Bush snubs Norway's premier

[sabra]

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1300573.ece

Bush snubs Norway's premier

US President George W Bush reportedly doesn't want to meet with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. Norway also seems to have lost an influential role within NATO, apparently, some say, because of Norway's lack of enthusiasm for the war in Iraq.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg reportedly isn't welcome at the White House.

Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported Tuesday that Bush's staff had turned down a request from Stoltenberg's office for a meeting between the two at the White House. Bush, according to the report, was too busy to make room for Stoltenberg in the foreseeable future.

NRK reported that Bush's staff wouldn't set up the meeting because of the Norwegian left-center coalition government's criticism of the war in Iraq, and Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen's support for a boycott of Israeli products.

Jan Petersen, who was Norway's foreign minister in the last center-right government, told NRK that he feared a phone conversation Stoltenberg had with Bush shortly after last fall's election put a damper on relations between the US and Norway. In the conversation, Stoltenberg told Bush that Norwegian officers would be pulled out of Iraq.

[babylonsister]

1. What a crybaby. Because the war was criticized, DIMSON won't

meet with this person? So much for building diplomatic bridges. The more I read, the more I cannot stand this asshat.:grr:

[saigon68]

21. Here's the Thug he likes to suck up to

[sutz12]

2. Typical....

That furriner told Bush some Trutihiness and he throws a hissy fit.

Hell, we don't need no friends anyway.

Look to see some Norway bashing by Faux News in the next couple of days. They'll spin it like they insulted us, just because a foreign leader won't bow down and kiss Shrub's Prfesidential seal decorated boots.

[aquart]

16. "Truthiness" is what you get from BushCo.

Truth is what you get from the rest of us.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Uh-oh. Bush is invading Norway next. They do have oil...

[Judi Lynn]

4. I think there's another reason he doesn't want him in this country!

He probably doesn't want anyone to give this guy any photo ops!






On edit:

What a pity. I'll bet he'd be willing to pitch in and help _Bush clear some brush, too!

[UpInArms]

6. I can imagine the contrast would kill his poll numbers

[leftchick]

7. hoo baby!

thanks Judi! That made my day!

:hi:

[riona]

8. Oh my!!

:bounce:

[raccoon]

11. Not a bad looking guy! :-) nt

[bdamomma]

15. yeah I second that.

[aquart]

14. OMG! Who is that perfect man?

And why haven't they cast him as the new James Bond?

Tell you this, no female president would snub him.

[koopie57]

19. I would be happy to meet with him ....

*soft sigh* .... oh yes, it would make my day. :loveya:

[ShortnFiery]

45. That is one fine looking Norwegian man!

Sorry, but it had to be said. ;)

[truth2power]

25. Look at the eyes of Norway's Premier...

There's someone home behind those eyes. Then take any pic of Fearless Leader and look at his eyes. They're empty.

Bush has no soul, I tell 'ya...

Sick, sick MFer! :puke:

[Tinksrival]

70. The eyes have it!

[saigon68]

72. LOOK AT THESE EYES

[Judi Lynn]

76. Gee, the photo you found reminds me of this one!

It's not a GOOD comparison.

[Odin2005]

26. He looks like me if I was 25 years older and lost weight!

[Judi Lynn]

27. It must be awful looking like that!

Maybe you could get a Trent Lott hairpiece, and sharpen yourself up! :sarcasm:

On edit, adding a Trent Lott photo, at no cost:
http://homepage.mac.com/jholbo/nutwork/images/Lott,%20Trent.jpg

[SoCalDem]

39. Now I know who Trentie reminds me of

http://homepage.mac.com/jholbo/nutwork/images/Lott,%20Trent.jpg

[Judi Lynn]

46. Deadringer! n/t

[amandabeech]

82. I've always thought that Minnesota was considered scenic

for more than those zillions of lakes! There are some pretty nice parts of Wisconsin, too.

From a swarthy, part Swedish midget (at least by Minnesota standards).

[JNelson6563]

31. A study in sharp contrast

That's for sure! Nice pics, thanks for posting. ;-)

Edited to add: Jens Stoltenberg, if you're reading this, you can come and stay at my house. O8)

[Judi Lynn]

47. I was startled when I saw his photo at first. Had to go recheck to make

sure I had the name spelled correctly. I had a hunch he might be good for a physical comparison to W, who seems to consider himself quite a looker, for some reason.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

58. Gay men and straight women of DU are slow today.

No mention to "Norwegian wood" yet.

[TankLV]

63. Shhh - we're still "analyzing" the pics!

Down in front!

