I'MMA LET YOU FINISH
"accidental shooting of a protester"?
Great, now we're planning to turn our only ally's biggest city into Baghdad. What the hell is going on here?
Why does Britain hate America?
"shipping in of battlefield weaponry to use against rioters"
So we can assume that this is part of a contingency plan for domestic protests. Sounds like a freeper wet dream.
chicken-hawks and chicken-shit...
Somebody find out if they're still demanding they guarantee that Bush will get applause.
wow . . .
He didn't demand to sit in the Queen's throne, too?
Actually, I'm wish Bush on this one, I hate going anywhere without my minigun.
err, 'with'
Holy leaping shit...
The fact that Shrub would even think he'd need such measures, much less DEMAND them, gives me the screaming heebie-jeebies. Reckon it's sunk in yet that perhaps maybe he laid the tough-talking cowboy bullshit on a little too thick and that maybe, just maybe, had the whole Iraq thing been played out with with a bit more diplomacy, such meausres wouldn't be "neccessary"?
Nah...what am I thinking? God told him to bomb the living crap out of them Aye-rackies, after all.
Shutting down the tube? It's not going to be chaos, it's going to be beyond chaos.
Seriously there are people going to work. People need the moola! Visitors who are unfortunate to come at the time the prez is there will be stuck in their hotel rooms.
Really I've stayed at Gloucester Road's Holiday Inn and it's quite lovely but not to par as Central London the West End, including Baker Street where you can protest a wax George W. Bush at Madame Tussaud's.
I spit in his face. Ha. I mean I spit in the wax George W. Bush... It felt good
Well, it would be fun to get the cowbowy behind closed doors for some "honest debate." I wouldn't even talk to the press about it afterwards. I wouldn't even comment any pretzel stories that came out.
Well, a guy can dream. Can't he?
You mean the Bush Administration actually went so far as to demand that protesters be rounded up and (accidentally) shot?
And the country isn't even governed by him.
Hey it makes you wonder if 'accidental shooting of *a* protestor' is even possible with a minigun.
Hmmm...I don't think that anything can be more appropriatly named than, "The sterile zone" when it comes to talking about Bush.
Mike:
Come on, 500lb bombs have been accidentally dropped over entire villages and cities, what's a protester or two?
Unbelievable. I can't even imagine what they're going to do to New York next year...and what New Yorkers are going to do to DeLay's boat in the harbor. The protests last winter were really bad with the First Amendment Zones.
Yes, I know how ironic and awful that sounded.
Thanks for this link. Great article.
I actually blogged about other British reports on my very very very new (today) blog.
George W. Bush was probably scared of the frogs he used to blow-up when he was old enough to know better, back when his parents f**cked up his last chance by letting such behavior slide.
Get used to this sort of thing. If Bush shows up in your town during the upcoming campaign it will probably resemble something like this with anyone who even looks at him wrong being dragged off to jail for the duration of the vsit.
God only knows what kind of martial-law measures are going to be in effect in New York for the convention.
One gets the feeling it would be better named "Free OF Speech Zone."
Jesus, what an asshole. I'll bet Tony's not sleeping more soundly for this. If he gives in he's done for. Britans might stand for a lot but not this. He might as well kiss Bush's ass in public.
Yes, what will they demand from New York next year?
Is Bush visiting or invading? Seriously, how many dignitaries demand that they be allowed to bring in artilary? Thinks he's fucking Teddy Rosevelt on Safari...
And still my wife doesn't get why I want to move to Canada so badly...
Yes, these British security measures forebode similar fun and games for the repub convention.
Snipers on the rooftops? Teargas-laden groundsmen?
If I were Bloomberg, I'd be rethinking this.
I used to live in London. Tube lines get shut down all the time, although it is usually mechanical/repair orientied. They are also quite used to transit strikes.
No minigun? I guess Arnold will pout and refuse to come, then....
And still my wife doesn't get why I want to move to Canada so badly...
Keith
When I talked about it years ago my brother teased me about wanting a mountie, you don't seem to have that problem.
Bear in mind that they have raised the security threat to the next to highest level, and are PRETENDING that there's some urgent Al Qaeda threat that they're responding to. Complete bullshit, of course.
That minigun is scary shit.
