You mean Obama put some thought into that "gift"?

Imagine that, involving the AFI in putting together a gift to share America's "crappy," "tacky" and "tasteless" film and culture.







Edited typo.

from the star or starlet of his choice? :evilgrin:

Much ado about nothing...

"Lawrence of Arabia"? "Schindler's List"?

Don't be stupid.

I could go to Amazon.com and pick all these up. Probably for a better price than whatever the white house spent.

Would that satisfy the idiot papers in London?

lol

This would be one of the best gifts I've ever gotten.....ever!

they were collector's editions, not the bootleg versions the assholes are making them out to be.

Next time Brown will get lucky and the White House staff will throw in a collector's copy of Peter Lemonjello.

OR, if he's really extra special lucky, and the WH staff acts within the next 20 minutes, a ShamWow.

Have you appraised Brown's gift? What if he bought them in the Palace gift shop?

you are gravely mistaken.

posters said it was.

Not dissing Obama of course, but it should obviously be there among those other films.

next one:)

They all collect a bunch of junk that later goes into their "libraries" ~ zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I think it is stupid to make this a big deal, but to try and say it wasn't classless is pathetic. Either people on here refuse to criticize Obama when warranted or they have no taste, and I don't know what is worse.

taste..since you want to start talkin' trash.

Again, I haven't and won't make any threads on this issue because I think it is a stupid thing to discuss, but when some on here seem to go out of there way to defend this, it is ridiculous.

after all, what is classy vs. what is tacky as a gift to be given to a Prime Minister is apparently not written up in some etiquette rule book.

Are you one of those who also believes that Michelle Obama baring her arms at the Address to a Joint session of Congress was also "tacky"?

I know that it has been said that President Obama is an elegant man. Could this big broo-haha about nothing be a strike to knock that positive meme down?

gave to Obama to what Obama gave to Brown, there is a serious discrepancy. I will not presume to know whether any time (or how much) was put into the gift, but I would expect such a gift from teenager. Like I said above...why not a Best Buy gift card?

in your logic?

The gift Brown gave to Obama is quite literally one-of-a-kind. It was made specifically to be given to President Obama, from the timbers of a Victorian-era anti-slaver once named the HMS President, and made in the same dockyard as the famed HMS Resolute desk that sits in the Oval Office.

The gift Obama gave to Brown was a collection of DVDs that the White House has ordered as a standard gift to be given to visiting dignitaries. No particular thought was put into this particular gift. And this particular gift could have easily been acquired by Brown for himself by expensing few DVDs to his travel and entertainment allowance during the trip.

Brown gave Obama a love poem; Obama gave Brown a form letter. Saying "well it was a nice form letter" does not change things.

So it's a special gift, but not special enough?

How many dignitaries are going to be visiting the WH?

Yes. Britain and the United States have a special relationship. To put this into individual terms, Obama bought a stack of very nice Christmas cards, and signed them all the same way. Brown, his best friend in all the world, made him a beautiful pendant by hand. Obama gave him one of the Christmas cards. There is a discrepancy there.

Give me a break!

Obama and Brown are are going out shopping for these gifts personally. These people travel and are handed such gifts all the time. You're acting like they're going out doing personal shopping for a loved one's birthday or anniversary. It's a symbolic gift that stays with the institution.

"Brown, his best friend in all the world, made him a beautiful pendant by hand."

Good grief. LOL!

A comparison to a hand-made pendant does not do Brown's gift justice. It was a deeply symbolic gift. Obama's gift was symbolic of nothing but "Oh, look, another visitor, here, have the DVD gift box."

Britain and the United States have a special relationship. Obama's gift didn't reflect that. It's not ultimately important, but defending it as tasteful is ridiculous.

It simply means you're obstinate.

by claiming your opinion means it's a problem.

Has Brown expressed dissastifaction?

Look at the reception that the gift has received in Britain. Claiming that the British press is generally engaged in an anti-Obama hit job is laughable paranoia. If it were one columnist in one rag, sure, but pretty much everyone but a few desperate American Obama lovers has weighed in with, "yeah, that's lame."

Britain issued an official response? Do you suppose the world considers Fox Noise, America's official response?

If it were one outlet, the Fox News comparison would be apt. When the Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the Times, the Independent, the Guardian, and the Daily Mirror have all complained, it's hard to claim partisan bias.

Do you ever stop to think that Brown is trying hard to gain favors in Washington:



Obama gave Brown (or any leader) an appropriate gift. This is not going to change the relationship, which is changing in some respects. Brown will be lucky to survive the eelction.

