Historical trip? Or hysterical?

Aside from the Queen's refusal to reinforce the walls of all the rooms of the palace that Georgie will be visiting in (see my previous post), thankfully some other folks in London are trying to keep some semblance of sensibility about them.

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.

My god. It was even worse than I thought.

In return, the British authorities agreed to numerous concessions, including the creation of a 'sterile zone' around the President with a series of road closures in central London and a security cordon keeping the public away from his cavalcade.

Well, there's lots I could say about sterile zones when talking about Georgie, but at this point, let me just say, I wish we could put him in a sterile zone in outer space to keep him away from the public.

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.

Are you getting this? These demands? WTF is in the water in Washington?! What a freaking circus.

Demands for the US air force to patrol above London with fighter aircraft and Black Hawk helicopters have also been turned down.

...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.' article

Go on. To the vomitorium. I shall wait for you to return.