We have just had the inconvenience of having our city visitied by US Vice President Dick Cheney.

The hassle started a few days ago when there was a deafening sound out my office window and all of the windows were shaking. Looking out I saw an army blackhawk helicopter hovering above the building across the road. It flew off, did a lap of the city and came back again. This continued for well over an hour.

Last night the police started gathering in the city. At the last minute they revoked the permission for a protest march to walk from the Town Hall to the US Consulate and threatened to arrest anyone who attempted to leave the area. (And I thought that we were living in a democracy. Surely the deputy head of the “world’s greatest democracy” would be happy to see how actively we embrace the concept.)

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