Perhaps it's a good thing that protestors are kept a mile away. That minigun is probably under the control of Karl, and he might not be able to resist the temptation to liquefy a few hundred Dems.
I kinda thought the Brits had more sense. But I used to think we did too.
When Bush blew into our small western city a few months ago, you literally could not get to within one mile of his route. The only time you might get a glimpse of him was immediately after landing, but then they used decoy planes and doubles, as well. And this was all for a photo op to show how in touch he was with the concerns of the region.
About 100 handpicked locals, including some local press and Republican politicians were allowed in his presence.
What I did not realise until the last few days was that even Reagan was not given such an important visit, and that was when Thatcher was the the PM. ( Ronnie and Maggie were almost an item)
This whole thing is starting to blow up in Blair's face here. People are getting pissed off, big time.
There is supposed to be a giant model of Bush, that is going to be toppled in Trafalgar square. But I doubt they will be allowed to get anywhere near there now. And a giant 15 feet high model of Bush is not something they can hide easily!
If anyone gets killed by American forces, my bet is that will be the end of Blair.
Shooting the rose throwing Iraqis has proven so effective I guess they are going to try it on our allies as well.
The Resident would rather be surrounded by heavily armed teenagers rather than by people who speak their mind. No wonder no one reads Chimpie the newspaper....
I wouldn't mind a Mounty Uniform. They're rather snazy. And the wife might enjoy it too!
I don't even know why Bush is going to the UK. I mean who does Bush think he is? Clinton!
Bush should just stay Crawford because he can't really go anywhere as most of the world hates Bush.
If Bush listen more while he was in church, he would proably know that he is "reaping, what he sowed"--both Hate and Fear.
yeah that's why he's demanding such bu__sh__ like this business.
Hey Keith,
I worked with a guy many years back who would sometimes wear this wild looking tee-shirt printed with a bison's head and underneath was the phrase"Maintain Le Droit".
It turns out that it was from his brother who was,you guessed it ,a mountie.
He didn't demand to sit in the Queen's throne, too?
No, but he has demanded that she autograph his comic book.
There's a poll in the Independent (UK) asking: "Do you approve of George Bush's state visit next week?"
So far, it's 830 "yes," and 7759 "no" That's what I call a real close race: 10% vs. 90%. Maybe Bush will demand a recount.
There is quite a funny story from a decade ago when Poppy came here as President. He brought Junior with him. They were all at the Palace, having dinner with the Queen.
Anyway, half way through the meal junior leans over the table and says to the Queen "I am the black sheep of the family" ....."Do you have a black sheep in your family?)
By all accounts you could have heard a pin drop!!
......
... and the British are our friends ...
Um,
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE!?!?!?
Every American president up to now has been cordially, if not heartily welcomed by the people of the UK.
You have to turn the island into a fucking fortress? Do you think maybe there's a slight problem here?
I wonder what they're going to do for the GOP convention in New York.
I'm thinking of getting in there about a week beforehand, videocamera and mobile webcam in hand.
Think Kent State on 11.
If any protestors get shot, immunity or no, Blair's finished. And his replacement will immediately haul the British troops out.
And yes, Bush is going to insist on "security precautions" exactly like this next year for the New York convention. Unfortunately, I expect he'll get them. So it'll be hard to get any protests off. But hopefully, the news video of tanks, attack copters, and artillery on the streets of New York will give on-the-fence voters a glimpse into the future Bush, his cronies, and his freedom-hating worshippers want for America...
The White House initially demanded the closure of all Tube lines under parts of London to be visited during the trip. But British officials dismissed the idea that a suicide bomber could kill the President by blowing up a Tube train.
Geez! Don't these guys know how far underground (and the tubes in Britain are called the Underground) for a reason: they're over 100 feet down.
You'd have as much luck blowing up the sewers (which are above the Underground system).
Geez! Don't these guys know how far underground (and the tubes in Britain are called the Underground) for a reason: they're over 100 feet down.
You'd have as much luck blowing up the sewers (which are above the Underground system).
They probably wanted to shut down the sewers, too... but even Blair couldn't stand that stink. 
The worst part about all of this is that if they are so willing to do this over there, imagine what these f**king madmen) would be willing to do to their own citizens here at home.
I can only imagine tanks running down the streets of DC running over people, and snipers shooting anyone who even remotely resembles a hippie.
