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President Obama had a khata when he took the oath

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Barack Obama joined by his wife Michelle, takes the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts to become the 44th president of the United States at the US Capitol in Washington, 20 January 2009. It is said that Obama had a khata that had come from the Dalai Lama in his pocket during the swearing in.File photo/AP/Jae C. Hong/US

The web is buzzing with the story that President Barack Obama had a Khata (a ceremonial silk scarf) in his pocket that had come from the Dalai Lama during the swearing in ceremony on 20 January.

The story originated from an email allegedly sent by Richard Blum, the financier husband of California Senator Dianne Feinstein, to the Dalai Lama’s envoy Lodi Gyari.

Richard Blum lives in San Francisco and is a Special Envoy to Nepal. He has been a Tibet supporter for many years. Richard was up on the platform during the swearing in ceremony of Barack Obama and had a role as escort for the First Lady.

His wife is California Senator Dianne Feinstein, who introduced Barack Obama at the inauguration. She is also a longtime supporter of Tibet.

Before the inauguration, Blum told Obama that he had with him a khata given to him by the Dalai Lama.

Blum’s alleged email to Lodi Gyari, which could not be verified, tells what happened next:

Forwarded Message From: “Richard” Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:40:46 -0800 To: Lodi Subject: The Inauguration

“Dear Lodi:

I hear that during the ceremony you were on the phone to Kathmandu; presumably to Norbu. You will be delighted to know that I had a Khata at my house that His Holiness had given me. I offered it to President Obama before the ceremony. I said that I could get it delivered to him later. He said, no, that he was going to take it and have it with him; in fact, it was in his pocket when he was sworn-in. Please let His Holiness know.

I’ll talk to you soon.

Best personal regards.”

Copyright © 2009 Tibet Sun

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