Gordon Brown’s Churchill Slave Gift To Obama And Bush’s Booty: Update

GORDON Brown’s in Washington to instruct Barack Obama in the ways of the prudent world, featuring key modules in spotting good debt from bad debt, blaming the bankers and anything else before Mr Obama has to leave to attend to important matter like his office air conditioning.

Benedict Brogan is off, too:

Lots of attention is being paid to what the PM will give Barack Obama, ever since he sent the bust of Churchill back to the British embassy. He’s getting a hamper of gifts, in the hope that something will be worth putting on display in the Oval Office. To go with the Resolute desk there’s a pencil holder made of timber from HMS Gannet, along with the framed commission of HMS Resolute which the First Sea Lord found kicking around the Admiralty. No10 says Gannet and Resolute were sister ships. Gannet served briefly in the Med on anti-slavery patrol. But I wonder what Mr Obama will make of the fact that the only action it saw was in Sudan when it shelled rebels against the British empire.

Anything else? Gordon got Bush a 4.4 pound box of Charbonnel et Walker chocolates green, a beige and
red plaid lambswool blanket and a copy of ‘‘Churchill: The Unexpected Hero”.

He’s also getting Sir Martin Gilbert’s seven volume biography of Churchill, which will help him find out more about how the Mau-Mau were successfully suppressed in Kenya by the British Emp… Oh, I’m sure it will be fine.

Churchill. In Kenya.

Iowahawk On The Chicago Village Obama Left Behind

Acceptance:

Non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and U.S. Government.

Over:

John Major was plainly making a point about British sport and weather when he presented President Clinton with a Surrey County Cricket Club cap and three umbrellas. They were never seen again.

Says Gordon:

“You cannot but be impressed by his demeanour, his determination, not just his fluency but his sympathy for the causes he represents. The impression he has given of America to the world is transformative, because he is a black man who has won the presidency, who is living in the White House that was built by slaves.”

Gifts sent to President George Bush:

* Pair of opossum leather gloves, black Icebreaker merino wool peacoat from Helen Clark, New Zealand’s prime minister.

* Afghan pantsuit from President Hamid Karzai?

* “Elastic sided” boots complete with shoeshine kit and a gift basket with mixed fruit, a bottle of Springleaf
iced tea, and a bottle of Desert Pearls Non-Alcoholic Cabernet from John Howard, Australia PM.

* Baccarat crystal bowl from French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

* Silver and gold Tibetan butter lamp from the Dalai Lama.

* Electric harp and speakerphone from the president of Vietnam.

* Gold replica of the Temple of Heaven accented with multicolored Swarovski crystals with 5 figurines of the 2008 Olympic Mascots; held in brown leather box with leather portfolio holding certificates of authenticity from His Excellency Yang Jiechi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.

* ‘‘Stayed Tuned,’’ by Joe Garner and “‘1,001 Reasons to Love America,’’
by Hubert Pedroli and Mary Tiegreen, ‘‘Jazz for Quiet Moments,’ , from His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.

* Antique silver pistol embellished with silver filigree from The Honorable Ismet Mavriqi, Mayor of Fushe-Kruje, Albania.

* Black wool poncho embroidered with ‘‘G.W. Bush’’ and images of intertwined American and Uruguayan flags -His Excellency Dr. Tabare´Vazquez, President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay.

What about me?

Jewels from the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Jordan given to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in 2007 totaled more than $300,000, the Associated Press reported. They include an emerald and diamond set of bracelet, earrings, and necklace worth an estimated $147,000 from King Abdullah II of Jordan. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah gave her a similar set, but of rubies and diamonds, AP said.

Other gifts to Obama:

The First Family was selected to receive Psalm 23 Jewelry ( www.Psalm23Jewelry.com ) to commemorate their beginnings of a new presidency. It is a long established custom throughout the world to offer a prayer for the welfare of a new government and celebrate with gifts of hope. “During these times of both great opportunity and uncertainty, we pray that President Obama be granted great wisdom and seek God as he leads our nation,” stated Laura Krer, President of The Psalm 23 Jewelry Collection.

President Obama kicked off his first Valentine’s Day weekend in the White House by ordering a special cake for his wife Michelle. “Ten days before Valentine’s Day… the first husband placed his order for the Triple Chocolate Enrobed Brownie Cake from Bake Me a Wish,” People reports.

Mayor Toshio Murakami said Tuesday he received a letter the day before, in response to a letter, DVD and lacquer-ware chopsticks he had sent to Obama. In the letter Obama said the following: “I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the city of Obama for your support and encouragement and thank you for your thoughtful gift…We share more than a common name…We share a common planet and common responsibility. I look forward to a future marked by the continued friendship of our two great nations and shared commitment to a better, freer world.”

Gordon, of course, brings the gift of prudence…

Update: