Steve Dix...Comedian?

Raptus Regaliter

Not necessarily stoned, but beautiful.


24.02.2005 08:57 - Dubya in Mainz II -or- Big Brother comes to your town, baby.

I\'ve just discovered the following piece via Oliver.

It\'s about what you can and can\'t do in Mainz whilst Bush is in town. Here\'s a translation :

I\'ll stop my political comments and just list a few points, about what\'s happening to me next week. My flat is directly in front of Mainz Cathedral square, which Bush is going to be visiting. What is more, it\'s only 50 metres from here to Rhine street, so I\'m sitting in the middle of the so-called \"restricted area\".

I recieved a visit from a Mainz Police Commissioner yesterday, who\'s name I won\'t repeat here. He was friendly and appeared to be irritated by the whole matter, like me in the meantime.

- The Mainz/Wiesbaden Motorway will be off-limits, apparently from 7am - 2pm and 3pm - 8pm. I cannot give exact information, as it may be changed. It\'s pretty sure, however, that bus services to outlying villages such as Wackernheim and Erbenheim will be completely paralysed for the whole day.

- Frankfurt Airport will be completely out-of-bounds for a quarter of an hour, whilst Bush\'s plane lands and takes off.

To travel by Bus or by car in the city centre will be as good as impossible. I have never seen such a huge contingent of Police as I have in the last few days, in my entire life.

So much for the \'Public Section\', which actually doesn\'t sound so bad. What really knocks me out is the list of rules that I must follow on Wednesday :

- Windows must remain shut for the entire day, and cannot be opened even for ventilation (Trans Note : German windows can open hinged both from the side and from the bottom, allowing the window to be completely open or just angled open from the top). Curtains and roller blinds must not be left shut, as darkening of the room is forbidden. The Commissioner also hinted that \"careless\" movement in front of the window could lead to \"injury\"

- It is not permitted to hang anything out of the window, such as a white bedspread or a \"peace flag\". Apparently Bush is frightened of signs of unrest, or perhaps of being stabbed with a Peace Banner. Somehow.

- I must inform the Police whether or not I will remain in my flat. My Identity Card no. will be recorded in a list, so that I may be permitted to leave/enter my own flat.

- I will only be permitted to recieve visitors at my flat if I have previously informed the Police of the visitors identity (card no.)

- When I leave my flat, I will only be permitted to return to it under the escort of a Police Officer.

- Whilst Bush is in the Cathedral Square, I am not allowed to return to my flat.

- All types of motor vehicle, bikes and motor-scooters are not allowed to be left in locked garages.

They can all kiss my arse. Schröder as well.

In later entries, it comes out that all flats with a window onto the Cathedral square must be occupied by a Police Officer, all waste bins have been removed, and armed marksmen were stationed on the Cathedral and the Gutenbergmuseum. None of this was reported on TV, which concentrated on the trivia of what the Bushes ate, rather than report the flagrant breaches of rights of citizens, due to bullying from a (Non-EU) foreign Government.


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