W is visiting England this week, causing the presence of “more armed men on the streets of London this week than at any time since the end of the Second World War.” Additionally, the Secret Service made other “substantial demands, some of them accepted, but the more outrageous courteously deflected by the Palace.” Some of the more “outrageous” demands included closing all Tube (subway) stations underneath wherever W was travelling and roving Blackhawk helicopters continually patrolling over his destinations. I’m sure that the citizens of London would have welcomed those minor inconveniences, though. 😛
I think that this whole visit, although designed to showcase England’s alliance with the U.S., is doomed to backfire on both fronts. Cost estimates to the English taxpayers alone are running £5 million ($8.5 million); who knows how much this trip is costing Americans? W isn’t even going to address Parliament as his predecessors (“including Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela and Francois Mitterand”) have done in the past for fear that he might get heckled again. I’m not certain I see any benefit to his going over there just for some photo-ops. Take a look at the Metafilter thread for some more rants…
I think that these people definitely have the right idea: 