It seem a lot of people are reacting to the spin instead of reality.

conspiracy, dear.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and a tacky gift is just a tacky gift.

If you're posting a story from Fox Noise that compares the AFI to Blockbuster, it's RW BS.

Note, that I didn't use the word "conspiracy"?

Sometimes bullshit is just bullshit, dear.

but who cares what Fox New's spin on it was? Were the underlying facts of the article incorrect? No, they were accurate.

1. Obama gave the prime minister a gift of 25 DVDs from the AFI
2. The British Prime Minister gave him the first edition Churchill book, a pen holder made from an old anti-slavery vessel, and some certificate thingy.

So, why can't we discuss that like adults?

Is it the end of the world? No. Will it cause lasting damage to the Anglo-American relationship? Of course not. Was it a stunning lapse of judgment on Obama's part? Yes, and because it's Obama, for whom such lapses in judgment are really rare, it's interesting piece of news for that reason alone. imo, it was a crappy gift that showed a lack of imagination and thought.

"imo, it was a crappy gift"

You had the discussion with yourself, and came to the same riduculous conclusion. Your opinion isn't a fact.

And I never said it was.

Everything President Obama does is beyond reproach.

"Everything President Obama does is beyond reproach."

Maybe having a fucking fit over a gift after the fact because in some fucking twisted logic the gifts should match some warped perception is "cinderblock wall" dumb.

Let's say you don't think the gift was on par, is it really worth raging on about?

Idiotic shit.

is you.

Most have simply and calmly noted that the gift is tacky. That's not the end of the world.

Look at how many people in this thread are outraged by what they consider a "tacky" gift. Didn't you start a thread questioning why Obama gave such a "crappy" gift?

Based on the the Fox Noise article, most people were responding as if Obama sent some down to Blockbuster at the last minute to pick up some DVDs.

In fact, he thought about it, and decided that he wanted to give that gift. That's his call. He's the one giving the gift.

"OUTRAGED!!" about the gift. People have simply said it's tacky, no more no less. I bet you couldn't find one poster who was "outraged!" by the gift.

I have seen a large number of people, including you, who are OUTRAGED! by any suggestion that a mistake was made here. And some others attempting to quash any discussion of the issue. I don't get it.

but they're also outraged that not everyone shares their opinion.

please post a link showing some poster, ANY poster, who is "outraged" by the gift. I doubt you'll be able to find even one.

This is your own straw man that you've created.

In this case, it is.

Was the framed commission of the HMS Resolute. A commission is a formal document signed by the dockmaster and the naval commander (or, occasionally, the monarch) saying that the vessel has been checked and certified as seaworthy and now enters service. Essentially, it's the ship version of a soldier's mobilisation orders.

That period of history happens to be a hobby of mine.

Thank you. I couldn't remember what exactly it was and the significance when I posted that message.

It does beg the question, has PN Brown's office issued any statement on this at all? All sources keep pointing back to the British media, but I have to see one definitive statement put out by the office of the PM (yet I'm the first to say I may have quite easily overlooked one...)

If not, it would seem all we're doing is projecting our own sense of decorum (and I imagine that particular word may feel, if not sound a bit alien to many people) onto the PM Brown.

Number 10 may have put out the pro-forma "thank you for the generous gift" response but, by long tradition, the office does not issue formal statements on this kind of thing.

Not to speak for the others but the Daily Mail (linked above) is a far-right-wing tabloid rag. Imagine Faux News in print and you get the idea.

I decided to follow Michelle's lead, and so I went and helped feed the hungry this morning.

Not sure what a gift exchange to and from a PM would have compelled me to do. :shrug:

so I can compete better. That's bull shit. Your statement is crap man.

"Social reciprocity"?

No,it's about idiotic outrage.

talking about the importance of the relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. or otherwise musing on positive attributes of the U.K., in particular, of Scotland, since PM Brown is from that land. FDR would be nice.

What BS hypocrisy.

No one has to defend it because you've got issues.

must be to you.

was to point out the BS hypocrisy and nonsensical whining about something that people evidently want to throw a hissy fit about.

FOX NOISE's headline: Obama's Blockbuster gift

Now that wasn't accurate was it?

Obama didn't give the give to the whiners, he gave it to Brown, who hasn't expressed any displeasure.

This is a BS issue being driven by BS whining.

I fail to see this as being classless. It seems like a nice gift to me and I wouldn't mind receiving it myself. But I guess I am classless.