[Mad_Dem_X]

59. Oh, my!

Fine-looking man. And may I say, as a person of Norweigan descent: F*** you, Dubya. :hi:

[Jazzgirl]

61. **Wipin' the sweat off my brow.....**

Phew! Hmph! Wooo-eeeee!! Mmmmph.....I am a little....speechless now..... :silly: :loveya: :9

[xxqqqzme]

65. THAT'S Norway's PM?????

Daa-ham. No wonder monkey breath wants 2 stay away from him

[Mojorabbit]

68. Oh my!

Gorgeous!

[Dulcinea]

73. I would be DELIGHTED to meet with the Norwegian premier!

Good-looking guy! No wonder Boy George wants nothing to do with him. He'd never be the center of attention!

[hippiechick]

74. Oh holy cow !!

:loveya: O8) :loveya: O8) :loveya:

I knew there was a reason I'm proud to be 1/4 Norwegian !!

[MissB]

77. Goodness gracious.

Can you say hot? :wow:

[smirkymonkey]

80. Hottest world leader I've ever seen!

He's dreamy! :loveya:

[Scairp]

83. My

He's rather good-looking. Maybe I should encourage my husband to get a transfer there. At least the Norwegian wouldn't make me want to heave every time I look at him.

[wicket]

5. What a prick

:eyes:

[marmar]

9. I'll second that...

Disagree with us on Iraq, and we'll cut off all diplomatic ties, regardless if the relationship is important for other issues.
Gawd I can't stand that man.

[Ian David]

10. Bloody vikings. n/t

[grytpype]

12. .

[BrotherBuzz]

34. Spam spam spam spam

Waitress: Morning!

Man: Well, what've you got?

Waitress: Well, there's egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and spam; egg bacon and spam; egg bacon sausage and spam; spam bacon sausage and spam; spam egg spam spam bacon and spam; spam sausage spam spam bacon spam tomato and spam;

Vikings: Spam spam spam spam...

Waitress: ...spam spam spam egg and spam; spam spam spam spam spam spam baked beans spam spam spam...

Vikings: Spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam!

Waitress: ...or Lobster Thermidor a Crevette with a mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top and spam.

Wife: Have you got anything without spam?

[bdamomma]

13. bush is an arrogant and ignorant man

there is no such word as "diplomacy" in bush vocabulary, just shows everyone how ignorant this man really is.

[gratuitous]

17. Weren't they JUST telling us?

Weren't the Bushistas just telling us what an open-minded guy Bush is? How he hired Tony Snow to be his press secretary, even after Snow, you know, said some bad things about him and stuff?

The glasnost era of the Bush administration was very short. Blink and you missed it.

[Briar]

18. All the best people

are not welcome in Bush's White House.

[moondust]

23. Norway is too generous.

Always near the top of the list in per capita foreign aid. Doesn't look good next to the Culture of Greed. :sarcasm:

[OKthatsIT]

44. excuse me? Norway and Japan continue slaughtering whales

SCREW Norway!

[President Kerry]

57. any other micro issues you'd like to hone in on?

jeez..

[darkism]

67. Yawn. That doesn't keep Norway from...

...consistently being rated as having the best quality of life in the world in the UN Human Development Index, with Sweden not far behind.

(The U.S. is #10 and falling)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index#Top_thirty_countries_.28HDI_range_from_0.963_down_to_0.878.29

[SOS]

71. Also recently rated

as being the best country in the world for business.
Darned Socialists!

[area51]

20. Little Lord Pissypants strikes again.

Yeah, it's obvious the "adults" are in the White House now. :eyes:

[Coventina]

22. I would *possbily* refuse to meet with him also, but because of Norway's

insane insistence on whaling in the 21st century.

:mad:

[mom cat]

24. The REAL REASON for the snub is Norway's new oil exchange: in Euros!

[Ghost Dog]

29. Plus Norway's oil and gas fields are State-owned

and the country's oil/gas exploration/exploitation companies tend to be, though stock-market-floated, majority State-owned. (One is developing a field in Northern Iraq).

It is the world's No. 2 oil exporter.

Profits are held/invested thru a kind of 'trust fund' for the benefit of all Norway/Norwegian people.

Oh, and they're (usually) quite careful with the natural environment.

[Judi Lynn]

48. Thank you for your information,Ghost Dog. Have to admit I didn't know this

Better to learn it late than never.
Welcome to D.U. :hi: :hi: :hi:

[kittenpants]

53. Very interesting.

Would be nice if the US could do something liked that...

