Mysteriously multiplying mysteries
There are many unfathomable mysteries in our world. For example, Fermat's last theorem, a straightforward mathematical formula which he claimed he'd proven but which, despite its apparent simplicity, has baffled mathematicians the world over for the last three and a half centuries.
More recently, a similar mystery was contained in George Bush's State of the Union address last month, in which he claimed that the world was 'safer' thanks to his actions. Exactly how using the world's best-equipped military to invade a far inferior nation state in an unprovoked attack, proceeding to murder thousands of its civilians, at a stroke creating a pool of millions more potential terrorists and suicide bombers, can be described as making the world safer is mysterious indeed. Of course, this was George Bush speaking, so it is not beyond the realms of possibility that he may have been using the word 'safer' with a meaning different from that commonly understood by the rest of the English-speaking world.
The newest mystery of all came last week, this time from Poland's very own President Kwaśniewski. On leaving his summit with George Bush, Kwaśniewski's plane had to divert from its planned stop-over in Gander, Newfoundland, to nearby St. John's. When it landed, the President was escorted to the executive boardroom by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police because, at that late hour, many of the airport's facilities were closed. The plane was on the ground for three hours' refueling and de-icing. But, when Kwaśniewski got back to Warsaw, he started complaining that he had been treated like a "potential illegal immigrant" and headlines in the western press reflected irritation and a sense of maltreatment.
Firstly, credit where it's due. For the last 18 months both Kwaśniewski and Prime Minister Miller have been successfully walking a tightrope between supporting the USA while trying not to offend France and Germany excessively. It was perhaps inevitable that, eventually, a gust of wind (or in this case, hot air) would make one of them wobble. Kwaśniewski's meeting with Bush had yielded no concrete concessions on the visas-for-Poles issue, and doubtless the Polish President must have been frustrated. The problem was that, unfortunately, far more newspapers (too many to list here) picked up on the illegal-alien complaint than on the meeting. This was a shame because, during a TV question-and- answer session, Bush had another attack of foot-in-mouth disease when he referred to the 'thousands' of ethnic Poles living in America. Quite rightly, Kwaśniewski interrupted him to say "millions," and Bush's face went into that familiar crumple, probably trying to work out how many zeros were involved.
Nevertheless, articles reporting the Polish President's complaint obviously carried both sides of the story, and the Canadians explained themselves clearly and concisely, also offering their apologies for any bruised egos. The practical upshot was that Kwaśniewski came off looking worse, despite trying very hard indeed to wrangle something out of Bush, apart from obdurateness, for Poland's support in the war. It was a bit like a man who shouts, "And another thing!" fifteen minutes after admitting he's lost the argument.
The mystery, of course, is why Kwaśniewski made this kind of a publicity gaff when he's normally such a shrewd mover. Answers on a postcard please.
More recently, a similar mystery was contained in George Bush's State of the Union address last month, in which he claimed that the world was 'safer' thanks to his actions. Exactly how using the world's best-equipped military to invade a far inferior nation state in an unprovoked attack, proceeding to murder thousands of its civilians, at a stroke creating a pool of millions more potential terrorists and suicide bombers, can be described as making the world safer is mysterious indeed. Of course, this was George Bush speaking, so it is not beyond the realms of possibility that he may have been using the word 'safer' with a meaning different from that commonly understood by the rest of the English-speaking world.
The newest mystery of all came last week, this time from Poland's very own President Kwaśniewski. On leaving his summit with George Bush, Kwaśniewski's plane had to divert from its planned stop-over in Gander, Newfoundland, to nearby St. John's. When it landed, the President was escorted to the executive boardroom by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police because, at that late hour, many of the airport's facilities were closed. The plane was on the ground for three hours' refueling and de-icing. But, when Kwaśniewski got back to Warsaw, he started complaining that he had been treated like a "potential illegal immigrant" and headlines in the western press reflected irritation and a sense of maltreatment.
Firstly, credit where it's due. For the last 18 months both Kwaśniewski and Prime Minister Miller have been successfully walking a tightrope between supporting the USA while trying not to offend France and Germany excessively. It was perhaps inevitable that, eventually, a gust of wind (or in this case, hot air) would make one of them wobble. Kwaśniewski's meeting with Bush had yielded no concrete concessions on the visas-for-Poles issue, and doubtless the Polish President must have been frustrated. The problem was that, unfortunately, far more newspapers (too many to list here) picked up on the illegal-alien complaint than on the meeting. This was a shame because, during a TV question-and- answer session, Bush had another attack of foot-in-mouth disease when he referred to the 'thousands' of ethnic Poles living in America. Quite rightly, Kwaśniewski interrupted him to say "millions," and Bush's face went into that familiar crumple, probably trying to work out how many zeros were involved.
Nevertheless, articles reporting the Polish President's complaint obviously carried both sides of the story, and the Canadians explained themselves clearly and concisely, also offering their apologies for any bruised egos. The practical upshot was that Kwaśniewski came off looking worse, despite trying very hard indeed to wrangle something out of Bush, apart from obdurateness, for Poland's support in the war. It was a bit like a man who shouts, "And another thing!" fifteen minutes after admitting he's lost the argument.
The mystery, of course, is why Kwaśniewski made this kind of a publicity gaff when he's normally such a shrewd mover. Answers on a postcard please.
