A fool rushes in...
Dubyah is in Germany this week, presumably drumming up support for the war with Iran which he is so desperately eager to start. Not trusting to the goodwill and friendliness of the Germans (as demonstrated during the world cup), the area around him has been entirely sealed off. Here's a report on the Internet news service n-tv (my translation)
Bush's visit to Germany is a scandal. Not that he is here, of course not. But the circumstances of his visit: that a holiday region has been turned into a fortress in midsummer.
More than 12,500 policemen from around the country are on duty. Barbed wire, barricades and building-site-fencing have been set up in Stralsund, Heiligendamm and Trinwillershagen, enclosing the residences of 4500 people. They have been required to park their cars out of the area. They are forbidden to stand on their balconies - they are even forbidden to open their windows. The restrictions on residents and tourists extend into the nearby countryside: 580 kilometers of roadway have been closed - even in areas which Bush will only fly over in a helicopter.
Additionally, 220 square kilometers of offshore waters and a 15 kilometer stretch of beach at Heiligendamm have been closed to the public. 54 police boats patrol the coast, while eight American military helicopters keep watch from above.
The cost of Bush's visit has been estimated at 12 million Euros. It is not yet clear whether the federal government or the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (one of the poorest in Germany) will have to foot the bill. [...]
Does anyone remember Bill Clinton's presidential visit to Berlin in 1999? He went into a restaurant at the Kollwitzplatz, took a spontaneous "bath in the crowd" [i.e. abandoned his bodyguards and went walkabout] and left a lasting good impression. Obviously, the times have changed.
Excuse me: not just the times have changed.
Clinton had good reason to assume that people would like him: he was a good president and an honest man. Bush has equally good reason to assume that people would hate him. "What goes around, comes around" to coin a phrase.
posted by Udge @ 13:00
8 Comments:
that's even worse than his visit to Vienna and i didn't think that could possibly get worse. people forbidden to open their windows! for shame!
Exactly! Clinton was a good man AND a good president.
I cannot believe this. What are they going to do if someone opens their windows? Shoot them? How long are these people going to be trapped in their house? Way to build goodwill, Bush.
20 million Euros? Think of what that money could buy. All to see a war hungry man who is doing his best to make everyone hate America.
Do you think we could just lock Bush up in his room with some toy soliders and let him pretend that he's starting wars and not actually have real battles?
Man, I miss Bill. I really, really miss Bill.
You know, I don't think people actually want to protect him. I think they're just scared of Cheney ending up in the hot seat.
Could you do us a favor and keep him? Except for yes, then we would have Cheney left.
"President Cheney"? God forbid! Excuse me for a moment, I have to wash my hands after typing that.
As an American all I allegedly have the brains to do is quote bumper stickers.
So, I'll throw these your way:
I'D RATHER HAVE A PRESIDENT WHO SCREWED HIS INTERN THAN ONE WHO SCREWED HIS COUNTRY
DON'T BLAME ME. I VOTED AGAINST BUSH -- TWICE!
PRO AMERICA, ANTI BUSH
and
IS IT 2008 YET?
Nimitz' Lady
Hello NL, welcome aboard. In the interests of clarity, I'm not at all anti-American: I'm anti- stupid, incompetent and corrupt.
Hilary for President in 2008!
Udge,
Never thought you were anti-American.
After awhile you'll learn nearly everything out of my typewriter is written with either sarcasm or irony, rarely straight-faced.
It's the only way I can survive the Bush regime without slipping into a Clinton fantasy-world (similar to my mother's Kennedy fantasy-world that had her voting for a Kennedy, any Kennedy, from '64 - '92!).
Nimitz Lady
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