Howard to get US Medal of Freedom
By Washington correspondent Michael Rowland
Posted 4 hours 0 minutes ago
Updated 3 hours 10 minutes ago
US President George W Bush will grant former prime minister John Howard the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, in one of his final acts in his time at the White House.
Mr Howard, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Columbia's president Alvaro Uribe will each receive the medal at a White House ceremony next week.
"The President is honouring these leaders for their work to improve the lives of their citizens and their efforts to promote democracy, human rights and peace abroad," White House press secretary Dana Perino said.
This morning Mr Howard told NewsRadio he was honoured to receive the award and was looking forward to meeting with Mr Bush and Mr Blair.
"It's an indication of the very close relationship between our two countries," he said. "I see this very much as a compliment to Australia."
Mr Bush has awarded 78 of the medals during his eight years in the White House. The medal is the highest US civilian honour.
"The President is honouring these leaders for their work to improve the lives of their citizens and their efforts to promote democracy, human rights and peace abroad," White House press secretary Dana Perino said.
I guess they couldn't give it to Howard to doing the same at home right? After children overboard, deporting Mohammud Haneef after his trumped up charges failed to deliver, refusing to let the Tampa dock with people it just rescued after their boat sank in the ocean, etc.
I would say this is a joke, but then its actually fitting in a way. A loser PM gets an award from the lame duck president. I am sure in Howard's mind this is actually a great honour. It may very well be, if it was given by a president other than Bush.
Never apologise for being a geek, because they won't apologise to you for being an arsehole. John Barrowman - 22 June 2014 Perth Supernova.
Countries I have been to - 14.
Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, USA.
Always on the lookout for more nice places to visit.
Giving Howard a medal is as good as saying that it is good to be a neocon. The Bush White House really wants to go out on a whimper rather than a bang.
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JointStrikeFighter wrote:Oh man that is hilarious. All I can say.
Hilarious enough to last you until Howard's next absurd pontificate on the world economy? It amuses me that while in power Howard had a series of postive events that allowed people to believe he was awesome, but now he's got nothing he's still going strong with the god-complex. Poor man.
JointStrikeFighter wrote:Oh man that is hilarious. All I can say.
Hilarious enough to last you until Howard's next absurd pontificate on the world economy? It amuses me that while in power Howard had a series of postive events that allowed people to believe he was awesome, but now he's got nothing he's still going strong with the god-complex. Poor man.
Look man none of this shit would have happened with howard in power.
Yet another slice on the corpse of fiscal responsibility. Junior might as well just give Howard the money that would be spent on minting the medal and the award ceremony to Howard, on the caveat that Howard uses it to buy an auto from the Big Three.
Turns out that a five way cross over between It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the Ali G Show, Fargo, Idiocracy and Veep is a lot less funny when you're actually living in it.
"The President is honouring these leaders for their work to improve the lives of their citizens and their efforts to promote democracy, human rights and peace abroad," White House press secretary Dana Perino said.
When I first read the above I interpreted thusly;
"The President is honouring these leaders for their work to improve the lives of their citizens and their efforts to promote democracy, human rights and peace abroad," White House press secretary Dana Perino said.
In other words that the US (Bush) was honoring Australia (Howard) for promoting democracy for its own citizens - yes I know it was a misinterpretation - however given how the above was bolded for emphasis that's how I saw it, and strangely it angered me more than the ironic comment in the end. I guess it demonstrates some of my Anti-Americanism where I got more offended by the notion that Bush was implying he had the copy right on democracy.
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Chimpus Caesar has so cheapened the Medal of Freedom that at this point it could be given away free with your breakfast cereal and have the same meaning.
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Patrick Degan wrote:Chimpus Caesar has so cheapened the Medal of Freedom that at this point it could be given away free with your breakfast cereal and have the same meaning.
Nah, GWB wouldn't do that because it's too valuable to give away.
Bush said "I've got this thing. And it's fucking golden. I'm just not giving it up for fucking nothing. I'm not going to do it."
"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."- General Sir Charles Napier
I wonder what Johnny is going to do. When his brand of extreme conservatism got trashed in '07 he went to the US and tried to defend his gov's reputation from there. Now it's suffered an genuinely massive defeat at Obama's hands. Where will he slink off to next - the UK?
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He could try Israel, though they already have enough right wing lunatics there who probably wouldn't take kindly to Mr. Howard stealing their thunder.
Alternatively, the Chinese could pay him to start speaking at their universities or something. He did sell them a whole boatload of uranium after all.
Turns out that a five way cross over between It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the Ali G Show, Fargo, Idiocracy and Veep is a lot less funny when you're actually living in it.
Or the Chinese could get our real PM and not some loser to speak at their universities, since he kind of speaks fluent Mandarin, having worked as part of the diplomatic arm in China.
Never apologise for being a geek, because they won't apologise to you for being an arsehole. John Barrowman - 22 June 2014 Perth Supernova.
Countries I have been to - 14.
Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, USA.
Always on the lookout for more nice places to visit.
mr friendly guy wrote:Or the Chinese could get our real PM and not some loser to speak at their universities, since he kind of speaks fluent Mandarin, having worked as part of the diplomatic arm in China.
