Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Cheney, According to The World

Here’s something that you probably can’t get anywhere else but an obscure corner of the lefty blogosphere – a glimpse into foreign media coverage of Big Dick Cheney.

Acting on a tip from a relative, I was able to find this article confirming that Dick Cheney will be visiting Dubrovnik, Croatia in early May. I took note because I, too, will be in Croatia during most of May. Although I won’t be in Dubrovnik to coincide with his visit, I have relatives who will be there for a week in early May, before joining me for another week in the northern part of the country.

As it turns out, the article mentioned above was the only English language report of Cheney’s upcoming trip, although there were a number of articles in Croatian newspapers, including this one from Slobodna Dalmacija. Curious about how the trip is being received in Croatia, I asked my trusty home interpreter (among many other things much more important to me) to translate.

Mostly, it was about the purpose of the trip – a meeting with leaders of several Eastern European countries. The article also included a lengthy description of the security precautions required by Mr. Cheney, including the need to book 150 rooms at his hotel, plus another 50 rooms at nearby hotels, in order to house his security detail.

But the closing couple of lines were classic. Roughly translated, they said the following (with my emphasis added):
During a hunt, (Cheney) injured a fellow hunter, which caused media interest throughout the world. His hunting incident shows that he not only needs to be guarded, but he needs to be guarded against.
It seems that all over the world, Dick Cheney is now being publicly lampooned as that dangerous guy who shot a man in the face! Must be tough when you finally get a brief respite from an 18% approval rating at home with a trip to the beautiful Adriatic, only to be mocked in the local newspapers before you even arrive!

And just so that anyone who happens to come across Vice President Cheney during his trip to Croatia, I thought I’d offer up another translation that you might wish to relay to him, if you get the chance (preferably in an elevated voice):

Jebi Se Cheney!

Or the more formal version:

Jebite Se Gospodine Cheney!

This, in honor of Dr. Ben Marble of Gulfport, Mississippi - who brought the English version into common use throughout America.



Also posted at Daily Kos

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:25 PM

    Have a wonderful time on your holiday in Croatia, I imagine your relatives are busy practicing some Croatian, and they better not practice that comment lest they use it at the wrong time. Hope
    they don't have to share their accommodation with the secret service.

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  2. Anonymous10:03 PM

    My relatives in Dubrovnik said there are two US military ships in the harbor and snipers on the rooftops.

    THe reason for his visit isn't elaborated upon in US or Cro papers. I shudder to think what he's up to.

    ReplyDelete