Anglo-American Gift Wars 2: The Return Visit

Remember the kerfuffle last month when Gordon Brown's highly symbolic, thoughtful gifts to the Obama family were reciprocated with 25 lousy DVDs? And how it turned out that those DVDs were most likely DRMed and therefore unwatchable in the UK? Well the Obamas decided to go one better on their return trip and offered up an iPod. To the Queen. Who, it turns out, already had one anyway.

Now I don't want to cast aspersions about the President of the United States, but according to this article the iPod contains video of the Queen's visit to Washington and Virginia, and the last time I checked (ie just a minute ago) the iTunes Store didn't sell videos of Royal visits. Which means that tech-savvy Obama must have put those videos on there himself- and this, while it doesn't rank up there with, say, invading another nation under false pretences, is possibly illegal.

I won't rail against the insanity of repressive copyright laws in our digital world here but I will say this- when even POTUS and the Queen are at it, everyone's a copyright criminal. Someone call the police- they're all still down at the Bank of England I think.

Enduring America: Lost in Cornwall?

I will be hiding out in Cornwall --- I could tell you why but I would have to shoot you afterwards --- until Monday. Mike Dunn will be minding the shop, with follow-ups such as Great Gifts in the Special Relationship and the first appearance of EA's Steve Hewitt in The Guardian's Comment is Free.

Stephen Colbert: Why Glenn Beck Should Lead Our Revolution

You might think that Glenn Beck, shouting and crying his way to prominence on Fox "News" in the US, is a headcase. You might be laughing at his Comrade Update, which we noted last month. You might consider him crass for claims that Obama liberalism was responsible for the recent mass shooting in Alabama. You might conclude that, with his warnings of the Obama Apocalypse and call for a citizens' revolution, he is a ranting demagogue.

You are wrong. Very, very wrong. Stephen Colbert explains why:

Engagement Dance: The US-Iran Meeting on Afghanistan

Perhaps the most naive summary of the exchange between American and Iranian officials at The Hague conference on Afghanistan came in the opening sentence of The New York Times account: "It was brief, it was unscheduled and it was not substantive."

Anyone with a shred of diplomatic experience or perception would recognise that the "encounter" between Richard Holbrooke, the US envoy on Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mehdi Akhondzadeh (pictured) was far from accidential. The choreography behind the meeting would have done Twyla Tharp proud.

Because the Iranians had held back from sending their Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had to maintain, "I myself did not have any direct contact with the Iranian delegation.” Because of domestic politics in both countries and because neither side wants to be see as approaching the other cap-in-hand, the Iranians officially denied these were "talks" and Clinton insisted, "“It was cordial, unplanned and they agreed to stay in touch." And to cover the Obama Administration's claim that any engagement will cover concerns over human rights, Clinton added that a letter setting out US concerns over Iran's detention of Roxana Saberi and student Esha Momeni and the fate of the missing Robert Levinson.

To get behind the dance, you only have to note the public Iranian position: "Iran pledges Afghan help in new gesture to U.S." Akhondzadeh told the conference that Tehran was ready to help fight Afghanistan's opium trade and to assist in reconstruction.

That is an opening position for "engagement" which is Spockian logical. The flow of drugs across the border has caused major social problems in Iran, and reconstruction of areas in western Afghanistan offers the prospect of financial benefit and enhanced Afghan-Iranian trade.

At the same time, Iran's position set outs to the US that it wants to move on specific issues rather than discuss the general American position, especially on the military side. Leave aside the obvious that the domestic audience in Tehran would be resistant to any Iranian support of the expansion of the American force. The experience of the US occupation in Iraq is enough to ensure both that Iran will want no association with a military intervention which can turn sour and that it will take advantage of any political vacuum/turmoil that results.

No, Mr New York Times. This was carefully scripted and it was very substantive. The silver lining of the past and possibly future debacle in Afghanistan is likely to be a US-Iranian rapprochement. If that is to occur, however, it will face a specific and limited Tehran agenda vs. the general ambitions of Washington in its "re-development" of Afghanistan and Central Asia.

UPDATE: Miss Universe Disappears in Guantanamo Bay!

Or rather her blog has....

We revealed yesterday that Miss Universe 2008, Dayana Mendoza, had written a loving blog about her visit to Guantanamo Bay: "I didn’t want to leave, it was such a relaxing place, so calm and beautiful." After we posted, other media such as the New York Times and Fox News picked up on the story.

Surprisingly, given the eloquence of Mendoza's observations, "We also met the Military dogs, and they did a very nice demonstration of their skills....We visited the Detainees camps and we saw the jails, where they shower, how the recreate themselves with movies, classes of art, books," the Miss Universe organization has become very shy about the episode.

The blog is gone, replaced with that statement from "Paula M. Shugart, President of the Miss Universe Organization":

The Miss Universe Organization has had a longstanding relationship with the USO (United Service Organizations). All three titleholders (Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA) have participated in many USO goodwill tours to visit the men and women in uniform who serve our country around the world.

As part of the USO’s entertainment program, which boosts the morale of U.S. troops, they have traveled to many locations and many bases around the globe including Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan, Korea and most recently, Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, where the U.S. has maintained a naval base since 1898.

Dayana Mendoza’s comments on her blog were in reference to the hospitality she received while meeting the members of the U.S. military and their families who are stationed in Guantánamo.

The Miss Universe Organization echoes the mission of the USO, which is to lift the spirits of U.S.troops and their families wherever they serve. We will continue to show our appreciation and express our gratitude to the military personnel who serve our nation.

Unfortunately, Shugart offers no insight into the reaction of Guantanamo's recreating detainees to their entertainment by Mendoza.