Why on earth does President Bush need an entourage of 700 for his four day jaunt to England? That's ridiculous. What's even more galling is we, the American taxpayers, are footing the bill.

Mr Bush, his wife, Laura, and a 700-strong entourage worthy of a travelling medieval monarch, flew into Heathrow airport slightly late, at about 7.30pm. The couple were greeted by the Prince of Wales, then whisked to the palace by US military helicopter.

With up to 100,000 anti-war protesters planning to march through the heart of Whitehall tomorrow - and the cost of 5,123 police officers protecting the president likely to top £10m - Downing Street maintained a stiff upper lip in the face of predictions that the four-day visit could prove a major public relations disaster.

Bush will be making 150 minutes of speeches during his stay. He canceled his talk to Parliament due to the protests.

...senior White House adviser Dr Harlan Ullman said: "They would have loved to do it because it would have been a great photo-opportunity. "But they were fearful it would to turn into a spectacle with Labour backbenchers walking out."

His only talks now are at private, invitation-only functions.

The only speech Mr Bush, who will stay with the Queen at Buckingham Palace, is now due to give will be to an "invited audience" at the Banqueting House in Whitehall.

Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn said: "This is yet another slight on this country by the president of the USA. "The least he could do is subject himself to questions from MPs." And colleague John McDonnell said: "Bush might be able to run from the protesters, he might be able not to see the banners. "But he must not be able to hide from the anger felt across the country at this unjustified war."

In the dirty laundry department....The divorce of Bush brother Neil gets uglier and uglier as his wife Sharon files a motion seeking to compel him to undergo a paternity test, the results of which she hopes will absolve her of liability in a defamation lawsuit.

The request, filed Monday, asks that the judge order Neil Bush and Robert Andrews to submit blood tests to determine the paternity of Andrews' 2-year-old son.

Sharon Bush contends she needs the tests to defend herself against a $850,000 defamation lawsuit filed against her by Andrews. Andrews' suit contends Bush defamed him when she suggested in conversations with reporters, friends and restaurant employees that his son may have been fathered by Neil Bush.

Andrews and his wife, Maria Andrews, divorced in October 2002 after 14 years of marriage. The Bushes divorced in April after a 23-year marriage. Neil Bush and Maria Andrews met several years ago when she was working as a volunteer for former first lady Barbara Bush.

Sharon once claimed that ex-Neil fathered the Andrews child--a statement that resulted in the defamation lawsuit.

Via TomPaine blog:

Shoot to kill. The White House asked British authorities to give U.S. special agents and snipers immunity if they shot protestors or other civilians during the president's visit to Great Britain. That was one of the many demands the White House made in preparation for the president's visit. Others were permission to close the Tube network, the use of U.S. air force planes and helicopters and the shipping in of battlefield weaponry to use against rioters. In the case of the accidental shooting of a protester, the Brits said no--the Americans in President Bush's protection squad will face justice in a British court as would any other visitor.

At least the Brits have some sanity left.

President Bush's trip to Great Britain promises to be anything but smooth. The Mayor of London calls him "the biggest threat to life on this planet that we've ever seen."

More on the Mayor, Ken Livingstone:

Mr Livingstone, who is holding a "peace party" for anti-war groups in City Hall tomorrow, added: "I don't formally recognise George Bush because he was not officially elected. So we are organising an alternative reception for everybody who is not George Bush."

There will be 16,000 police officers guarding him. Thats one of every nine police officers in England and Wales. The tab: at least £7m, paid for by the British taxpayers.

100.000 demonstrators are expected at a demonstration in Central London Thursday.

Here is Bush's schedule.

Calling Drug Czar John Walters....We did a doubletake when we saw this in Monday's Washington Post. We're still laughing:

Powell's Chemical Equation

Powell described his killer schedule in an interview Thursday with Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed, a reporter for a London-based Saudi newspaper.

"So do you use sleeping tablets to organize yourself?" Al-Rashed asked.

