Submitted by: Kathy Hawkins
Shower Her With Jewels
Posted by ilona trommler
World
leaders lavished President Obama and top administration officials with
hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jewels, artwork and other
extravagant gifts last year, the State Department disclosed Thursday.
Most
of the gifts are turned over to the National Archives and Records
Administration or the General Services Administration (GSA), though
recipients are allowed to retain many for official use or buy them for
their personal collections.
Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton appears to have received the most expensive
gift, described as “white gold jewelry with teardrop rubies and diamonds
containing a necklace, a bracelet, earrings, and a ring.”
Bestowed upon Clinton by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, the jewelry is valued at half a million dollars. It is pending transfer to the GSA, according to the State Department.
The complete list of 2012 gifts, to be published in Friday’s Federal Register, includes dozens of gifts to the president. They range from the relatively modest – a 41-inch saber from the president of Mongolia, valued at $440 – to elaborate presentations, such as a collection of art, photographs and other items from Italy, valued at $124,000.
Bottles of liquor were among the gifts from then-Mexican President Felipe Calderon; the vice president of the People’s Republic of China autographed a red, white and blue basketball for the renowned hoops fan; and British Prime Minister David Cameron gave him a custom table tennis set with U.S. and U.K. decals and paddles.
Descriptions of each of the gifts to White House, agency and military officials was accompanied by the blanket justification that, “Non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and U.S. Government.”
Bestowed upon Clinton by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, the jewelry is valued at half a million dollars. It is pending transfer to the GSA, according to the State Department.
The complete list of 2012 gifts, to be published in Friday’s Federal Register, includes dozens of gifts to the president. They range from the relatively modest – a 41-inch saber from the president of Mongolia, valued at $440 – to elaborate presentations, such as a collection of art, photographs and other items from Italy, valued at $124,000.
Bottles of liquor were among the gifts from then-Mexican President Felipe Calderon; the vice president of the People’s Republic of China autographed a red, white and blue basketball for the renowned hoops fan; and British Prime Minister David Cameron gave him a custom table tennis set with U.S. and U.K. decals and paddles.
Descriptions of each of the gifts to White House, agency and military officials was accompanied by the blanket justification that, “Non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and U.S. Government.”
No comments:
Post a Comment