Is one mad worth even a single person's life? Is one man worth the life of an innocent person who would be caught in the crossfire?
MYOB'
.
I read that the British are planning a mass mooningof Bush, bare-arse in his direction. Ironic if the Secret Service shoots them in the bum with the mini-gun.
Taking it in the arse is what's fueling this protests.
That should have said "Is one man..."
.
Every time he corrals anti-Bush protesters like cattle into a "no free speech zone" and then says, "Gosh durn it's great that they have free speech here!" the whole world gets to see what a fucking lying hypocrite he is.
Even if he occasionally gets his line out without swallowing his gum, does it not occur to BushCo this is why most of the world -- and now the American public -- want him bounced out of the WH?
Artillery is no joke.
I can't even imagine what New York will be like.
>When Bush blew into our small western city a few months ago, you literally could not get to within one mile of his route. The only time you might get a glimpse of him was immediately after landing, but then they used decoy planes and doubles, as well. And this was all for a photo op to show how in touch he was with the concerns of the region.
>About 100 handpicked locals, including some local press and Republican politicians were allowed in his presence.
>Boronx | 11.15.03 - 11:37 pm | #
And remember, BushCo was doing this shit well before 9/11. (The Unaugural being a case in point.)
Remember when we had a president who was so beloved everywhere that he regularly shook hands at rope lines?
It was only three years ago...
I kinda suspect that Bush's people deliberately asked for the truly outrageous things, with the intent of setting the bargaining bar so damned that even 'compromising' would still let them get away with murder.
Nah, they were serious.
allies don't come any more friendly, to us, than the British...
do ya think it ever occurs to these noodle-heads, "gee i wonder why so many people can't stand us. Was it something we did?"
or do they just take it as validation that they are doing God's work?
Maybe Bush has been reading the Independent :P
http://news.independent.co.uk/wo...sp?
story=463147
"But in Iraq - as in most other things, the average American assumes - the British are our friends. Imagine the shock, then, when they see surging crowds, burning flags and (unless police step into ban it) a giant effigy of the Great Leader being toppled, à la Saddam, in Trafalgar Square.
It is not only Bush the Chicken-hawk warmonger and promoter-in-chief of the great illusion about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction who they will be denouncing. It is also Bush the ignorant, self-righteous Christian warrior, Bush the smirking executioner and Bush the believer in one law for America and another for everyone else. And, of course, Bush the "Toxic Texan", an image made flesh by the "ghost ships" bearing down on Hartlepool, whose US-produced contaminants will find a last resting place on Britain's unpolluted isle."
will there be any roudy back benches in the commons?
because if the twit is unheckled the whole trip. i will be pissed. LET'S GET RID OF FILTERS GEORGE.
Can we stop dancing around the pink elephant in the middle of the room and call this for what it is?
The man needs body doubles and decoys when he visits places at home.
He wants an armed contingent of secret service agents, complete with snipers.
He wants the Air Force patrolling the skies.
He wants miniguns to use against protestors exercising their rights to free speech.
The man is a fucking military dictator.
Greetings from little Beruit!
For a peek at what's in store for NY,
check out the Bush Fundraiser Protest In Portland Or. Thursday Aug. 21, 2003. Also know as the riot squad full employment event.
http://www.byersphotography.com/...test1/
index.htm
I'm the first amendment guy.
^
I should learn to change my name, although I guess I am a "moran" sometimes.
Morans-nice page and photos! How many hundreds of miles were you folks from King George's entourage? "1/2 Price Lunch-$1000" was the best...Peace from Eugene
oh, but bush recently said that he hadn't really noticed any talk of demonstrations and protests being discussed for his visit.
how the fuck could he miss it? Oh, that's right, he doesn't read or watch the news.
never has, never will.
And that is why I would make a better president than that idiot.
IIRC, the Underground was used during WWII for bomb shelters. If it offered protection from bombs dropped from above, the surface would be equally protected from a bomb down there.
Problem is, the american public won't see what's happening in London. I hope Europeans will tape the real stuff, and manage to put in on the internet.
What is w going to London for? If he needs to talk to Tony, he can pick up the phone.
This whole thing must be costing a fortune. And for what--a photo op? Hasn't anyone in the White House ever heard of photo shop? Helluva lot cheaper and it would take care of his blotchy skin.
