Post by Ryan Maue:
The British media continues to mock and criticize the President, which has been petty and unfair in some respects. But how do we reconcile this? From the UK Telegraph
Barack Obama snubs British scientists by refusing to receive Royal Society medal
Barack Obama has snubbed Britain’s most eminent scientists by refusing to attend a Royal Society banquet in his honour at which he was to be awarded with a prestigious medal.
Quoting from the UK Telegraph (fair use for discussion and future reference disclaimer):
But Mr Obama’s aides responded to the invitation with a “very short” note in which they said the president would rather spend time at a south London state school. Mr Obama visited The Globe Academy in Southwark with David Cameron, the Prime Minister, on Tuesday. The two leaders swapped a number of high-fives with pupils before rolling up their sleeves for a game of table tennis against two schoolboys.
And the cherry on top of this sundae:
Had Mr Obama accepted the invitation, he would have been greeted by Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society, who won a Nobel prize in 2001 for advances in genetics and cell biology.
Instead he met pupils at the Globe Academy who had won an award for designing a lunchbox which folds out into a plate.
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
This was special – Barack gets car stuck at Dublin Embassy May 23rd 2011
Crowd reaction was telling on several different points, too.
.
To the contrary, anything that keeps this President from “doing his job” is devoutly to be wished.
/Mr Lynn
After farmlands flooded, barges anchored, killer tornados and stagflation… what game will he play if hurricanes landfall?
Riding bicycles and commenting that “It brings out the kid in me” like Bush did while greedy bankers and speculators were looting the country?
Oh, and Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s & Fitch under pressure from Goldman Sachs.
Mr President can perhaps be forgiven for not using the Queen’s full title.
Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God – of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Saint Christopher and Nevis and Her other Realms and Territories – Queen, Duke of Normandy, Lord of Mann, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.
Still – he gets the USA.
hehe
What funny photos in the petty link.The Duke has 3 hands in one,and Michelle is wearing a plant on her head in the other.Somebody should tell her to smile all the time,she looks surly when she is not smiling.
From the Telegraph link: “The honour was to be conferred on the US President at a dinner …” – when exactly? Apart from their unscheduled stopover to avoid volcano ash on Monday evening the US President and First Lady spent two nights here. On Tuesday evening they were guests at a state banquet at Buckingham Palace and on Wednesday they hosted a return reception and banquet at the US embassy.
What made the self-important RS jonnies think that the President would consider staying over another night for dinner? A “short note” was exactly the right response – I can think of a couple of single-syllable words that would have fitted very well.
johnb says:
May 26, 2011 at 11:14 am
“…is likely wary of making other silly mistakes that would further tarnish his foreign image.”
Err.. how do you tarnish rust and corrosion?
The Royal Society?
Defender and peddler in chief of some of the most eye wateringly wrong headed and mistaken theories throughout the history of modern science. Never have so many puffed up establishment toadies been so wrong for so long about so many things and never before has an organisation refused with such fanatical determination to see sense or recognise their own stunning ignorance.
The Royal society has been heavily involved through the centuries of scientific endeavour in some of the most hilarious errors/misjudgements/failures/ludicrous theories and it has defended some of the most indefensible theories in history long after they should have been consigned to the dustbin of failure. From tectonic plates to volcanoes on the moon to the speed of sound, right across the scientific spectrum there is one thing the RS has been famous for, it is the last to see reason and it is the last to accept the truth.
Throughout its history the RS has doggedly defended the wrong against the right, it has snubbed and insulted the pioneers in favour of the vested interest establishment, it has held back scientific advance with fanatical zeal. The crusty arrogant establishment seeing itself as defender of the old establishment status quo and seeing those mavericks who really advance science as enemies to be destroyed. The RS is nothing more than a gang of complacent old seat warming in crowd inbred back scratching nincompoops.
Anybody notice the basket ball hoops on the wall –
Do they telescope out from that wall? (How would you do a lay-up if not?)
Or, are they fixed in position?
WUWT?
.
