Our friends hate us too...thanks Barry!

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-12-2009
Our friends hate us too...thanks Barry!
452
Mon, 03-09-2009 - 6:05pm

London aghast at President Obama over gifts given to Prime Minister Brown

BY David Saltonstall
Daily News Senior Correspondent

Updated Saturday, March 7th 2009, 2:03 AM

You'd think President Obama had booted the Brits out of America — again!

London newspapers are howling over a string of alleged snubs by Obama to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown during his visit to Washington last week — including a squabble over presidential gift-giving.

"President Obama has been rudeness personified towards Britain," sniffed The Daily Telegraph Friday. "His handling of the visit of the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, to Washington was appalling."

The list of complaints is longer than the Magna Carta: Obama canceled a planned, podium-to-podium news conference with Brown (actually, none was ever scheduled); he recently removed a bust of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill from the Oval Office; and he gave gifts to the Brown family that were "about as exciting as a pair of socks," one Fleet Street wag whined.

That last bit might be true. After Brown presented Obama with a pen holder crafted from the timbers of the 19th century British warship HMS President (whose sister ship, HMS Resolute, provided the wood for the Oval Office's desk), Obama offered up ... 25 DVDs of American movie classics.

"Oh, give me strength," wrote one appalled Daily Telegraph staffer. "We do have television and DVD stores on this side of the Atlantic."

Never mind that Brown is blind in one eye and may have a hard time seeing the stars in "2001: A Space Odyssey," or that American DVDs are usually incompatible with British players.

Equally insulting, decided the Times of London, was Michelle Obama's "solipsistic" and "inherently dismissive" gifts to the Browns' two little boys, Fraser and John.

The offending souvenirs? Toy models of Marine One, the President's helicopter — gifts no doubt plucked from the White House gift shop at the last minute, The Times decided.

Brown's wife, Sarah, by contrast arrived with dresses for Sasha and Malia from the UK's trendy Top Shop (with matching necklaces) and a selection of books by British authors.

"A bit of thought had clearly gone into choosing them," crowed The Daily Mail. "Lovely."

The Brits have blown up the alleged snubs into new evidence that the "special relationship" between the two nations is no longer quite so special.

The hand-wringing began last month when Obama removed a bust of Churchill from the Oval Office and replaced it with his hero, Abraham Lincoln.

The Times of London immediately traced Obama's "disdain" for Churchill to Kenya, where Obama's grandfather was caught up in the Churchill-led suppression of the 1950s Mau Mau Rebellion that left thousands of Kenyans dead.

"It's not surprising that Mr. Obama didn't want Churchill looking over his shoulder," explained one correspondent.

At this point, the two sides seem to be in full repair mode. The White House let it be known that Obama and Brown shared a chummy phone call as the prime minister was headed home.

And Friday, it was revealed that Obama would be granted a private audience with Queen Elizabeth when he is in London next month.

Quipped one reader of The Sun, "I hope Her Majesty likes DVDs."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/03/06/2009-03-06_london_aghast_at_president_obama_over_gi.html

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-04-2009
Tue, 03-17-2009 - 2:06pm
You brought up sovereignty, and US warplanes were in Iraq's airspace.

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-09-2008
Tue, 03-17-2009 - 2:07pm

I'm a little bit confused, sorry.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2009
Tue, 03-17-2009 - 2:11pm

Were the planes sent to try to uphold the resolution?

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2009
Tue, 03-17-2009 - 2:14pm

If a military aircraft were in US airspace without US permission, would you shooting it down be an attack on their country's sovereignty?

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-09-2008
Tue, 03-17-2009 - 2:15pm
So would bombing the beejeezus out of Iraq
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-05-2008
Tue, 03-17-2009 - 2:17pm

<>


You have got to be kidding me!

 

 

Guild Member since 2009

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-09-2008
Tue, 03-17-2009 - 2:18pm

You brought up sovereignty, and US warplanes were in Iraq's airspace.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-18-2009
Tue, 03-17-2009 - 2:23pm
Yes.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-09-2008
Tue, 03-17-2009 - 2:25pm

You have got to be kidding me!

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-04-2009
Tue, 03-17-2009 - 2:37pm
So why did you bring up US sovereignty?

 

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