How about w just stay home and save the UK and US taxpayers some dollars.
Morans - Your pics had me laughing through my tears. Some great signs.
bloody hell. Things couldn't really be much worse for Blair. The Tories have finally (finally!) got themselves into a semidecent state and then Michael Howard (the new opposition leader) gets such gilt-edged ammunition to use. "Battleship weaponry"????
Here's what I don't get. Buck House is slap bang in the centre of London, fairly close to where I work in Victoria. That means there are many, many buildings around it. Which means that whenever twatface Bush comes out of hiding, he's going to have to go past office blocks. This "rolling sterile zone"... how will that work? Are we going to have security forces entering buildings and offices and physically turfing people out? Because there will be trouble.
Brits are used to dealing with Brit police. They might be kinda heavyhanded on occasion, but they are a) human and b) don't spend their time hyped on speed, shouting at you from behind a firearm.
Brits hate guns. We're kinda proud we don't have to have guns. For there to be a Brit casualty from an American firearm... wow. I can't even imagine what the response would be.
Blair must be shitting himself that everything works out. I just don't get it. Why is he going through with this? He KNOWS we hate Bush. He's been told that enough. He's not stupid. So why risk it?
The protests in the UK this week for Bush's State Visit won't hold a candle to the protests at the Republican Convention in NYC next year.
Trust me on this.
why would Bush want to stay home and save everyone the money and effort when there's an election comping up and Rove needs a fresh supply of happy smileyface propaganda?
Word up, I'm going to be in NYC to protest that mofo. I hope my family and friends come, too.
Random Brit, you'll see how Americans shut down dissent Bush/Cheney-style. Secret Sevice is invading your country, brother. Bush and his handlers are going to try to turn London into a nice little Potemkin village for a couple of days. It's your duty to make yourselves heard (and I have ever hope that this protest will be massive and nonviolent and thus will not fail to do that).
Re New York demonstrations: several months ago when protests for the R New york convention were first heard, I spoke against them because the world would see a militarily closed city for what it was, madness.
After my post, I received 3 emails from people who had lost loved ones on 9/11. They appreciated my speaking against the protests because they have their own planned. The survivors are furious with Bush and are going to be out in force. If those people are stopped, inprisioned, or hurt in any way, real trouble will be dropped on Shrub's head. The survivors will be not stopped. They are on a mission.
Sammy, that's very good but everyone else has a right to be heard, too. No one has a monopoly on petitioning the government for a redress of grievances.
Not that I want to defend the Bush administration, but some of these security demands are likely from the Secret Service. There have been reports that they want to shut down the south bound lanes of the Central Artery (I-93) in Boston when the Democratic nominee is at the convention site. The artery passes about 40 feet from the site.
thoughtspeak.
dissent?
crushed!
looney-left=HATE.
fascist-right=TRUTH.
...america...america...GOD shed HIS grace on thee...
No Name of the Mountain: W is going to London for pictures with the Queen. Rove & co. are not stupid. They realize that the previously planned main camapign shot ("Mission Accomplished" on the USS Lincoln) is now tainted, and they need something better. The approval of the British Crown still goes a long way among American swing voters, and doesn't hurt with the base.
As for security precautions, the Secret Service always goes for max protection; I doubt they're much more parannoid than is usual for any presidential visit. The big difference, of course, is that this president has alienated most of the world, so the threat is greater. The Secret Service pros are just doing their job well. (And of course they ask for more than they think they can get; that's Negotiations 101.)
"You have to turn the island into a fucking fortress? Do you think maybe there's a slight problem here?"
The average sane person might, but the dicktatorial chickenhawks of BushCo eat this s**t up....makes them feel important.
random brit -- I still don't get why Blair -- who, love him or hate him, can run rings around W in the cognition department -- signed on to W's excellent adventure. Is he faith-addled, or what?
Why is it that the military types hanging around public spaces in New York with their rifles are dressed in jungle fatigues? Doesn't seem to be the right outfit for military operations in an urban environment:
A) Do they have nothing else to wear?
B) Is this to help heard the sheople by keeping then in a scared, military-minded, subservient frame of mind?
C) Fool everyone into thinking that the government is doing something because the military is hanging around in view?
D) Get everyone used to a military state?
E) Merely a fashion statement?