Why not share some of our country's culture via a gift of classic American films? Hell, some of the best movies I've seen were from the foreign film section of Netflix back when I was a member..Italian, Indian, Ireland/UK, etc...and who better to turn to for help in putting together such a gift selection than AFI? In this case, Brown was given a huge collection of foriegn film classics.

sound you would have thought someone went in to Target and threw a bunch of dvd's into a shopping wagon.

n/t

"Ian, darling...if you are going to complain, you've got to get the movies/quotes right.....

"And he will hope that at a General Election the British public do not shun his imploration for another term in office by thinking at the ballot box of the famous line from another of the movies, Casblanca: 'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.'"

That was Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind. Which tells me you've never actually seen Casablanca, or GWTW, or you've had a snootful and are confusing the Civil War Deep South with WWII Morocco.

You won't be a contender, you aren't ready for your closeup, and maybe you want to consider plastics rather than journalism."

The Mail is a far-right tabloid rag, Faux News in print.

which was hardly a surprise; it was in the news a week or so before Brown arrived.

it's the thought that counts.

That is not to say that no thought was put into the assembly of the collection, but rather that no thought particular to Brown was. Obama did not special-order these DVDs for Gordon Brown, intending for those DVDs to have personal meaning regarding Obama, Brown, or the relationship between the United States and Great Britain. He ordered that set, most likely in bulk, to give to any dignitaries he might receive.

to complain about a gift..it's discourteous.

It is tacky to complain about a gift; it is expected that third parties will scoff at the tackiness of others. Me, I'd rather Obama's administration put a bit more thought in not coming off boorish than Bush's did.

has to appreciative the thoughtfulness and the beauty of film the way I do.

The collection may be thoughtful, in that some staffers put much work into collecting them. The gift was not thoughtful, in that absolutely no thought whatsoever was put into selecting it for Mr. Brown in particular.

know?

Obama had no input even though his favorites were among the set. Someone had to ask him don't you think? Or maybe they're also telepathic.

:rofl:

knew:rofl:

I said that it was not special-made for Brown. Which is rather likely, since it has nothing to do with Brown or Britain, since Brown does not particularly like movies, since it was commissioned over a month ago, and since that is the type of mass-produced, all-purposes gift that is included in swag bags and handed to visitors. It simply does not compare to the unique, priceless gift Brown gave Obama.

His staff fucked up and embarrassed their boss and they need to be dressed down not propped up, unless you want to hear this all over again the next time they give a cheap and inappropriate gift to a head of state in exchange for something that a lot of effort and thought was given.

justify a BS hissy fit. Think Britain or Russia will invade?

Over the coals for, for days, and was totally avoidable.

Someone should be fired, ffs, Obama is a little too busy to be thinking up great gifts.

Fortunately it was given to our strongest ally and will be forgotten.

I don't want it to happen again, for gods sake, why give them ammo over something so stupid.

Anyone who says a bunch of DVD's is a fair and honorable gift compared to Brown's is full of shit.

is automatically full of shit.

That sounds an awful lot like the charge Repubs make against the Arts and science: A bunch of crap.

It's like conflating a gift of a coffee-table book of paintings with a gift of an original Renoir.

Is that code for Blockbuster?

Doesn't mean that would be an appropriate gift if Obama were to show up to France and give Sarkozy a pen holder custom made from some scraps from the renovation of the Statue of Liberty.

a coffee table book in a gift shop to a DVD collection from the AFI?

I can see now why the RW nonsense ("Obama's Blockbuster Gift") has gotten to you.

And yes, a coffee table FROM THE LOUVRE has all the presidential/diplomatic class of a DVD set FROM THE AFI.

Doesn't matter that the DVDs came from the AFI.

A polyester suit from the Wal-Mart in ORANGE COUNTY!! ORANGE GODDAMNED COUNTY FER FUCK'S SAKE!!!! is still a polyester suit, no matter how otherwise haute couture its provenance.

You seem to believe that all people value all thing the same way. Get over it. The gift was given to Brown, who hasn't said peep!

The stupid analogies---trinket, etc.---are simply to justify the nonsensical logic of the outraged.

Your posts are hilarious!

"No, the gift of 25 DVDs is NOT silly in comparison to a custom-made pen from the wood of an anti-slavery ship of the 1800s given to the first black president of the United States!"

Jesus Christ.

I'd love to see you twist and turn when you're defending something that's actually defensible.

The truth is, the gift of the DVDs was fucking tacky. Why can't you see that? Are you so clouded with Obama-worship that you can't see truth?

Fucking hell.

