mandela when he visits South Africa next week during his first visit to the African continent.

 

And President Bush can also expect a hot reception from protesters who are already planning their action. ...

 

Mandela avoids Bush meeting

BBC

June 30, 2003

 

As you might expect, Georgie is trying to make it look like he's the one who doesn't want to meet with Mandela (which is bullshit; Mandela's been hinting around for weeks that he might snub George before George could snub him):

 

President George Bush will make history next week when he becomes the first head of state not to ask for a meeting with Nelson Mandela while on a visit to South Africa.

 

Officials say there is no precedent, except during large summits such as the UN earth summit in Johannesburg last year when heads of state visited in huge numbers. But even then, world leaders lined up to visit Mr Mandela at his upmarket residence in Johannesburg, and others met him at official events. ...

 

Bush delivers unprecedented snub to Mandela in Africa visit

The Independent

July 1, 2003

 

That's not true; there is indeed a precedent. Several, in fact. No, wait -- make that a lot. If you want examples only of Georgie's pissy playground games with individual world leaders, here's just a scant handful:

 

Snubbed: Australian Prime Minister John Howard

Howard rejects talk of double snub

Sydney Morning Herald, October 20, 2001

 

Snubbed: German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder

'Nazi' comment, dissent on Iraq earn Schroeder a U.S. snub

Globe and Mail, September 24, 2002

 

Snubbed: Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma

Diplomatic snub? Say it in French

CNN, November 22, 2002

 

Snubbed: Mexican President Vicente Fox

Bush putting Mexican president on hold

Miami Herald, March 27, 2003

 

Snubbed: Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien

New dates for Bush's visit to Canada rejected by US

Xinhuanet, April 16, 2003

 

 

Of course, the list hardly ends there. Here are some other examples of Georgie's infamous habit of dismissing everyone and everything who/that doesn't agree with him. And this list doesn't even begin to scratch the surface:

 

Snubbed: Minority journalists

Gore Needles Bush for Slight

ABCNews, July 9, 1999

 

Snubbed: Gay Republicans

Tafel Makes Point of Shrugging Off Bush Snub

DataLounge, November 29, 1999

 

Snubbed: Presidential candidates Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan

Buchanan, Nader denounce debate snub

AP, October 2, 2000

 

Snubbed: Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, George Soros, Stephen Hawking, Harrison Ford, John Glenn, Walter Cronkite, Jane Goodall, et al.

Bush urged to rethink Kyoto snub

BBC News, April 2, 2001

 

Snubbed: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

Bush, Bond and Blacks: Why Didn't President Play The Race Card Better?

Metro Connection, July 29, 2001

 

Snubbed: Canada, in Bush's post-911 address to Congress

Did Bush snub Canadians?

CBC, September, 2001

 

Snubbed: Congressional Black Caucus

Bush, White House snub Congressional Black Caucus

NNPA, December 24, 2001

 

Snubbed: Americans with AIDS

Bush's AIDS snub

San Francisco Examiner, January 24, 2002

 

Snubbed: California, on energy

Power Struggle: California's Engineered Energy Crisis

Multinational Monitor, June, 2001

Enron For Dummies

Rense.com, February 15, 2002

Enron-omics

Tim Neagle, Faultline, May 9, 2002

 

Snubbed: Senator Paul Wellstone's funeral

Count On The Intrepid Dubya To Snub A Man When He's Dead

sciforums.com, October 29, 2002

 

Snubbed: International Criminal Court

Bush's Snub of Criminal Court Undermines World Justice

Pacific News Service, May 7, 2002

 

Snubbed: Africans; World Summit on Sustainable Development

Anger in Johannesburg on U.S. absence

National Catholic Reporter, September 6, 2002

 

Snubbed: Senegal, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Mauritius

Bush's 'Africa snub' draws ire

Dawn/The InterPress News Service, December 25, 2002

 

Snubbed: Budget-strapped U.S. states

Bush snubbed states in crisis, Napolitano says

Arizona Republic, Jan. 29, 2003

State budgets are under siege, Bush told

The Wall Street Journal, February 6, 2003

 

Snubbed: Peace demonstrators (millions = "a focus group")

President undeterred by antiwar protests

Boston Globe, February 19, 2003

 

Snubbed: California, on the environment

Activists battle Bush assault on California green laws

National Catholic Reporter, March 14, 2003

 

Snubbed: United Nations

Bush's Snub Endangers Existence Of U.N.

Helen Thomas, Hearst Newspapers, May 14, 2003

 

Snubbed: France

US Prepares to Snub France at G8

IPS, May 30, 2003

 

Snubbed: Gay Americans

Bush to snub gays

AP via Mother Jones, June 2, 2003

 

Snubbed: Gerry Adams, leader of Northern Ireland's Sinn Fein

Terrorist link prompts Bush to snub Adams

The Telegraph, June 3, 2003

 

 

And, apparently, rudeness runs in the family:

 

Jeb snubs Florida House Speaker Johnnie Byrd & Senate President Jim King:

Worst ever session? It's worth debating

St. Petersburg Times, May 3, 2003

 

 

Related articles:

 

