26. April 2001, Norway Post Clinton for Lunch

Former US president Bill Clinton has accepted an invitation to lunch with Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, during his visit to Oslo on May 14th.

Clinton is returning to Oslo 18 months after his state visit to the Norwegian capital.

This time he will lecture business and public leaders and organizations at a conference with the theme "Leadership and Communication".

His fee for the lecture on May 14th, will amount to NOK 1.3 million, NRK reports.

The entry fee is stipulated to around NOK 7000 to 8000 per person.

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), April 26, 2001

Answers

1.3 NOK = $144,037 on 4/27/01 according to this site

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), April 27, 2001.

You got a problem with that? I suppose making money is okay, but only for conservatives, not for anyone else, right? Oh I get it! In the world of rightwing delusions, this is supposed to be another scandal!

-- (you have learned well @ from your master. Rush), April 27, 2001.

Lars barfs more conservative ignorance, every day on this forum.

-- conservatives are worthless shits (same garbage @ different. day), April 27, 2001.

It's a Norse thing; you wouldn't understand. Uffda.

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), April 27, 2001.

Who said anything about it being bad that Clinton was collecting money?

-- jammy (jammin@with.jammy), April 27, 2001.

Where have you been jammy? Get your head out of your ass! The repugs all have a shit fit when they find out President Clinton is getting money. They are hooked on Clinton cock and can't let go. Stupid fucking repugs!

-- Tony Baloney (Fuck the@repugs.com), April 27, 2001.

Lars: If it's a Norse thing, I haven't heard any complaints from MY family. Then again, I don't know if you were stating that there WERE any complaints, but simply stating that Clinton would be visiting Norway. AFAIK, Norway accepts Clinton. Heh. They even LIKE him.

I haven't received any E-mail regarding W.'s administration YET, but I sure received a flood during the impeachment hearings of Clinton. Folks in Norway just didn't understand why sex was such a big deal in the U.S. The King of Norway is EXPECTED to have a mistress on his arm, even at public events. Much like circumcision, this puritanical thinking is strictly a phenomenon of the U.S.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), April 27, 2001.

That last statement was a misnomer. Actually, the Middle East is MUCH more puritanical than the U.S., but European countries find the whole thing quite silly.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), April 27, 2001.

All a little tongue-in-cheek Anita, but in your honor, I will say it's a male, 2nd generation, Indianapolis, Norse thang.

Obviously someone likes him in Norway. If they are stupid enough to pay that much money to listen to his sophistries, then they deserve him.

Does the Queen of Norway get to have a gigolo on her arm?

-- (larsguy@yahoo.com), April 27, 2001.

Anita-

Not to get too far into thread drift, but a few years ago, I had a co- worker who was from Serbia. He was Eastern Orthodox Catholic and fairly new to the country (he got out right after Yugoslavia opened up and before the war started). Anyway, we were on a project that required lots of long hours and late nights, and we often talked about American culture and Serbian culture, the war, women, life in general, you get the idea. One day he told me he'd read an article that said most American men were circumcised, and he asked me if it were true. I said that it was. His face turned white and he almost passed out. "Oh! Poor penises!" he said, in a very thick Eastern European accent. I said, "Well, it happens when you're a new born so most people don't think it's very traumatic," And he said, "They do that to you when you're a little bitty baby? AYYYYYYYYY!" He was very upset about this. After he calmed down a bit, I found out that, (according to him at least) Muslim Bosnians and Croats are circumcised when they hit age 13 in a ceremonial procedure involving two or three days of cutting and lots of stitches that was often debilitating, at least temporarily. At the time, I was too stunned to ask if he knew this to be true or if this was possibly some anti- Muslim propoganda he'd picked up as a kid. I've never known a Muslim well enough to ask and to be honest I'd rather not know.

-- Tarzan the Ape Man (tarzan@swingingthroughthejunglewithouta.net), April 27, 2001.

Tarzan: It's my understanding that the Muslim faith performs circumcision during the period of puberty on both males and females.

I can certainly understand your recalcitrance to discuss the issue with folks of the Moslem faith.

The issue of circumcision has a long history [at least here in the U.S.] It was originally instituted as a matter of course to discourage masturbation. Heh...like circumcised males don't masturbate.

It's a question of honor for Moslems [of both sexes] to be circumcized. I'd call it foolish pride, myself, but I'm not Moslem. I chose not to have my son circumcised. He suffered a bit when the kids in grade school noticed he was "different" when he peed in the school bathroom, but now that he's grown he prefers his state to that of his once peers.

This is kindof an interesting subject, if one has time. The internet is full of stories of people who had their sons circumcised and the sons later longing for that foreskin. There are even "harvests" of foreskin and grafts available.

From MY standpoint, I felt it was up to the kid, and an infant has NO say. Religion was another thing I left up to my kids. They could chose any faith they desired, or no faith at all. I had to endure some questions on "What do WE believe?", but to me, belief isn't something imposed. It's something that comes from within at the appropriate time.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), April 27, 2001.

I thought that was only North-African Muslims who performed female circumcision?

-- Tarzan the Ape Man (tarzan@swingingthroughthejunglewithouta.net), April 27, 2001.

Female genital mutilation comes to America

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), April 27, 2001.