It's totally as someone else said above - Obama gave him a generic Christmas card, and Brown gave him a hand-made trinket with deep personal meaning and symbolism.

Or as someone said below, it'd be like Sarkozy giving Obama a book of pictures of French paintings and Obama giving him a saucier made from scrap copper from the Statue of Liberty renovation.

Precious.



Because to see it one has to actually pretend that gift giving is about comparisons, and the determination for "tacky" is RW reaction to the gift.

Only an ass thinks this has any relevance.

I never said it has relevance - I doubt Brown really cares one way or another, as I'm sure he's gracious enough to never say anything about it.

I don't think it will affect diplomacy at all.

I also said that gift giving is not about comparisons.



It's just a simple truth that it's a fucking thoughtless, tacky gift. It shows a lack of imagination, it shows a lack of understanding who Brown and the UK are, and it shows a lack of consideration for the country from which the gift is coming.

But I suppose you're too wound up about something "not relevant" to ever see the truth of this.

I mean really, god help us if the shit really hits the fan over something substantial if people can't admit this was a faux pas.

your hissy fit isn't impressing anyone. Seriously, you seem really hot under the collar because people don't agree with you about the gift.

Just shaking my head.

I never said it has relevance - I doubt Brown really cares one way or another, as I'm sure he's gracious enough to never say anything about it.

I don't think it will affect diplomacy at all.

I also never said that gift giving is about comparisons.



It's just a simple truth that it's a fucking thoughtless, tacky gift. It shows a lack of imagination, it shows a lack of understanding who Brown and the UK are, and it shows a lack of consideration for the country from which the gift is coming.

But I suppose you're too wound up about something "not relevant" to ever see the truth of this.

made that point by highlighting comparisons?





Maybe you're the one who doesn't understand?

Good, grief, the Guardian knows from tacky. It plays into the hands of the Torys and for heaven's sake. We just got rid of Bush and now we're helping Bush's friends in the UK get rid of a new Labor PM?

You are correct that this is not just about Brown, but about the UK. Loyal, long-standing friends who are not afraid to give good advice are a treasure in this world. Form is more important over there. You have to take that into account. Someone needs to get the protocol office in line.

because RW assholes latch on?

So if Obama had given some other gift, in your opinion, the RW would not have made an issue of it? The cost, the arrogance, anythingg?

Using the RW as a gauge of what went wrong is not my bag.

Jesus Christ, I'm not attacking his policies it's a protocol fuck up that isn't even his job, it's a staff fuckup.

God help you if his real policies don't work out and people criticize them.

it's still nonsense. Evidently, you don't know shit about protocol.

...Amateur Hour at the State Dept apparently..

Really, maybe from your cousin on Christmas, this is a head of state that went above and beyond with his gift and got a fucking tie, jesus, can't people admit even the most minor of mistakes here?

I think its a cool "american gift"

of the gift thinks, PM Brown?

Now that the rwingrags have had their say.

the gift didn't seem all that thoughtful to him.

Or maybe it is a generational thing. The whole gift exchanging thing is really kind of silly IMO. And yes, maybe someone should have put a little more thought into it, but in the grand scheme of things I find it really hard to care.

good gift.

He chose it because of its history.

The pen holder has the same history and goes with it.

The report I read was that Obama was thrilled.

This is diplomacy. European diplomacy with our best friends over there. Form and symbolism count whether we like it or not.

And the gift was probably noted by the diplomatic corps everywhere, our friends and our foes alike, as well as the U.K.'s. It could be considered as a real signal whether it was intended or not.

but looking up info I ran across this and decided we could all use a laugh:



http://trooperyork.blogspot.com/2009/03/gifts-from-white-house.html

Satire, but fun. :rofl: George and Martha...

those weren't really the gifts from George Washington to King George?

Or maybe Washington gave him Mel Gibson's great-great-whatever grandfather--the king regifted to Australia, and in revenge Gibson became The Patriot.

Or maybe I just had waaaaay too much caffine.:P

It's not the end of the world.

It's not the end of the administration.

But it is a weak, tacky gift, especially in comparison to Brown's/UK's gift to Obama/US.

Sheesh, why not just call it what it is and move on...

:shrug:

tacky.

because the old one is acting up.

The gift was pathetic as well as tacky. It's like something you order from an ad while watching late night tv.

BUY THE 100 BEST AMERICAN MOVIE COLLECTION.

ACT NOW AND YOU GET A FREE DVD OF AMERICA'S BEST WESTERNS.

