posted on November 16, 2003 07:43:28 AM new
Is it any wonder our home grown aristocrates are thrilled to mingle with the British Royalty?
Quoting the first lady -
Laura Bush, the US First Lady, is being diplomatic. In an interview for ITV scheduled for broadcast today, she says: "I think it's [the British monarchy] a fairytale to the United States. Americans have always been fascinated by the monarchy and certainly the British monarchy. I'm really looking forward to staying in Buckingham Palace. It's a huge thrill, it really is."
After all her husband and his associates have regained many of the perks that the British crown had to yield to democratic rule. We are very close to turning the rule that the "The King can do no wrong." into "The President can do as he pleases." The Royals should be envious of him.
Their cozyness with the crown and the way they copy their elevation above the common man would bring condemnation if not outright charges of treason from the founding fathers that split off from that British rule.
posted on November 16, 2003 05:06:52 PM new
As most of you know, I have a friend in London and he emails me quite often. This directly from London:
President Bush asked the British Home Secretary to grant diplomatic immunity to armed American special agents and snipers travelling to Britain as part of President Bush's entourage this week.
Blunkett said that in the case of the shooting of a protester, the Americans in Bush's protection squad will face justice in a British court as would any other visitor.
Bush demanded the closure of all Tube lines under parts of London to be visited during his visit.
British officials refused.
Bush demanded that a 'sterile zone' around the President should be policed entirely by American special agents and military.
The idea was rejected.
Bush demanded that the US air force patrol above London with fighter aircraft and Black Hawk helicopters.
This was also turned down.
Bush is bringing 250 armed bodyguards.
But operational control will remain with the Metropolitan Police.
Bush had also wanted to travel with a piece of military hardware called a 'mini-gun', which usually forms part of the mobile armoury in the presidential cavalcade. It is fired from a tank and can kill dozens of people.
Ministers have made clear to Washington that the firepower of the mini-gun will not be available during the state visit to Britain.
I make that six-nil to the UK so far. But there's more...
George Bush may be the most powerful man on Earth - but even he has been forced to bow to the might of Ken Livingstone. The President has been warned he must pay the London Mayor's £5 (=$8) congestion charge - or risk a fine. Transport for London has confirmed there would be no exemption for the presidential motorcade...Anyone attempting to evade the scheme - even the leader of the free world - can expect to be tracked down, no matter where they live....The Mayor's transport authority has contracts with collection agencies all over the world to recover charges and fines. And they have the power to employ bailiffs to recover goods or vehicles.
posted on November 16, 2003 05:21:36 PM new
Are you that naive Cheryl to even think President Bush plans or even asks for those things that "were turned" down?
Do you really think he going to pay a "congestion fee", that also is naivte talking.
President Bush will not be bothered or probably even know of such trivial matters for his visit.
After the White House finished laughing for an $8 fee... who would the credit go against? Doubt they have an identifier other than a name....
Must be lonely world where your hatred of our President lets you believe stories such as those... Where did you friend get from the Sun?
posted on November 16, 2003 05:46:51 PM new
No, I doubt very much that he reads trash like the Sun. He's a college professor. Point being, our president is not wanted in the UK for any reason at all.
A poll published by Britain's Sunday Times showed that 37 percent of those questioned thought Bush was "stupid," while 60 percent called him a threat to world peace.
posted on November 16, 2003 06:01:37 PM new
That's interesting, Cheryl!
Here's a good story from the Times.
To set the stage for his visit to britain this week, George W. Bush wanted to project an air of relaxed, confident leadership. So on Thursday he invited a gaggle of star U.K. journalists to the Oval Office, showed off the bust of Churchill near his easy chair and praised the Briton ("He was the kind of guy that stood tough when you needed to stand tough". But the bad news that kept landing on Bush's desk challenged that self-assured image. After a truck bomb in Nasiriyah on Wednesday killed 19 Italians, mostly peacekeeping troops, and 13 Iraqis, South Korea cut its projected troop deployment from 5,000 to 3,000; Japan put its deployment on hold. French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin called for the U.S. to relinquish sovereignty to Iraqis right away. "We have to move fast, we can't wait any longer," he said. In Baghdad, the CIA prepared a report concluding that the insurgency was growing along with American unpopularity. On Saturday, two U.S. helicopters crashed in Mosul, killing at least 17, and the U.S. unveiled a new plan to more quickly cede authority to an interim Iraqi government (see following story).
And in London, thousands of citizens of America's closest ally were busy preparing a distinctly frosty welcome — including plans to pull down a papier-mâché statue of Bush in Trafalgar Square, just as U.S. soldiers pulled down a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad. French foreign-policy analyst François Heisbourg, who four months ago wanted Europe to send 60,000 troops to Iraq, captured the new, grim mood: "Iraq has gone to hell in a handbasket. Digging a deep hole doesn't put you in a position to ask others to jump into it."