Well, I meant speaking for profit (sort of like what Bill Clinton is doing right now). Commands a lot of money and the authorities in Beijing seem to like Howard a little bit. It'd work for Howard (unless the guy has delusions about returning to power) but it would at least be very awkward for the current sitting Australian PM to take a paycheck from a foreign institution.
I can't imagine a sitting head of government anywhere getting paid to speak during a state visit.
Turns out that a five way cross over between It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the Ali G Show, Fargo, Idiocracy and Veep is a lot less funny when you're actually living in it.
I ask on the behalf of all Australians, could you guys keep him?
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Stark wrote:
Hilarious enough to last you until Howard's next absurd pontificate on the world economy? It amuses me that while in power Howard had a series of postive events that allowed people to believe he was awesome, but now he's got nothing he's still going strong with the god-complex. Poor man.
John Howard's decision to stay at the luxurious Blair House mansion in Washington DC has sparked a firestorm of protest in the US.
Outraged American taxpayers are demanding the former Australian prime minister book a hotel or stay at the Australian embassy.
The story is also a hot topic on US radio and TV talk shows.
For weeks the name of the occupant booked at Blair House on January 12 was a mystery.
President-elect Barack Obama and his family asked to stay at Blair House before taking the keys to the White House but were told it was already booked.
It forced Obama, his wife Michelle and young daughters, Malia and Sasha, to stay at a DC hotel, the Hay-Adams.
On Tuesday, the Washington Post broke the news that Howard and his wife Janette were the mystery boarders.
"Let the former prime minister John Howard stay at the Hay-Adams," Jeffrey Toobin, the senior political analyst for US news TV network CNN, said in a discussion on the topic on Wednesday.
US President George W Bush offered Howard Blair House weeks ago when he invited him to DC to receive the Medal of Freedom for his support of the US in the war on terror.
Blair House is one of Washington's most luxurious residences, a 6,500 square metre mansion with 119 rooms, conveniently located across the street from the White House.
Bush's two other key allies, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, will also receive the medal at a ceremony at the White House, but both declined offers to stay at Blair House.
Blair will stay at the British Embassy while Uribe has found his own digs.
"This irritates me to NO end!," a Boston Globe reader wrote on the newspaper's website.
"The Blair House is owned by the American People!
"We have elected Mr Obama as our next president, yet this administration lets Mr Howard stay at Blair House! Move his backside to a hotel. Let the little girls and their family - the Obamas - have Blair House."
A Washington Post reader agreed, venting with: "WOW, Australia doesn't have an Embassy in Washington? Or is John Howard just so reviled by his own countrymen that they won't let him stay there?"
Some Americans did support Howard.
"John Howard is a great friend of America and deserves to stay at Blair House," another Washington Post reader wrote.
Howard and Obama do have some history.
In February 2007, when Howard was still in power and Obama was considered an outside chance to win the presidency, Howard took issue with the then Illinois Senator's plan to set a timetable to withdraw US troops from Iraq.
"I hope Mr Obama does not become president of the US," Howard said in an interview with Australia's Nine Network that was picked up by the US media.
Obama returned fire, labelling Howard's words as "empty rhetoric".
"We have close to 140,000 troops on the ground now and my understanding is that Mr Howard has deployed 1,400," Obama said back in 2007.
"So if he's ginned up to fight the good fight in Iraq, I would suggest he calls up another 20,000 Australians and sends them up to Iraq"
A Washington Post reader pondered whether the exchange almost two years was behind Howard's decision to stay at Blair House.
"Perhaps this is payback," the reader wrote.
"Howard has never hidden his distaste for Obama and his crazy policies like withdrawing from Iraq."
Howard has stressed that he is staying just one night in Blair House.
A spokesman for Mr Howard was tight-lipped about the issue but sought to play down some of the more colourful media reports.
"The Howards will be staying for one night as per the invitation from President Bush," the spokesman told AAP on Thursday.
"Contrary to some reports, he won't be travelling with an entourage, it will just be him and Mrs Howard."
The spokesman declined to comment further.
He lost the election in a landslide. He couldn't even hold his seat to a political novice. The man he claimed Al Quaida would be praying for to win the US election won. But thats ok. Just deny Obama the ability to stay at Blair house. Yeah, that would show Obama who is the best.
Never apologise for being a geek, because they won't apologise to you for being an arsehole. John Barrowman - 22 June 2014 Perth Supernova.
Countries I have been to - 14.
Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, USA.
Always on the lookout for more nice places to visit.
Well, Blair House is actually made up of several houses joined together, and both the Obamas and Howard could have stayed at the same time and never even crossed paths.
There are some well placed sources that maintain Howard wasn't invited to stay at Blair House until after Bush had told Obama it'd be in use when he wanted to stay there.
Frankly, given GWB's inclination to be a petty asshole I don't doubt it's true.
Personally, I'd love for Obama to whisper 'You're on my list, motherfucker' in Bush's ear at the inauguration.
"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."- General Sir Charles Napier
Wait a moment, so will we the American people have to foot the security bill for Howard since if he's staying in Blair House, that means there going to be Secret Service people around, right?
Junior figures out another way to screw the American people.
It's sort of pathetic to see that Howard was third on Junior's Blair House guest list.
Turns out that a five way cross over between It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the Ali G Show, Fargo, Idiocracy and Veep is a lot less funny when you're actually living in it.