Civility is essential — and should start at the top. No one can argue... favoring civility. But citing George W. Bush’s inaugural address to advance this thesis demonstrates some fuzzy-minded thinking. Balance Bush’s oratory with this 4th of July episode related by Bill Hangley of Philadelphia, who writes for Philly Tonite, the Weekly Press, City Paper and many others. ... Could our society use a large dose of civility? Doubtless. But it won’t be the trickle-down variety until we learn how to elect statesmen instead of politicians. [Newport This Week, August 30, 2001]

 

Bush's Intimidation Tactics Undiplomatic. Revenge must be very sweet, considering the hard-nosed approach the Bush administration takes toward those who opposed the president's decision to invade Iraq. President George W. Bush's personal grudge against several nations is still obvious, including France, Germany, Russia, Turkey, Canada, Mexico and Chile. There was a period in the lead-up to the war when White House press secretary Ari Fleisher made it clear that the president wasn't accepting telephone calls from some of the leaders who had rebuffed him on the question of going to war. ... [Helen Thomas, Hearst Newspapers, May 28, 2003]

 

Bush masters snub as diplomatic, political weapon. Nearly two and a half years after taking office, US President George W. Bush has mastered not just the "bully pulpit" of the White House, but also its quieter cousin, the snub. Just ask German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Or Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien. Or top US congressional leaders. And, perhaps one day soon, French President Jacques Chirac. ... [AFP, June 25, 2003]

 

Posted 3:56:19 PM   Send comment

---

At Least We Know Where Gitmo Is

Israel's Shin Bet security agency has held Palestinian prisoners incommunicado for weeks at a time at a secret detention center, The Associated Press has learned. Prisoners say they are blindfolded and kept in black, windowless cells. When they ask where they are, they are told: ''On the moon.'' Israel refuses to say where the center is located or who is being kept there, but hints foreigners are among the prisoners. Human rights groups say a secret detention center would be in violation of international law. ... ''A secret detention center would be a violation of both the 4th Geneva Convention and Israeli law,'' said Yael Stein of the Israeli rights group B'tselem. ''If no one knows where detainees are being held, then they can do what they want with them. They can torture and abuse them, or even kill them, and no one would know.'' ... [AP via MSNBC, June 29, 2003]

 

Posted 3:45:08 PM   Send comment

---

Has Ari Fleischer Been Coaching Their Mouthpiece?

Q. When is it acceptable to label truth-telling as "demonization"?

 

A. When you're Israel's Government Press Office director and the BBC decides to re-run a documentary about your non-conventional weapons programs.

 

Posted 3:43:22 PM   Send comment

---

Laura Bush Screws Small Business

So, Laura Bush appears on CBS' "The Early Show" to plug children's literacy. Pickles reads aloud from hard-to-find kids' book called Book! Book! Book!, which one of the First Stepford Wife's staffers hunted down and purchased from independent bookseller A Likely Story in Alexandria, Virginia. Kids' bookstores across U.S. are delighted at news -- until end of "Early Show" segment urges viewers to buy book from Amazon.com, endorsed as "bookseller of choice."

 

Kids' bookstores not so delighted anymore. Head of Association of Booksellers for Children (ABC) writes to "Early Show" producers expressing disappointment in CBS dissing independents, and suggests readers would be better served by being encouraged to visit local bookstore or public library (noting that Pickles herself was once a librarian). ABC head also points out that it was an ABC-member independent bookseller that came to Pickles' rescue: "I hope that you can appreciate the service you received in being able to find it there at the last minute."

 

So far, sounds like non-news, eh? But wait, there's more!

 

The staffer for Laura Bush, who bought the book used on the show from the independent bookseller, returned the book to the store for credit!

 

Since it's impossible to imagine a Bush wife being concerned about saving a few taxpayer dollars, it's reasonable to assume only that 1) Pickles had to pay for the book out-of-pocket (or out-of-expense-account), and is incredibly cheap (which, after all, is how rich people stay rich), or 2) the return was a slap in the face to the ABC.

 

The owner of A Likely Story (who issued the credit, despite being "flabberghasted") told Publisher's Weekly: "They could have at least donated it to a library. They got it from an independent bookstore, then they promoted Amazon on the show, and then they returned it. It's like people who go to a fancy dress ball and return the dress to the store the next day."

 

Now, maybe this doesn't sound to you like much worth blogging about. And maybe you think it sounds like nothing more than sour grapes on the part of the ABC and the Virginia bookseller.

 

But, aside from the embarrassingly cheap-o action of the Pickles staffer, there's a much larger point here about the death of the independent bookseller in the United States -- to which Laura Bush is contributing in her own, not-so-insignificant way. Surely (at least if you live in the United States), there's a Borders or Barnes & Noble near you; unfortunately, these mega-chains have put countless independent, "hometown" bookstores out of business. Ditto Amazon.com, which is as close as a mouseclick.

 

Now, I like Amazon; I'm a longtime customer, and I've been known to spend hours inside Barnes & Noble. But when shopping for books, I hit the independent booksellers first. Not only does it feel like the right thing to do (I, for one, value the independent American spirit of entrepreneurialism), but you can't beat the presence of the owner's cat dozing on top of the stacks.

 

Of course, I'm not the First Stepford Wife (thank you, God). But if I were -- and if my husband crowed constantly about the importance of small business, I certainly would think twice about screwing over the last vestiges of a dying retail industry, without which we will all be truly poorer.

 

And I would apologize.

 

Posted 3:38:43 PM   Send comment

---