For my money its (B), (C), and (D).
most disliked president ever!
"Many Britons think Bush is Stupid."
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/031115/.../325/
ee1zu.html
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk...sp?
story=464210
"Asked this week about the protesters he will encounter in the capital, Mr Bush said: "I don't expect everybody in the world to agree with the positions I've taken. I'm so pleased to be going to a country which says that people are allowed to express their minds. That's fantastic. Freedom is a beautiful thing."
Quite how his meeting the families of British servicemen killed in Iraq will be perceived at home is unclear: the President has not attended the funerals of any of the American troops killed. Nor has he visited any of the thousands of injured troops who have returned to the US. "
I have nothing else to add.
I think Prince Charles should greet Chimpy with a big kiss on the lips to show the UK's undying love for America!
Re: Blair and Bush. It's not really that difficult to understand. You can never be too intelligent to swallow your own propaganda; in politics, people who are not stupid con themselves into believeing the most outrageous shit all the time. After all, they're not cartoon villians who rub their hands & cackle with glee as they prepare to intentionally screw over the world. (Bush & his thugs are an obvious exception to this rule, but we're not talking about Bush, we're talking about Blair.)
Blair is a follower of the neocon/neolib agenda, which means he had little choice but to hitch his wagon to the star of the main promoter (and public propaganda face) of that agenda, the President of the United States. It was Blair's very great misfortune that that current personage happens to be a fascist Republican instead of a conservative Democrat, and a particularly arrogant, swell-headed and unreasoning Republican, at that. Clinton or Gore (or somebody like, say, Bob Dole) would have been diplomatic enough to pretend their arrangement with Britian was a partnership, but an ego-crazed sociopath like Bush simply cannot resist treating Tony Blair like the catamite he really is.
Blair only has 2 choices here: (1.) suck it up, continue being a good little cocksuck, smile, grin & pray that nothing goes horribly wrong as he plays Smithers to Bush's Mr. Burns, or (2.) break from the neoconservative agenda and go back to the Labor Party's roots. and I think we know how likely it is that "Mr. Third Way" will do that.
Really, it's almost funny, in a horrifying kind of way. We're witnessing the ongoing humiliation and public disintigration of the man's political career, and who can honestly say Blair hasn't earned it? He deserves far worse, in my opinion; as has been pointed out, he's not stupid, and he must know that he means nothing to George Bush, and is eminently expendable to the Bush White House's way of thinking. They probably would prefer to have a genuine conservative running Britian. The Tory-in-everything-but-name stylings of a Tony Blair isn't good enough. It doesn't matter how cringing Blair is as he prostrates himself before the Bush administration; I'd be willing to bet Rummy, Rove and the others secretly consider Blair to be a commie, no matter how demonstrable his actions are or his public record. These bastards are ideologues; they rarely let something as trifling as reality spoil their precious belief system.
It's worth noting that the Bush visit may harm Blair's domestic agenda: the controversial bill on 'foundation hospitals' hits the Commons again on Wednesday, after being gutted by the Lords, and there may be enough Labour backbench waverers for whom toadying to Bush makes them stroll through the 'Noe' lobby.
Now, Philip Gould said that the main objective for Blair is to show the British electorate that 'they have their Prime Minister back'. Giving the red carpet treatment to Public Enemy No. 1 isn't going to help.
The man is a fucking military dictator.
I reached the same conclusion a couple of weeks ago. I have yet to pinpoint the moment he went full bore from just a Bad President to Full Blown Dictator (but I'm leaning towards May 1. I think historians in a couple decades will say the Lincoln "Mission Accomplished" Parade was Bush's Coming Out). I think it's just taken us all a few years to fully grasp the big picture: 2000 was a coup, plain and simple.
Not all dictators have little mustaches to identify them, you know.
Solidarity with our British brothers and sisters! He can run, but he can't hide!
BATTLEFIELD WEAPONRY?!
What's wrong with this picture?!
Why does the POTUS need to demand that martial law be declared in London just for the purposes of a state visit?
A MINIGUN?
For those who don't know, a minigun is a cutdown version of the Vulcan electric rotary cannon, in smaller caliber. It is a weapon mounted on a heavy vehicle of some sort capable of firing on the order of 100 rounds per second.