Welcome to Europe, Mr. President. Bush won't be venturing onto the Continent, but the Continent's eyes are trained on him. When Woodrow Wilson, the last President to stay in Buckingham Palace, arrived in 1918, just after World War I, he was greeted in Dover by girls in Stars and Stripes dresses strewing roses at his feet, and in London by ecstatic crowds eager to greet the man trying to make the world safe for democracy. Bush will get a different reception: a projected 60,000 peaceful protesters and 5,000 police officers mobilized to protect him from rioters and terrorists.
posted on November 16, 2003 06:24:29 PM new
Being right doesn't mean being "popular"
He is going there at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth... why shouldn't he go... I for one would prefer the SAS protect President Bush while there, they definately do not have a problem of shooting first and asking later... they get the job done right...
What are you guys going to b*tch about when President Bush leaves office in 2009?
They can try to call it whatever they like, it is anti-americanism... foreigners dispespect my President they are disrespecting the US. He represents the US whether you like it or not.
But as will be the usual British Government will continue to back President Bush
AIN'T LIFE GRAND...
[ edited by Twelvepole on Nov 17, 2003 03:02 AM ]
posted on November 17, 2003 04:38:59 AM new
Blair would get the same frosty welcome here. So, we behave no differently. President Bush is walking around with blinders on thinking the whole world loves him. Maybe in London he'll remove the blinders. IMO, the Queen is an idiot.
posted on November 17, 2003 04:44:48 AM new
Blair has already been here
No Frosty reception... nice weekend at Camp David
Is it your anger for President Bush that is clouding your judgement or just the fact that Rep K won't be getting the Democratic nomination?
AIN'T LIFE GRAND...
[ edited by Twelvepole on Nov 17, 2003 04:45 AM ]
posted on November 17, 2003 04:59:34 AM new
Personally, twelvepole, I'd rather see Dennis in a position where he'd have more power to do more good. As can be seen in the current administration, the president is nothing more than a button pushing puppet. Camp David? Well, isn't that showing your face in public? Did he go where he could be seen by a large portion of the public? No, he hid out at Camp David. No doubt during one of the President's many vacations.
posted on November 17, 2003 05:59:51 AM new
Dennis???
Wasn't he in Lord of the Rings?
I leave for a while...Thinking when I return to the board, the insane hatred for the President and the Country will have dimmed but no that's not the case.
More innate crap is packed into sentences and piled in to paragraphs.
Most makes no sense what so ever. Some have a slight resemblance of reality, ever so slight. Then there's the D.O.R.K.S. that cut and paste from the far left trash mills.
What's the matter with some of you? Have you never woke up with a smile? Enjoyed a friends company. Seen a sun set?
Apparently there's a lack of something, somewhere. Otherwise you wouldn't have wasted your summer glued to this board.
I feel pity for a few. Those that real have no life. I have contempt for those that think a fart is an original idea. You know who you are.
posted on November 17, 2003 06:38:59 AM new
In your posts, colon, I see a very defensive individual focused on insulting the posters rather than contributing any thoughts to the topics. You project your bitter and unhappy attitude to all others and only engage in playground level insults. If you don't enjoy reading and contributing to this discussion, why are you here?
Home Secretary David Blunkett has refused to grant diplomatic immunity to armed American special agents and snipers travelling to Britain as part of President Bush's entourage this week.
In the case of the accidental shooting of a protester, the Americans in Bush's protection squad will face justice in a British court as would any other visitor, the Home Office has confirmed.
The issue of immunity is one of a series of extraordinary US demands turned down by Ministers and Downing Street during preparations for the Bush visit.
These included the closure of the Tube network, the use of US air force planes and helicopters and the shipping in of battlefield weaponry to use against rioters.
The Americans had also wanted to travel with a piece of military hardware called a 'mini-gun', which usually forms part of the mobile armoury in the presidential cavalcade. It is fired from a tank and can kill dozens of people. One manufacturer's description reads: 'Due to the small calibre of the round, the mini-gun can be used practically anywhere. This is especially helpful during peacekeeping deployments.'
Ministers have made clear to Washington that the firepower of the mini-gun will not be available during the state visit to Britain.
posted on November 17, 2003 08:29:03 AM new
Thank you, Helen. Those are the same comments I originally posted that twelve suggested came from the "Sun". They, meaning those on the right, will not believe anything in print that doesn't flatter the president and call him a hero of sorts. The blind are leading the blind. It's plain ignorant and shows great stupidity on the part of our president to assume that he will be welcomed anywhere in Europe with open arms and that anything he wants, he will get.
And, colin, your comments don't bother me in the least. I consider the source and move on. For a supposed religious man, you sure have a rotten attitude toward anyone who doesn't think the same way you do. And, that is all my energy you will get.
posted on November 17, 2003 10:06:18 AM new
It would be very interesting to see if shooting civilians would be enough to shatter the 'special relationship' the ruling class see for the US and British. Here we have an real world understanding since Ruby Ridge that federal agents have for all purposes a license to kill.
They may do so in Britain but they are not yet ready to openly admit it in public.
Opening up on a crowd with automatic weapons would be a bit more than they can stomach if they aren't a third world crowd of ragheads but
'real people'.
