Germany prepares-look at this! Photos:

[partylessinOhio]

Tourists walk past a protection fence near the Grand Hotel Kempinski in the eastern German Baltic Sea resort Heiligendamm in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania July 12, 2006. U.S. President George W. Bush, on his first visit to Germany since Angela Merkel's election as chancellor last year, will stay in the hotel from July 12 to 14.




A banner reading, "War criminals to The Hague! Bush, you are not welcome!" is fixed on a window in Stralsund to protest against US President George W. Bush's visit.



Claudia Roth(R), chairman of Germany's ecologist Greens party, holds a poster reading "Nobody deserves Guantanamo - Stop it Now!" as she stands beside a demonstrator dressed as a Guantanamo prisoner in Stralsund to protest against US President George W. Bush's visit to Germany.



A banner 'Not welcome! Your place is Den Haag!' is shown during an anti-Bush demonstration in Rostock, northern Germany, Wednesday, July 12, 2006.



A protester holds a banner 'Starting war stays a crime' during an anti-Bush demonstration in Rostock, northern Germany, Wednesday, July 12, 2006.



In this German trip, Bush may feel better vibes
By Mark Landler
Published: July 12, 2006

STRALSUND, Germany ...
Yet, with Bush scheduled to spend Thursday with Merkel here before they attend a summit meeting in St. Petersburg, the town is undergoing a modest version of the security lockdown imposed on Mainz.

On Tuesday, workers welded shut manholes in the shadow of the St. Nicholas church. The police said they would cordon off only part of the medieval old town, which the Bushes will tour, disrupting 4,000 residents rather than the tens of thousands put out by the visit in early 2005.

While eastern Germans are no better disposed toward Bush than those in the west - anti-Bush demonstrators said several thousand people would rally on the outskirts of Stralsund - residents seem generally open to the president's visit, if mostly for reasons of self- interest.

"Some people may not consider the Bushes as friends, but they are our guests, and we must treat them well," said Rolf-Peter Zimmer, a retired engineer and the president of the city Parliament. ...

Commentators have likened her invitation to the much-coveted weekends for world leaders at the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas. Merkel is even throwing a barbecue, featuring a wild boar shot by a local hunter, in a tiny village near here, Trinwillershagen. ...

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/12/news/merkel.php

[Doctor_J]

1. Dear God, let me live long enough to watch *'s trial on TV

whoo-hoo!

[Doctor_J]

2. The most hated man in history

The entire planet, except for the hannity-limpballs-oreally-coulter fan club, absolutely detests Smirky.

[Ripley]

3. Why do they do this for Lordy Pissypants?

Their economy ain't so hot. Why does any country spend their citizens tax dollars to provide a safe little bubble for Asshole? STAND UP AND SAY NO, GERMANY! I am so sick and tired of Him getting this royal treatment everywhere. If he won't go without barbed wire around his hotel, too bad.

[jwirr]

9. They are quietly. They are uniting Europe and the surrounding

countries which will eventually act as a hedge on our world behavior. They may also be moving closer to Russia who has both oil and gas to export and they have developed the Euro which gives the world another more stable currency to choose from. All of this on the quiet. Read "After the Empire" by Emmanual Todd which beautifully outlines this process and our mistakes under *ss.

[Kellanved]

15. Well

The economy isn't doing that poorly. Germans just like to understate and to bitch, the situation is more or less stable - i.e. Germany is a country able to pay for practically anything, if there is a will to do it.

In this case it's the wonders of the federal system. Merkel is a big Bush fan and she invited him to her district - that's her right to do, as the chancellor has the power to set guidelines for foreign relations.
Her district is located in the state of Mecklenburg Western Pomerania; due to the quirks of the German federal system, that state is obliged to organize the event and to foot the bill. Needless to say that the state is also very poor and hardly able to pull it off - but they weren't asked.

[AndyA]

4. It would seem everyone in the world - except for that small percentage

here in America who approves of him - feels the same way. The man is universally hated and loathed. He's not welcome anywhere he goes.

Take the hint, Bush. TAKE A HIKE! We don't want you, go away.

[uppityperson]

5. k&r for inspirational photos

[partylessinOhio]

6. Vacation time - Bush, Beaches, Barbed Wire.

German police officers stand guard on a sea bridge near the Grand Hotel Kempinski in Heiligendamm on the eastern German Baltic sea coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania July 12, 2006.

[unhappycamper]

11. That concertina wire and green security fence sure adds

to the ambiance of the beach and the lawn. Way to go Chimp! :thumbsup:

[Fridays Child]

7. Can somebody get a message to those protestors?

Tell them we agree that he's a war criminal.

[RaleighNCDUer]

8. That wire can not only keep people out -

it could keep * in.

Could we hope he'd stay there till his trial?

[Gregorian]

10. Pinch me! Am I really seeing this?

It's a sight for sore eyes to see people with actual brains. They know. They've been where we're heading. Why can't the morans see past the FOX bullshit? That's rhetorical.

I hope something happens quickly to turn this country around. Germans get it. America, wake up.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

12. I thought Nazis were illegal in Germany.

[zulchzulu]

13. The Chimp is always going to be looking behind his back...

...the rest of his stupid life...

I hope he is haunted in his dreams.

[Pachamama]

14. When I saw Clinton w/ Chelsea on Sunday attending the World Cup Match, I

was remarking how Clinton can go around the world, be in public places and greeted by people all over and smiled at.

Can you imagine when public citizen Bush wants to anywhere other than Texas? They will be booing, hissing and tomatoes and feces thrown at him....the little war criminal won't dare to leave Crawford. He'' go down in history as needing the largest Secret Service protetion of any ex-President....his advisors will keep him out of the public eye and public.

[KansDem]

16. Here is Germany right after 9/11 (Navy DUers help out here, please)

The sign reads "We stand by you." Notice the American flag...



As I understand it, this is the greatest honor at sea...for a ship's captain to summon all hands to one side to honor and pay respect to the ship of another nation.

What happened?

[Kellanved]

17. That scene has been repeated several times since 2001

And the banner "we stand by you" was presented to the American congress.




FGS Niedersachsen - USS Doyle
Lütjens - USS Churchill
...

[Mad_Dem_X]

18. When I see images like that...

I want to cry. We had the whole world on our side after 9/11, and a$$hole Bush fucking DESTROYED THAT! For that alone, I can never forgive him. :grr: