All shook up.Byline: Gail-Tzipporah Saunders I usually don't always like shaking hands because I don't like germs, and I know that the handshake is one of the fastest ways to move them along. Still, there are those who I would never shake hands with even if there were no germs: Nazis, idiots, criminals, unreformed Adj. 1. unreformed - unaffected by the Reformation orthodox - adhering to what is commonly accepted; "an orthodox view of the world" skinheads Noun 1. skinheads - a youth subculture that appeared first in England in the late 1960s as a working-class reaction to the hippies; hair was cropped close to the scalp; wore work-shirts and short jeans (supported by suspenders) and heavy red boots; involved in attacks and certain politicians. President Barack Obama shouldn't have shaken hands so vigorously with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for falling into one or more of the aforementioned categories. Instead, Obama should have given him a limp handshake, coughed and looked away. I know all about building bridges and roads instead of walls, and for all I know Chavez had a lousy childhood that led him to this point. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't have some limits and standards over what is acceptable and what is not. After all, would Obama have shaken hands with Hitler or Mussolini had he had the chance? What about Stalin or the Marquis de Sade Noun 1. Marquis de Sade - French soldier and writer whose descriptions of sexual perversion gave rise to the term `sadism' (1740-1814) Comte Donatien Alphonse Francois de Sade, de Sade, Sade ? Never mind. All I know is that it is one thing to be polite and kind but another to try turning everything into one giant peace and love rally from the '60s. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, right, shakes hands with President Barack Obama at the Summit of the Americas The Summit of the Americas is the name for one of a sequence of summits bringing together the countries of the Americas for discussion of a variety of issues. These encounters are organized by a number of multilateral bodies led by the Organization of American States. in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (trĭn`ĭdăd, təbā`gō), officially Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, republic (2005 est. pop. 1,088,000), 1,980 sq mi (5,129 sq km), West Indies. The capital is Port of Spain. . Alfonso Ocando/The Associated Press |
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