What? politics on a scientific site again??
Ok! I’ll bite, for the last time, I’ll explain how this works!! (loosely).
“Obama” is The democratically elected president of the United States of America (It’s fue and far between, neither here nor there even if Americans accept this fact or not) The whole point at hand is, when an American president visits my country I want the utmost respect to be shown with the most humble and friendly welcome that our nations leaders can possibly provide, to represent us in kind.
That’s basically my view on international politics, you can (hopefully, “You can do it!”) democratically sort your own domestic political issues out!
Cassie, couldn’t have put it better myself, right on. The RS, led by Sir Robert Hooke refused to publish Newton’w paper on the nature of light because they believed that light was pure white and couldn’t be made up of other colours. Newton, who was probably the most charmless and spiteful scientist in history, who took any slight as an attempt on his life, later became the President of the Royal Society, and Head of the Royal Mint, where he pursued counterfeiters to the gallows with the zeal he’d put into his scientific work.
Later he came out with one of the most beautiful quotes of any scientist when he said:
“If I have been able to see a little further it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.”
Robert Hooke, of course, was very small in stature, and many saw this beautiful quote as revenge for the snub given to Newton when the RS refused to publish his paper on the theory of light. They’re probably right.
For those who are confused the United Kingdom is the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island”. (Pop 60 million) Five of the countries within the United Kingdom have their own parliaments for internal affairs, these are, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The only country that doesn’t have it’s own parliament is England (pop around 50million). Who says the Brits aren’t eccentric?
Perhaps one of the reasons Professor Nurse extended the invitation was the hospitality he was offered by the USA by appointing him, a Brit, as the President of Rockefeller in New York, one of the USA’s most prestigious research institutions, for a 5 year stint?
Disgusting behaviour would have been to take all that America had to offer then be snooty and rude afterwards, eh?
When our (then) Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, met with his US counterpart for his only White House meeting with Barack Obama, he was denied an official dinner or Rose Garden press conference, and was received as though he were the head of a Third World country. He brought with him several thoughtful gifts including “a pen holder fashioned from the timber of HMS Gannet, a sister ship of the Resolute that also served for a time on anti-slavery missions off Africa”. And what did Brown receive in return? A collection of 25 DVDs, including Toy Story and the Wizard of Oz, which couldn’t even be played in Britain. When asked by The Sunday Telegraph why Brown had been treated so badly, a senior State Department official in charge of protocol sneered: “There’s nothing special about Britain. You’re just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn’t expect special treatment”.
It is important never to underestimate the extent to which this US administration is capable of riling America’s allies, from removing a bust of Sir Winston Churchill from the Oval Office within days of taking office to the president playing golf on the day of the funeral of the Polish president, tragically killed in a plane crash. Or siding with Argentina’s calls for UN-brokered negotiations over the sovereignty of the Falklands, and throwing key allies Poland and the Czech Republic under the Russian bus. Or siding with Marxists in Honduras, and humiliating the Prime Minister of Israel. The list is endless.
In fact, the Obama team has done more to offend America’s friends than all post-war American administrations put together. Throw into the mix some strong anti-British and anti-foreign sentiment among some Democrats on Capitol Hill in the wake of the BP Gulf oil spill, and you have the potential for another diplomatic incident.
The ramifications of a public snub for Cameron, or a perceived insult from the White House, are far greater than they were with Brown, and would lead to a furious backlash in the British press and in Westminster. President Obama and his advisers must tread carefully and recognise that it is not in their interests to alienate the new Prime Minister, not least at a time when US and British troops are fighting shoulder to shoulder on the battlefields of Afghanistan. America has no greater friend than Great Britain and the British people, and his welcome for Mr Cameron should reflect that.
David Cameron would earn more respect if he withdrew the blank cheque of UK support for all US policies worldwide and required a quid pro quo not least over British interests in the Falkland Islands. He should also insist that the US renegotiate the servile extradition treaty negotiated by Blunkett to the UK’s massive disadvantage. He should also ask the President to turn off his anti-BP rhetoric and remind him yet again of the 40% of BP shareholdings held in the US. He should also remind him that all the sub-contracted companies and employees responsible for the oil spillage were all American, and none were British.