In other words, it shreds entire crowds of people into hamburger. It's sole use is as a battlefield weapon where one can fire indiscriminately.
I say again: Why must martial law be declared in London?
And where the hell is the US media on this? Bush needs martial law in LONDON in order to visit?
A MINIGUN?
For those who don't know, a minigun is a cutdown version of the Vulcan electric rotary cannon, in smaller caliber. It is a weapon mounted on a heavy vehicle of some sort capable of firing on the order of 100 rounds per second.
In other words, it shreds entire crowds of people into hamburger. It's sole use is as a battlefield weapon where one can fire indiscriminately.
I say again: Why must martial law be declared in London?
And where the hell is the US media on this? Bush needs martial law in LONDON in order to visit?
Remember that they even took Nancy Reagan's pistol away from her.
How are the British media reacting to this?
I hope that the Queen gives Bush a royal put-down. If his only reason to visit England is for an election photo-op, he deserves one.
Invigilator - You commented that Bush getting his pic made with the queen will somehow buy him votes from swing voters. I don't see that at all. I don't think that many Americans take the royal family seriously (no offense to the Brits tuning in today.) I really don't. They might find them endlessly fascinating, but they also find Madonna and Justin Timberlake endlessly fascinating.
This whole trip is one of the dumbest PR/campaign stunts I can recall, since all it is going to accomplish is to demonstrate once again how soundly hated Bush is overseas. I know Fox won't tell the public what really happens in Britain while Bush is there, but the protests will be reported on elsewhere, and people will know about it. The election campaign doesn't look very well thought out with this move - what's up with Rove?
Bush needs martial law in LONDON in order to visit?
Still haven't figured out why the Brits invited him to begin with. Surely no one forced the Queen to invite him. The reason for the martial law is obvious. Let's just say Bush is not well liked in Britain. Let's just say the British powers-that-be are terrified that Bush will be done in while in London. Let's us also say that if he was done in while in London, chances are that next year's Nobel Peace Prize might be shared by the inhabitants of London.
All's well that ends well. Well, almost well. We get stuck with Dick "Cardiac" Cheney, if we can find him. Maybe that's even worse.
Ensley - Yes, getting stuck with Cheney the undead would be a nightmare, actually, IMO.
But your comment that the people of London would be the recipients of next year's Nobel Peach Prize is pretty fucking priceless. They would definitely deserve it.
I think that the mini gun issue is a terrific example of the political acumen of our barbarian leadership. I sat and tried to imagine the circumstance where such a weapon would be needed in London and the consequences of using it. Really, they might as well bring a mini-nuke to quiet down a protest and protect the president. It would be just as useful. Using a mini gun on British protesters just ain't an option. These guys really are clueless.
"For those who don't know, a minigun is a cutdown version of the Vulcan electric rotary cannon, in smaller caliber. It is a weapon mounted on a heavy vehicle of some sort capable of firing on the order of 100 rounds per second."
Maybe if they had asked to bring one of those Metal Storm guns, they could have compromised on a minigun.
Metal Storm being a modern version of a medieval organ-grinder, many, many barrels firing simultaneously. Metal Storm improves on this ancient weapon by having multiple bullets in each barrel, fired one after the other electronically. Per-minute rates of fire verge on the 1 million mark (though of course at max firing the gun will need to be reloaded in less than a second).
the last time i heard the term "minigun" wasn't in the real world, but in a video game -- "unreal tournament", i think, or one of those other "doom"-like games. we would always cheer when we got the minigun, because that meant our opponents were fucked and we'd laugh as their bodies literally flew through the air.
what we are seeing is the advent of video game diplomacy. i think the reason bush doesn't read the newspapers is because he's too busy sitting there in the oval office wearing out his thumbs playing halo or something.
it is a rather "generalissimo" gesture for him to bring that thing along, isn't it?
Well, almost well. We get stuck with Dick "Cardiac" Cheney, if we can find him. Maybe that's even worse.
We're already stuck with Cheney. The only difference would be that he would have to start using his own voice during press conferences.
Wait, there's more...
[I]"Senior royal officials say the queen was not willing to countenance "bomb and airborne assault proofing" that would have involved substantial building work at her London home.
The Americans fear al Qaeda terrorists are planning an attack when the president and his wife, Laura, stay for three nights in the ground-floor Belgian Suite at the palace.
