Coasters

And the joke goes on...

The movie industry's digital protection schemes have turned President Obama's present for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown into little more than a set of coasters.

British newspapers earlier this month made hay out of the supposedly unequal exchange of gifts between the two leaders during Brown's visit to Washington. Brown gave an ornamental pen holder with an indirect tie to the Oval Office desk — both items were made from the timber of sister ships — and a first-edition set of a seven-volume biography about Winston Churchill.

Obama responded with a DVD set featuring 25 classic American movies. "About as exciting as a pair of socks," declared The Daily Mail.

Now it turns out Brown can't play the discs because of region-specific limitations, The Daily Telegraph reports.

DVD players are coded to limit themselves to material meant for specific geographic areas. The United States and Canada are Region 1. Western and Central Europe are Region 2.

Recently uncovered evidence suggests The Obamessiah may have some British ancestry.

I'm so glad we now have a cool, techy, smart President. This is so much better than Bush...

Perhaps The Anointed One should stick to the things he knows; gifting Brown with a teleprompter would have been better for all concerned.

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(Hat-tip to Jeff W.)