"Yes. Well, I wouldn't call them that," Powell said. "They're a wonderful medication -- not medication. How would you call it? They're called Ambien, which is very good. You don't use Ambien? Everybody here uses Ambien."

Ambien:

Zolpidem ( Ambien ) is a Sleeping pill from a newer group of drugs called imidzopyridines. Used primarily for short-term treatment of insomnia in adults.

...Never Take a Double Dose!....The habit-forming potential is high. Psychological and physical dependence is possible. Do not stop taking this drug abruptly, this could cause psychological and physical withdrawal symptoms.

The list of common and rare side effects gave us the creeps. Sounds like it was written by Czar Walters....and we don't buy a lot of it. Ambien is a popular and widely used prescription sleep medication that is a favorite among, including others, A-type personalities and business people who take overnight flights. But still, for the Secretary of State to broadcast it to the media? What was he thinking?

[thanks to Avedon Carol at Sideshow for the link]

Interesting statistics from Harper's Index.

Linda Tripp has settled her lawsuit against the Government for privacy violations. She will get $595,000.

According to USA Today, among the privacy violations are leaking information to the New Yorker:

Based on information supplied by Pentagon officials in 1998, The New Yorker reported Tripp did not admit an arrest on her security application for her job at the Defense Department. She had been arrested for grand larceny when she was a teenager.

....The 1974 Privacy Act prohibits the government from releasing unauthorized personal information about individual Americans to nonfederal organizations. Tripp claimed administration officials retaliated for her role in triggering the impeachment proceedings. Tripp provided Independent Counsel Ken Starr with tape-recorded conversations in which Lewinsky confided an intimate relationship with the president.

Tripp also gets a retroactive pay increase which will be used to calculate her retirement benefits. Her lawyers haven't said if she is still working for the Government. Assuming she is not, she is entitled under the agreement to reapply to the Government for a job.

You can read the Settlement Agreement here.

Update: Eric Alterman at Altercation says the news reports have the details way wrong.

Atrios writes of Rep. Congressman Steve LaTourette (R-OH), whose wife is going public with his request for a divorce, following his revelation to her that he's having an affair with a Washington lobbyist.

The couple have been married 21 years and have four children. Mrs. Latourette says that when he called her a few weeks ago to tell her of the affair, she asked him to go into counseling, He said he'd think about it, but called her back Friday and asked for the divorce.

Why is she going public? She wants him back. She says he was a great husband and father until he went to Washington and that the Washington culture corrupts men in power.

Latourrette, a former prosecutor, serves on the Standards of Official Conduct Committee.

Atrios writes of Rep. Congressman Steve LaTourette (R-OH), whose wife is going public with his request for a divorce, following his revelation to her that he's having an affair with a Washington lobbyist.

The couple have been married 21 years and have four children. Mrs. Latourette says that when he called her a few weeks ago to tell her of the affair, she asked him to go into counseling, He said he'd think about it, but called her back Friday and asked for the divorce.

Why is she going public? She wants him back. She says he was a great husband and father until he went to Washington and that the Washington culture corrupts men in power.

Latourrette, a former prosecutor, serves on the Standards of Official Conduct Committee.

One year ago today, Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-MN) was killed in a plane crash. In his honor, today was Wellstone Music Day, at which close to 50 live music events took place in Minnesota. Similar concerts were held in Austin, Texas, Berkeley, California, and Woodstock, New York.

We were in St. Paul, MN that awful day. Here's our account of learning about the crash shortly after it happened.

One year ago today, Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-MN) was killed in a plane crash. In his honor, today was Wellstone Music Day, at which close to 50 live music events took place in Minnesota. Similar concerts were held in Austin, Texas, Berkeley, California, and Woodstock, New York.

We were in St. Paul, MN that awful day. Here's our account of learning about the crash shortly after it happened.

Matt Stoller of the Clark Sphere discusses reactionary politics in the Democratic and Republican Parties--based upon his experiences with the Kerryand Clark Campaigns. It's a continuing series of essays. Part II is here.