"They [the Americans] wanted blast- and bullet-proofed windows and curtains and some strengthening to the walls of the president's suite and other rooms at the palace where he would be spending time. The president's security men seem obsessed with the idea of an airborne attack on the palace," a royal official said.[/I]
http://washingtontimes.com/world...14751-
3194r.htm
Why doesn't the little coward just join Cheney in an undisclosed location and save everyone the inconvenience.
Danya - "Why doesn't the little coward just join Cheney in an undisclosed location and save everyone the inconvenience."
God, no kidding - he really is a pathetic little worm, isn't he? Now, is there any doubt left that the real reason he flew all over the place on 9/11 was because he was scared shitless? I can just hear the hysteria on the plane that day.
"Mr. President, we have got to go back to Washington. You need to be there at this time."
"You sonbitches aren't taking me anywhere near DC, ya hear me?"
"Sir, your wife is in Washington."
"That's her problem. You just tell them to keep flying until I say different."
John D. : I think you have it dead-on. Well said, hear hear, and all that.
As far as Bush being a military dictator, there is an uncanny resemblance between the current administration and many a 70's Latin American junta. Highly questionable elections? Check. Barricading of the palaces? Check. Massive militarization? Check. Dismantling of social programs? Check. Insane levels of corruption? Check, check, check...
Considering the eventual fate of many a Latin American junta and its officers, BushCo should be collectively worried. Most of them will last at least twenty or thirty more years. That's plenty of time for them to be put on trial, as we become embarassed about this phase of history, some sunny day in the future.
I hope the people of London stand by their grand tradition of freedom-loving and defiance in the face of this obvious military parade and put on a protest that will require that the entire trip be either covered with the inclusion of protestors, or ignored entirely by our propagandist-infested press corps.
NYC will be in complete lockdown for Sept. '04. I don't think any protests can happen in the climate of sterility and full security force mobilization that will be created for the '04 convention. They're very good at this sort of thing, and have it down pretty much pat by now... a few hundred supporters and trusted friends (since that's all they can muster anywhere they go) in a highly stylized and staged photo-op, and total martial law for miles... that'll be NYC in '04. No one will be able to go anywhere near the convention. They'll be sure to shut down whole sections of Manhattan in order to do so, and they will.
The protests earlier this year in NYC show what happens with a minimum of planning on the part of just local police to quash dissent. For the upcoming convention, Bush's people will have had well over a year to get their act together. In Feb. & March of this year, the media barely even scraped the surface of the story with 500,000 protestors in the cold, wintry streets, and aside from those of us who were either there, or make it our business to know about what's going on the world around us, I don't think anyone in the U.S. knows or remembers a damn thing about them. I don't mean to be defeatist, but I just don't think anything will happen, and even if it does, the media will simply not cover it. And also, since this is the U.S. we're talking about, and not the U.K., there won't be an issue of demand/request - aquiescence/compromise for what they'll want, they'll just get it, on a silver, yellow-ribbon bedecked platter with red, white, and blue confetti streaming down from the heavens.
Hitler in Nuremburg lookd great,with enthusiastic crowds lining the streets, making great propaganda, but his entry into Britain at the same time might have looked a lot like Dumbo in London. Whether he can compel a standing ovation or not, this is a pathetic version of what Romans called a triumph. But will it make any difference that the leader of the "free" world cannot feel safe visiting the Queen of England without the kind of security precautions he'd need in Baghdad? It's not like the thugocracy actually cares what people in England think. The Chicago riots helped defeat the Democrats that year, and NY riots may do the same for the other party. Word gets out, even where the press abdicates. Antiwar protestors once closed all of downtown Oakland, CA for a day, but according to the Oakland Tribune, a rightwing rag, it simply never happened. Instead of calling for protection from the National Guard, the paper simply ignored the takeover. Blogs can be intimidated into closing down, and political debates can be misreported as completely as a political funeral, but ultimately there is a record and history will find it. Bush's British Triumph will join his "Mission Accomplished" fiasco and, I predict, so will his forthcoming New York Nightmare. Pride goeth before a fall. Hubris goeth before a takedown.
How long before the free speech zone is limited to 20 miles north of the arctic circle?
At least the Queen stands up to Dubbya re those security arrangements. And I thought I'd never praise 'Lizzy':
http://www.theage.com.au/
article...8917671421.html
Paging Richard J. Daley ...
