Serial liar Condi Rice has been
BUSTED. I first saw it on vitor's diary, here on DKos, which cited and quoted from a Reuters article reporting, in sum, that Condi Rice has been BUSTED on Russian radio as a hack who speaks "fluent Russian" like Bush speaks "fluent Spanish"
Link to vitor's's excellent diary (Condi practices her Russian skills):
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/4/20/11211/3846
Link to the Reuter's article:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=8235643
And, I must say, I and other folks here were ahead of the curve of discovery on this (yet another) Bush Admin lie. See, e.g., from FEBRUARY:
http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2005/2/10/194520/107/373#373
Now what's so funny and infuriating about this is, of course, how the MSM/SCLM just memed and memed and regurgitated this two-bit, easily discoverable lie. See a few examples of serial sloppy reporting/lying below the fold.
"She's an African-American woman,
she is fluent in Russian, she was the Provost of Stanford. As you pointed out, she has accomplished a lot, but yet people are still trying to figure out who she is and how she will carry herself."
Gwen Ifill, on the Tavis Smiley Show, April 7, 2004, here:
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200404/20040407_transcript.html
"Fluent in Russian, Rice served for two years as the National Security Council's Soviet expert just as communism was collapsing during the administration of Bush's father."
from "Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty", here:
http://www.rferl.org/features/features_article_old.aspx?id=40d51ca5-ac66-40f6-a159-fbf113e41a1d&
y=2004&m=11
"Your readers might like to know that Madam Rice speaks fluent Russian and French, and the Czech language."
from an LTE to the Las Vegas Weekly, here:
http://www.scopemag.com/2005/04/14/letters.html
"Rice is one of Bush's most-trusted advisers on foreign policy, and is the first woman to hold the position. The 47-year-old Rice has specialized in Russian and European affairs, and speaks fluent Russian."
from Scholastic, for schools around the country, here:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/911/next_charge.htm
"In addition to national security policy and diplomacy, her passions include sports and music; she speaks fluent Russian and is an avid exerciser."
from The Oakland Press, here:
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/011905/loc_20050119019.shtml
So, do a little Googling yourself and see how far and wide this memed b.s. about Rice's "fluent Russian" is. Gee, if the MSM is wrong about this, wonder if it could be wrong about anything else???
BenGoshi
Update [2005-4-20 14:28:26 by BenGoshi]: In the comments thread below, Hal C, notes that the STATE DEPT also memes the lie that Rice is "fluent" in Russian. It just never stops with this Administration.