Julian Borger in The Guardian:
A braided leather whip, a sniper rifle, six jars of fertiliser and a copy of the “Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook” were among the presents foreign leaders have given George Bush. They are clearly trying to tell him something.
The inventory of official gifts from 2004, published this week by the state department reads like the wish list of the sort of paranoid survivalist who holes up in his log cabin to await Armageddon, having long ago severed all ties with the rest of the world.
The president received a startling array of weapons, including assorted daggers, and a machete from Gabon. He got the braided whip with a wooden handle from the Hungarian prime minister. The “Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook”, a gift from the Sultan of Brunei, has some tips on how to use some of these implements in a tight spot.
More here.