A.
Still haven't figured out why the Brits invited him to begin with. Surely no one forced the Queen to invite him.
The Royals invited them in June of 2000. (Of course, some interesting things have happened since then but they didn't want to appear rude by cancelling.)
Morans: Thanks for the http://www.byersphotography.com/...test1/
index.htm pics.
The stormtroopers in their uniforms are scary. I wonder if I can get a suit like that and walk around at a free assembly wearing a 'kick me' sign.
...they didn't want to appear rude by cancelling
I guess that's why they are royal and I am not, bobo. I wouldn't put up with him for a NY second. I do hope the Brits put on a good show.
MoniCA, a lawyer friend of mine took his mother to that big demo in NYC in a wheelchair. She had just gotten out of the hospital the day before after weeks of recovering from a serious accident but insisted on going, having been one of the most rabid peace demonstrators of the 1960s. With you and her and all the others attending, the demo will be a success no matter if the American media films it or not. The photos will go out in blogland all over the world. Governments can't hide things the way they used to, and the media is much wiser to Bush and his lies nowadays. Things have definitely changed since March, and the polls glaringly show it.
Is it possible that the Secret Service's requests are usual, or perhaps a bit excessive, but that the Home Secretary is foregoing his usual rubber stamp in order to score points with a public that, for good reason, really, really doesn't like America's unelected president?
I mean, come on. Yeab, Bush's security entourage will be armed. But the law enforcement officers who come into contact with run-of-the-mill rioters will most likely be British. The Bush administration is barely interested in policing Iraq--a country it invaded, literally--nevermind the UK. Worst case, US forces will pull Bush out of there and let UK troops deal with the aftermath. In other words, that minigun isn't likely to be used unless Bush is in imminent danger from an explosive-laden VW bus headed straight for him.
They shut down the Portland Oregon light-rail system during evening commute. The next time W. Bush was in town, for a big fund-raising dinner the city *bussed* the lot of dignataries to the hotel where it was taking place. http://www.wweek.com/flatfiles/N.../
News4256.lasso
One almost ends up rooting for would-be snipers. Almost.
Atrios says about this story, "Are they insane??"
I've come to the conclusion that they are actually, clinically insane. Some people can achieve great fame and power and stay mostly compos mentis (like Clinton), but a lot can't. In W's case, since he was born to fame and power, protected and coddled and promoted from the day he popped forth, it's possible that he never has been sufficiently in touch with reality to be sane.
The problem with such people is that they're very good at creating a pseudo-reality around themselves; if by chance,influence or force, they get their hands on great political power, they can extend that pseudo-reality outward to include a lot of other people. They turn your reality into theirs; your sane world is taken over by their craziness.
Some days I think that the only real way out of this horrible mess we're in (and by "we" I mean everybody worldwide who's been incorporated into the PNAC/mission-from-God bubble of madness) is going to be the everyday common sense of ordinary people.
Ahem: the British government is more than just Tony Blair. And it's worth sitting up and watching what Stephen Byers is getting ready to do to Bush:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/
st...1086792,00.html
but they didn't want to appear rude by cancelling
Nah, they [the boy king and Blair] didn't want to appear humiliated by changing their plans in reaction to public opinion and the state of world affairs.
It is amusing that the boy king won't be addressing the British Parliament. Rove learned the lesson of the Australian heckler.
I hope news of the king's visits to families of British military killed in Iraq will be covered widely in the U.S. That gesture is a spectacular outrage and direct affront to military families in the U.S.
Regarding the protests of Mission Ground Zero: The '04 Republican National Convention, organizers have been applying for permits to stage demonstrations outside Madison Square Garden and at the king's appearances at Ground Zero. Folks are getting ready, and we know what we're up against.
He's apparently decided not to address Parliament - afraid of being heckled and then he won't be able to use it in propaganda ....er.... campaign ads! See today's Mirror @ http://www.mirror.co.uk/frontpages/
Well, of course he would be heckled if he addressed Parliament--the man is an idiot. I am sure HE wanted to address Parliament but Unka Rove said no way.
I love the term "sterile zone." Must protect Bushy-wushy from all those meanie-weanies!
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The inhabitants of Airstrip One are being uncooperative.
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