AS A SPECIAL BONUS THE FIRST 100 CALLERS GETS A FREE GINSU KNIFE.

:puke:

so thought we'd give 'em to you."

because they were shit compared to the steaks I got at the local butchers, for half the price.

They were seriously, seriously not worth the money.

They were dry. The local grocer had better steaks.

had given PM Brown some of those Obama commemorative coins that they're hawking day and night on TV now!



:rofl:

That's a strong reaction to your opinion since you have no idea about the actually details surrounding the gift. Do you know if they were a special collector's or limited edition?

So Brown and Obama are sweethearts?



Edited for clarity.

You're like a drunk targh taking his O levels, except instead of bring a pencil, you climbed into a box.

and have the nerve to compare someone to a drunk?

:rofl:

and understand the flow of a point of argument. Easily sidetracked by metaphor and analogy, you get stuck in the mire of symbolism and obsess on literal interpretation of minutiae, and thus lose entirely the point of the conversation.

I'm curious what's in your library. Must be difficult to read novels.

and make the giver feel bad..besides I think the gift is awesome and I hope PM Brown likes it, too..even if the rwrags don't.

:spray:

IT was indeed. If Bush had done the same everyone here would be howling at just how inappropriate and tacky it was. The hypocrisy bothers me a little, but at this point I'm kinda getting used to seeing it in this forum. ;-)

The Obama administration just needs to find a skilled personal shopper and leave that stuff to them. They've got more important issues to deal with.

American culture are uninformed, if not willfully ignorant.

Many of the films that I recognize on the list are seminal works of U.S. filmography.

Ohama steaks!

you, Bread and Circus.

I appreciate it that the Obamas recognize this.

People here really need to educate themselves. These are some of the finest films ever made.

Are readily available in damned near every country in the world.

great movies.
So? Would you have been equally okay with it if President Obama had given, say, something associated with D-Day, and he had received DVD's of British films (which I happen to think have often been superior to ours)?

because I'm a filmschool student... but I really don't appreciate all this elitism when it comes to motion pictures. Film is a unique American art form... we have claim to motion pictures in a way that no other country does... yes, you have simultaneous evolution of the motion picture camera in several countries around the end of the nineteenth century, but America defined the language of film and editing, particularly with the works of Porter and Griffith in the early twentieth century. Our motion picture industry remains the most powerful and influential in the world. "Citizen Kane" is the American equivalent of the Sistine Ceiling. Obama's gift is a gift of American art and culture (granted, it's a mass produced culture, but nevertheless, I'm offended that you're offended that Obama gave as a gift some of the greatest pieces of American artwork ever created).

Phew. Sorry about that. A button was pushed, triggering my rant response. I'll go back to ghosting now.

I would have loved to get that gift. Initially I thought it was some DVD box set bought at best buy with some John Wayne movies or something. But that really is a nice gift.

As a former filmschool student myself and before that an acting student I couldn't agree more. Hollywood film is uniquely American, and I am sure the thought that went into this gift had that in mind. Obama is no dummy, but I think some of the kneejerk reactions by some of our more vocal critics of this at DU might be.

have loved film for over 50 years and think of it as art, therapy, and an education.

Thanks for your input, BarackTheVote.

But even though I would have loved the gift, I think it's kind of low class to be complaining about somebody giving you ANYTHING! WTF!! With all the people trying to hang on to their life and limbs here and in UK we are worried if visiting rich people get an expensive enough hand out....fuck that, who cares. Besides GWB didn't leave us any brown nosing cash before he plunged us into bankruptcy!

And computer games are in the process of overtaking movies in that respect. If they haven't already.

specifically for PM Brown touching on themes important to him and the relationship between the UK and the US, as a one of a kind set, in suitable, one of a kind presentation, with a letter from the President and First Lady explaining why they (their staff of course) chose those films on this occasion, preferably hand-written, I would agree with you.

This collection is great and I'd love to own it. I agree with you that our film heritage is a tremendous cultural treasure. But this collection is a generic White House gift and would be given to the vice-agricultural minister from Thailand among hundreds or thousands of others.

This was not a personal gift to PM Brown and the people of the U.K., our best friends in the world for a long time.

The pen holder, by its history, is just such a gift. In my estimation, whoever came up with that gift should be knighted.

I assume that the President and First Lady will have a similarly breath-taking gift in hand when they make their first state visit to the UK.

I'd like it more than the pen. Can't use the pen. It'll just sit there collecting dust and I have enough dust collectors as it is. Now the movies, I can watch and appreciate over and over.