[ edited by gravid on Nov 17, 2003 10:07 AM ]
posted on November 17, 2003 11:00:31 AM new
Now, Buckingham Palace needs bullet proof windows!
Wouldn't a phone call be better than a visit. Can you imagine the total cost of this little jaunt?
A ring of steel will surround Buckingham Palace when Bush arrives, while concrete blocks and metal-detector arches are reported to be placed along the Whitehall. A number of roads are to be closed to create a "sterile zone" around Bush, who will be shielded by a security cordon.
More armed men will be on the streets of London this week than at any time since the end of the World War II, the British government said.
The Metropolitan Police have also hired about 250 mini-vans to ship police equipped with body-length riot shields, CS gas and batons, to the scene of any riot within minutes.
A heightened status was also declared for the military, which may guard key sites. Local media said a squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado F3 air defense aircraft might move closer to London from Norfolk, mid-eastern England, so as to be ready to intercept any passenger jet hijacked by terrorists.
The US secret service is said to be disappointed at Buckingham Palace's refusal to install bulletproof windows, and Scotland Yard's reluctance to keep protesters out of camera shot of the American President, whose visit is to end Friday.
"(US) agents brought in structural engineers who said walls (in Buckingham Palace) must be strengthened and the blast-proof glass replaced with something stronger. They were obsessed, and still are, by the threat of an attack from the air," a royal aide commented.
posted on November 17, 2003 04:48:32 PM new
This is
LONDON
17/11/03 - News and city section
Blair defends Bush visit
The Prime Minister today stood by his decision to invite President George Bush to visit the UK this week despite mounting controversy from anti-war protesters and other demonstrators.
Tony Blair departed from a prepared speech at the CBI national conference to say that he strongly believed now was the right time for President Bush to come to this country.
"If we assess what has happened yesterday in Turkey, again many innocent people murdered, many more injured, and put that together with what happened in Saudi Arabia and in the bombing of the UN and Red Cross, this is the right moment for us to stand firm with the United States in defeating terrorism wherever it is and delivering us safely from what I genuinely believe to be the security threat of the 21st century.
"Now is not the time to waver, now is the time to see it through."
posted on November 17, 2003 05:37:59 PM new
Anything Blair says is about as believable as whatever the president says. Blair (and this is from the people who know him best - the Brits) is an "arse" kisser. He kissed Clinton's "arse" and is now working on Bush. He'll be out of a job soon enough.
nearthesea
I like Laura, too. I also like Barbara. Why is it that such intelligent women land such dumb husbands?
posted on November 17, 2003 05:50:30 PM new
I've always wondered when people refer to our President's IQ, what they must think of themselves. We all sit here, some of you with great educations, posting on a political chat board while those who are accused of being 'stupid' 'having a low IQ', 'etc' have managed to have aquired the job of leader(s) of the free world.
Seriously, Laura is much like George. Remember the banning of the poets fiasco? Laura invited poets to the White House but when she found that they were anti-war, she cancelled the event. That's not a gaffe that Hillary would have made.
posted on November 17, 2003 05:59:31 PM new
What have I accomplished? Let's see, I've managed to raise two healthy children ALONE since my husband and I were separated most of the time they were growing up. I've buried a husband to a heart attach, a brother to AIDS, two grandparents to Cancer, and a sister-in-law to suicide all in the last few years. I've managed to stay sane. I've managed to take college courses when the funds allowed it working toward a business degree. I've worked three waitressing jobs at one time to make ends meet. I've managed to start my own non-profit alternative therapy center (with the help of two partners) and have been steadily growing my eBay business. I've taught myself html and do web design on the side as well. I survived Cancer, a collapsed lung and pneumonia. I've also managed to be truthful as best I can (yes, there are little white lies now and again). I think I've accomplished a lot in 46 years.
I can appreciate that!!! My kids have been around the world while I've only been to Nova Scotia. They have a better education and now have more money than I do. LOL. Is that fair?
Anyway, everybody is happy and healthy and that's what counts!
posted on November 17, 2003 06:36:13 PM new
nearthesea
Impressive, as well. It's amazing just how much a woman can do when she needs to!
And this is the reward for all my years of hard work - my granddaughter Tiffany in her first ever school picture (school pics sure aren't what they used to be):
I'd do it all over again 100 times if I knew Tiffany would be the end result!
These are the other joys in my life. Michael Cameron and Jennifer. They were getting along this day. As you can tell, Tiffany got my blond hair. :
Okay, how about the rest of you. Where's the pics of your accomplishments! Share!
posted on November 17, 2003 06:59:38 PM new
Cheryl - My intent was not to single you out....but rather to include you in those who I read insulting the intelligence of those who have obtained much higher [professional] status than they have. One does not do that if they have low IQ's or are dumb or etc.etc.etc., imo.
I was not speaking to individual personal achievements. I agree, on a personal level you have earned an A+.
But my observation was not about accomplishments on a personal level, but rather where one currently finds themself in their lives....achievement wise.