Finally, how much do we get for allowing the US to use Diego Garcia? If we get anything at all, when are we going to treble the rent?
All our political class since Blair has been afflicted by the delusion that international relations are about friendship, rather than national interest. They’ve sacrificed the vital interests of this country for the sake of ingratiating themselves with whoever happened to be the American President, throwing away the lives of British soldiers and squandering taxpayers’ money in a war in Iraq fought on fabricated evidence, fighting an unwinnable conflict in Afghanistan against an enemy that had previously never been responsible for the death of any British citizen, and now there’s the possibility that the Americans will pick a fight with Iran (one of the 4 state regimes that the “neocons” who control American Middle East policy had publicly marked for destruction for being enemies of Israel, well before 9/11, the other three being Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iraq – mission accomplished re the last).
Our government has conducted itself with all the dignity and self-respect to be expected of America’s fawningly loyal, number-1 bitch-poodle: and yet people whine that the British government gets no respect.
There’s nothing special about O’Barmy. He’s just the same as the other 190 presidents in the world. He shouldn’t expect special treatment. Do you think that O’Barmy really cares what the British think? Or any British PM? To expect anything else but arrogance from this hateful person is a mistake. He still thinks he is “THE ONE” and that the UK is responsible for all the ills of his country – Kenya.
tom roche says:
May 26, 2011 at 1:49 pm
this type of discussion lowers the tone of wuwt so far that it is disturbing. I viewed Obama in Ireland, a superb diplomat, an excellent speaker, a credit to the country we expect to champion democracy. To the PEOPLE WHO PEDDLE negative pathetic rhetoric here as opinions, GROW UP.
Huh, “superb diplomat”, championing democracy, able to read a teleprompter?
Oops, tom, then apparently you must have missed Obama’s very recent unilateral, public, off-the-wall bullying “diplomacy” in regard to his attempt to get the only free and democratic Nation in the Mideast, Israel, to commit suicide via a retreat to its indefensible pre-1967 War borders as a precondition for negotiations? And, likewise, PM Netanyahu’s completely devastating response – itself based upon Obama’s own unilaterally imposed rules for “diplomacy” in this instance – with Bibi effectively schooling Obama on the transparently obvious realities of Israel’s situation amidst some of its enemies who are totally dedicated to Israel’s complete destruction, as they officially state – see Hamas’ own Charter, with Fatah now in official unison with Hamas; and then Obama’s subsequent and well deserved walkback, as promised and delivered on by Bibi? [of course, accompanied by the echoing Obama syncophants, such as Juan Williams, essentially whining about the uppity Israeli Jew who dared stand up for his democracy’s existence, using Obama’s own rules for “diplomatic” engagement!]
tom, how did you miss it? Bone up, man, before it’s too late!
Running around collecting medals from foreigners isn’t exactly part of a good plan to win reelection. He’s already got a Nobel anyway.
Obama and Cameron had to attend the GLOBE thing, after all I always go where my boss tells me to go.
Smokey says:
May 26, 2011 at 4:11 pm
Hooray for Smokey. I hope you included as an Obama achievement his closing of Gitmo! Bid Bad Booosh was just so out of touch with reality, don’tchaknow. At any rate Obama [now a.k.a. the action figure, Rambama, as per an admirer] did in fact show a good deal of wisdom and compassion by killing Osama instead of capturing him and having him then endure a rest-of-life “torture” right there at that very same [Club] Gitmo, along with the destruction of “our values” it would have entailed – you know, Osama having no criminal trial and all.
Moptop, Pullmyfinger et al,
The name of the country is “Great Britain and Northern Ireland”. (With 4 partly autonomous States, two of which were independant sovereign Kingdoms until 304 years ago, i.e. England and Scotland.)
The type of country is a United Kingdom.
Similarly, the name of the country is “France”.
