Armchair Generalist highlights Germany's intense security preparations in welcoming President Bush for talks with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. According to the Financial Times a 60-80 strong column of vehicles is just the beginning of lockdown in the city of Mainz, and it follows today's deployment in Belgium. Generalist noted the last sentence in particular,
"Although the country has no history of terrorism, more than 5,300 policemen will be deployed, supported by 400 soldiers, 400 firemen and elite anti-chemical forces."I'm thinking soon it might be cheaper and safer to employ holographic video conferencing. We could launch a satellite fleet that's dedicated to the president and the top ranking diplomats, with the highest possible encryption, and just have some more expendable lackey travel from capital to capital with 3-D cameras, projectors, and stereo audio transmitters.