[Peace Patriot]

28. I can't think of a greater honor than to be 'persona non grata' in Bush's

White House.

As for the photos of Jens Stoltenberg...skol, Judi! And, "hands across the seas," as they used to say.

:hug: :grouphug: :toast: :grouphug: :hug:

[Judi Lynn]

49. Good point. His circle of friends is very unpleasant. n/t

[Julius Civitatus]

30. Yup. The "grownups are in charge," remember?

He really acts like a boy sometimes.

[tonekat]

32. Bush is too busy trying to finish "My Pet Goat" n/t

[madmark]

33. is it his goal to alienate every western european democracy?

[rodeodance]

35. Gee Jr. don't cha know Norway has oil--we could conjure up a reason

to invade them?

[Vidar]

36. Applauding Norway for whatever pissed off little boots.

[Stockholm]

37. There never were any problems with the old government

:eyes:

[Jack Rabbit]

38. If I were Stoltenberg, I wouldn't lose any sleep over a snub from Bush

Nobody should.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

40. According to Wikepedia, Stoltenberg had a Waldorf School education

before he attended the University of Oslo.

Interesting.

[AX10]

41. So Bush decides to not have diplomatic ties with anyone...

who disagrees with him. That's the "Bush Way". Bush is a spoiled little brat who has never had to deal with people who disagree with him.

[Judi Lynn]

50. The world has to pay for the deficiencies in his upbringing. It's clear

he has never been trained to live with other people.

[bdamomma]

69. bushie just likes to get his own way

sorry bushie that is not how the real world works.

Bush's staff just keeps him in that bubble, no bad news for the boy/king you know, he does not how to be diplomatic with people at all, he continues to shut us off from the rest of world, just likes to deal with tyrants like himself. Geez, I hate Bush.

[0007]

42. Absolutely no class! The world will take notice and say, "what a schmuck"

And we wonder why we don't have any allies.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

43. Contact info...Let's send letters of support!

The Office of the Prime Minister
P.O. Box 8001 dep.
(NO-)0030 Oslo

A link to an e-mail form can be found on this page:
http://odin.dep.no/smk/english/contact/info/bn.html

[bemildred]

51. Me! Me! I want to be an enemy of Bush too ...

Wear it like a badge of honor.

[kittenpants]

52. Here are some Norwegians that won't be happy about this...

http://users.wolfcrews.com/toys/vikings/

[llmart]

54. That guy's picture cinches it for me......

I'm moving to Norway!

Tee hee. I know, I know. I'm too old for him, but a gal can dream can't she???

[Canuckistanian]

55. How mature

"You can't come over to my house any more, 'cause you blabbed a bunch of stuff about me. Oh, and I never liked you anyways."

[IndianaGreen]

56. Oh the irony!: Stoltenberg is seen as too friendly to Bush

Indeed, Stoltenberg's government often has been criticized within Norway for being too eager to please the US. On issues ranging from the relocation of the US Embassy in Oslo to mixed signals on whether government ministers will meet representatives from Hamas, Stoltenberg has been accused of being too accommodating to US interests.

This in turn has raised concerns about a rift within his coalition government. Stoltenberg's Labour Party needs to cooperate with Halvorsen's Socialist Left, which has a far more critical line towards the US than Labour.

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1300573.ece

Even the opposition Christian Democrats opposed the US invasion of Iraq. This snub by Bush will be seen as a slap in the face to all Norwegians. Nothing like winning friends, Chimp!

[katinmn]

60. Norway is independent of America. Independently wealthy

Bush can't bribe Norway because they don't need us.

I think Stoltenberg may wear his rejection as a badge of honor.

[Raine]

62. Spoiled brat

asshole! x(

[NastyRiffraff]

64. DROOOOL!!

Okay, I know this is serious, and I'm offended every time I hear about Chimp having any sort of relations with a foreign leader.

But really.

This guy is HOT!!!

So I sound like a bimbo. Deal with it!

[Tinksrival]

66. As a first generation Norwegian American (Thorson)

Let me say I am proud Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is not shrubs buddy!
After seeing Jens pic I have to ask......
Grampa, why did you have to move my Dad here??? UFFDA!!!!!

"You took your men out of my war! I'm not inviten ya, heh heh heh."

[Judi Lynn]

79. That is a real collector's BUSH photo! Wow! This thread is not worthy!

Thanks a lot. :hi:

[goforit]

75. What an honor!!!....... Norway ahead of the pack.

[WinkyDink]

78. Jens's good fortune, I'd say.

[Geek_Girl]

81. How hard is it to migrate to Norway?

Just curious if anyone has any idea.