The type of country is a Republic.
The name of the country is “The United States of America”. (With lots of individual semi-autonomous States.)
The type of country is a Republic.
The name of the country is “Spain”. (With some parts more autonomous than others.)
The type of country is a Kingdom.
The name of the country is “Australia”. (With 6 mainly autonomous States and a Territory.)
The type of country is a Commonwealth.
(Although nos. 1, 2 and 4 are really governed by an unelected beaurocratic dictatorship in Brussels.)
End of nitpicking.
Some of the extremely partisan anti-Obama rhetoric here on this thread is not an accurate reflection of the way the majority of the Brit media or the Brit public views the US President on his current tour. Most of the press coverage is, as is usual here, quite unstinting, almost to the point of fawning, in admiration of anyone who acknowledges their humble antecedents and acheives a position where they rub shoulders with royalty. Obama is no exception, but from my point of view, a ‘colonial’ from a far-away former British colony, the POTUS and the First Lady are acting and speaking with decorum, dignity and considerable charm. He has made the odd small blunder, but nothing of any moment or liable to give offense. The UK Media tends to have a generally socialist (note the small s) view, even those parts of it that consider themselves to be ‘right wing’, very different from the USA, where the very word ‘socialist’ seems to be a synonym, particularly among ‘conservatives, ‘ for absolute and sinster state control on a par with Communism or Hitler’s Nazis.
The old saying that the ‘ US and the UK are two countries divided by a common language’ is very true; the the same words can have very different meanings on either side of the Atlantic.
Finally, I suspect the brouhaha over Obama’s slighting of the RS was more imaginary than real. It seems, according to some UK press reports, that the RS invitation to the POTUS did not get beyond the exploratory stage and the RS were informed that schedule was aleady filled when the RS’s enquiry was made.
I must concur with ‘Catherine’ above, and add that we here in the UK have a very deep suspicion about the President. He has made it quite clear that he is no ‘special’ friend of the UK (although we have taken a shine to his wife!). We have always been aware that the US will do whatever it takes to please the US, and that’s fair enough. However, Americans really do need to learn that very often their masters do things which are ill-advised on the world political map. It became knowledge here a few years ago that during our skirmish with Argentina, we phoned the US airbase on Ascension Island (we govern the island) and told them that we would need to land our warplanes. Amazingly the US said “No”. Apparently our ministers were astounded – and rightly so since we only allow the US to run the airbase there. Thatcher phoned Reagan and politely informed him that we WOULD be landing there – and we did.
Then of course a little while back the US administration expressed its (bizarre) number one special relationship with France! That didn’t go down well here, and I’m afraid to say that (as friends though we no doubt are) there is a slowly-growing annoyance with the US as a ‘taker’. And Obama’s actions and words have done nothing to help. His silly stance over the BP fiasco was very revealing, as he continually referred to the company as “British Petroleum”. Oh how we laughed. To be honest, we’ll be glad to see the back of him (as long as the replacement isn’t Sarah Palin!).
There might have been some disparaging cover of Obama’s visit, but the BBC has more than made up for it. They are absolutely drooling at the mouth with excitement at all details of the visit.
I find it a stange notion that a lunch box would ‘fold out’ to a plate. Surely it would ‘unfold’ to make a ‘plate’?
Maybe it’s a cultural difference.
Here in the UK, criticism of politicians is regarded as acceptable.
Anything is possible says: May 26, 2011 at 10:37 am
The lunch-box folding out into a plate works for me too. Simple, ingenious and cost-efficient.
Science at its’ best.
Love it. These kids should be supported to market this to developing nations. Food sealed from dust, vermin and grubby hands and then served up on a plate at a communal [school environment] gathering, after washing one’s hands, is a fantastic idea.
And if the ‘lunch box’ is reasonably ‘leakage’ proof, a useful container afterwards for filling with water to brush teeth and washing face.
And then when the areas decide to recruit decent teachers to teach in these areas, the science of the mining and technology to develop these items for the good of human usage and development can be taught.