Posted on 07/18/2005 8:36:53 AM PDT by indcons
There's a big black-tie dinner at the White House tonight. President Bush will don a tuxedo and might even stay up past 10. This is, as they say in Texas, rarer than hen's teeth.
The dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (technically an "official" instead of "state" dinner because Singh is head of government but not the state) is notable as one of the few grand parties of this administration. The White House has hosted only four state dinners since Bush took office in 2001; the last one was held in October 2003 for the president of Kenya. It's a big deal for India, and for the White House.
"The symbolic and the diplomatic importance of an event like this is inversely proportional to the frequency," says former deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott. "The less often they happen, the more important they are."
State dinners were traditionally the most sought-after invitation in Washington, the gold-plated stamp of diplomatic and social approval. World leaders routinely got the red-carpet treatment until 2001, when Bush began substituting informal lunches for black-tie dinners. The first lady hinted earlier this year that she intended to host more stately events during the second term and hired a new social secretary (but no new chef yet). But nothing has changed, and if the next four years look anything like the past four years, formal entertaining at this White House is a thing of the past.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The Bush-Singh joint press conference is in progress at this moment. C-Span will show a recording later today.
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I guess they won't be serving Texas beef for this one.
I guess not :)
Nope. I thinks Sikhs do consume beef. I think, but may be wrong.
sikhs can eat beef
I stand corrected
This sounds more like a Washington socialite's whine about not being invited over to dinner.
Is PM Singh a sikh?
Yes
generally if you wear a turban, you're a sikh.
Although there are clean shaven, cut hair, punjabi sikhs also.
Is that what Vijay Singh, the golfer is? I thought he was Hindu.
I don't know, but the surname 'Singh' is shared equally by Hindus and Sikhs alike. It is the Punjabi/Sanskrit/Hindi word for 'lion', a reference to the warrior-like attributes that most of these people had, against Muslim invaders.
Mmmmmm...Sounds like a scene out of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom!
OK, I just saw some photos of PM Singh. He's wearing a turban.
If you are a Singh, you are a Sikh.
I heard the other day that curry/turmeric prevents and destroys cancer cells.
Yes and he is Sikh which is a variant of Hinduism somewhat. As someone earlier said, the Sikhs are known as warriors especially against Muslim invaders. So it is always strange when a hate crime is perpetuated against a Sikh because they are mistakenly thought of as Muslim. I imagine there is no greater insult to them than being thought of as Muslim. I am not a religious scholar.
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