I will agree that the helicopters were questionable when considering the fact that Mrs. Brown bought outfits.

would be very happy with helicopter replicas and not "outfits".

As someone wrote and it makes sense ..that it's better ettiquette for the vistor to give a more sumptious gift.

I'm sure this isn't over if Gordon Brown's family was offended in any way by the gifts from the Obamas.

Heck, I'm female and I probably would have preferred the helicopter over the clothes when I was little. LOL I loved the little matchbox cars and that sort of thing. Oh I had my Barbies, but the cars and train sets were just as much fun. Would have loved a helicopter to go with them.

Do we even know or sure that the Brown family was offended to begin with or is this all just the media trying to make a story?

Gordon Brown on this yet..but, I'm thinking after all the brouhaha from those who aren't involved that when I come home from work tomorrow..we should have heard from the Prime Minister of England. I hope so.

Yeah, hopefully he puts something out because this really is a non-story and it's just getting silly at this point.

and the top members of his cabinet who will be trying to decide if the slight was meaningful.

The more you and others try to defend it- the lamer you (and Obama's staff) look.

Spin, spin, spin!

Dizzy yet?

lengths to tear it down.

that because you don't like the gift, everyone else, including official Britain, should be offended.

Just because a bunch of people decided to jump on a report mischaracterizing the gift before they even knew the facts doesn't mean the facts are defense. They're just the facts: Obama decide to give a gift of DVDs. End of subject.

:bounce:

For being clueless and another example of why foreign countries have contempt for the U.S. But if Obama does it then it is considered a great gift. It was tacky and someone in State should lose their job.

you would likely not be hyperventilating about Bush giving a gift.

Lame!

"State should lose their job."

Idiotic.

The blown translation is bad enough, but the lack of Cyrillic letters is a cultural slap in the face.

"Hi, we're idiots with no sense of humor who think this "reset" thing is funny, and our alphabet is the really important one."

I don't understand the DVD flap, but this was embarrassing. Then Hillary took Lavrov's explanation wrong and made a stupid joke when the remark was actually as non-applicable as it was unfunny, and to make matters worse she defended the mistake by saying that both sides have an "overload" of work.

I've got a lot of friends in Russia and they all said the same thing: Hillary came off like an ignorant and arrogant fool who couldn't admit a simple mistake. Lavrov was a real sport in letting her off the hook; he could have made her look like an ass and she would have deserved it.

A good personal shopper isn't that hard to find in DC, and I'm sure that one would VOLUNTEER their services if asked just to have "White House personal shopper" on their resume. Employ one and forget about it. Obama has got more important things to worry about and silly distractions from tacky diplomatic gifts aren't needed.

congrats on the title.

edited for spelling

Well it shows he did actually think of the gift. Most said he didn't. Well look at that nonsense.

They simply took the top 25 of the AFI's top 100 movies of all time list.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0760906.html

:sarcasm:

What the hell has happened to this forum? I log on this morning and the majority of posts are about movies. MOVIES!!!! Get a grip, people. This is not important. Maybe it was a wonderful gift, maybe it was a shitty gift. Why do we care? A whole lot of people would love that pile of movies to hock on ebay to buy groceries. UNIMPORTANT!!!

It sounds like bad advice was given to Obama.

There is so much on the President's plate that this seems minor.

I don't.

but I have to agree with the people who thought this wasn't the appropriate gift. It's not like Brown doesn't know our movies/culture, and it's not the typical gift between heads of state - however, I can just move on to the more serious stuff.

and recognize the contribution American film has made to our Culture here in this country and to the world.

No, word yet on how the Browns like their gifts but Obama was very appreciative of PM Brown's gifts.

I don't think Brown should make a big deal about it even if he doesn't like it - that would be worse protocol IMO. :hi:

a DVD player that will work with our DVD's. The one's in Europe won't play NTSC.

:)

Of the films listed I have:
1) Citizen Kane
3) Casablanca (truly THIS should be #1)
6) Gone With the Wind
7) Lawrence of Arabia
10) The Wizard of Oz
13) Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
15) 2001: A Space Odyssey
20) It's a Wonderful Life
23) The Grapes of Wrath

Missing from this top 25 list IMHO are:

1) Saving Private Ryan
2) The Great Escape
3) Close Encounters of the Third Kind
4) Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
5) Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
6) Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark
7) A Bridge Too Far
8) Patton
9) Apocalypse Now
10) Forrest Gump
11) Gods and Generals
12) Gandhi
13) Jaws
14) A Few Good Men
15) Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
16) 1776


:)