God Save the Queen? It must be the All-Star Game

I guess I wasn't too surprised to see Major League Baseball observe a moment of silence for the dead in the London bombings in Detroit last night, just before the All-Star Game started. And an electronic version of the Union Jack was displayed for all to see. But I was rather surprised to hear a band play "God Save the Queen" while everyone was standing. And the concurrent flyover by a stealth bomber was, I suppose, to remind any Brits watching just where their loyalties should lie. USA Today, true to form, describes the scene as part of the best pregame moment, i.e.,: "Flyover by a single B-2 stealth bomber, pretty quiet and very cool. The British anthem God Save the Queen in tribute to the victims of last week's terrorist bombings in London was also a nice touch."

Somehow, seeing and hearing such obvious symbols of the British state present in an American ball park (Detroit's Comerica Park, to be precise) alongside an American space age bomber just seemed odd and out of place. It's like worlds colliding. And tell me how a stealth bomber is supposed to defeat the terrorists?

Oh, and if you didn't know: the AL won . . . again.