In response to the question 'Is this the right time for President Bush to visit the UK?', 65 per cent of 1,000 voters answered no, while only 35 per cent said yes.
The cost of policing the three day visit, during which Bush will stay at Buckingham Palace, is estimated at around £5.5million - more than any other major event in London this year.

The Guardian and BBC say otherwise, however:

A Guardian/ICM opinion poll (see the PDF) suggests that 43% of people welcome Mr Bush's visit to the UK, compared with 36% who say they would prefer he did not come.

For a poll with a relatively easy yes/no answer, I find it strange that 21% of the respondents would have abstained from answering. Surely conducting a telephone poll will most likely yield different results to say, on online poll, using the same sample group? hey Jus? ;)

UPDATE: Trafalgar Square webcam. More at Chasing Bush, and reports on the protest march at BBC News.

An image is worth a thousand words. A word is worth a thousand images.

Because I am one of the millions of people against the war; And because the American government has made it clear that it won't listen to world opinion; And because the symbols of American power are its corporations and their brands; I hereby pledge to boycott Brand America, from the moment the war begins and to the best of my ability until the empire learns to listen.

Add your name to the list and help get a million signatures for the Boycott Brand America pledge.

[00:35] *** Now talking in #trivia
[00:35] *** Topic is 'War is God's way of teaching Americans geography'

"This is the strongest voice I could think of to send out there. We had to send something out there now. We are praying and hoping for the lives of all people involved, the troops, the Iraqi civilians, refugees, pow's, families of troops, the innocents - that they are safe and okay. Safe home, all."

You can read the full press release at Undercover.

Since the end of the cold war, the U.S. has been trying to come up with an operating theory of the world - and a military strategy to accompany it. Now there’s a leading contender. It involves identifying the problem parts of the world and aggressively shrinking them. Since September 11, 2001, the author, a professor of warfare analysis, has been advising the Office of the Secretary of Defense and giving this briefing continually at the Pentagon and in the intelligence community. Now he gives it to you.

In the author's analysis, South Africa is a seam state and is grouped under the parts of the world called the 'Functioning Core': where globalization is thick with network connectivity, financial transactions, liberal media flows, and collective security, and features a stable government, rising standards of living, and more deaths by suicide than murder.

The only functioning Core country in Africa, but it's on the bubble. Lots of concerns that South Africa is a gateway country for terror networks trying to access Core through back door. Endemic crime is biggest security threat. And then there's AIDS.

We're a "seam state" because we lie along the 'Non-Integrating Gap' group's boundary. In this war on terrorism, the U.S. will place a special emphasis on cooperation with these seam states. to shrink the Gap by stopping the ability of terrorist networks to access the Core.

In sum, it is always possible to fall off this bandwagon called globalization. And when you do, bloodshed will follow. If you are lucky, so will American troops.

But despite what is said, to the contrary, "if the past 100 years were widely considered the American Century, this new one is fast shaping up as the Anti-American Century": Ugly sentiments sting American tourists

Ok, enough of this! :)

"Nothing credible has been said that any such breach has occurred to justify a resort to war," ... "The situation demands that once more the masses of our people must act together as a powerful force for peace in the world. They have an obligation to stand up and join the struggle for peace"

- Thabo Mbeki, South African President

"If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America."

- Nelson Mandela, Former South African President and Nobel Peace Laureate

"We did not ask for this present challenge, but we accept it. Like other generations of Americans, we will meet the responsibility of defending human liberty against violence and aggression. By our resolve, we will give strength to others. By our courage, we will give hope to others. And by our actions, we will secure the peace, and lead the world to a better day."

- George W. Bush, US President

"We should remain the closest ally of the U.S., and as allies, influence them to continue broadening their agenda. We are the ally of the U.S. not because they are powerful, but because we share their values."

- Tony Blair, UK Prime Minister

"We have to date found no evidence that Iraq has revived its nuclear weapon program since the elimination of the program in the 1990s. However, our work is steadily progressing and should be allowed to run its natural course. With our verification system now in place, barring exceptional circumstances and provided there is sustained, proactive cooperation by Iraq, we should be able within the next few months to provide credible assurance that Iraq has no nuclear weapon program."

- Mohamed ElBaradei, executive director of the International Atomic Energy Agency

"The rush of US officials (to war) will not take them anywhere. They will fall into a thousand pits because of their poor planning and their intentions against the world," ... "Those who target Arabs in their sanctities, faith and rights will fall, this is what history says."

- Saddam Hussein, Iraqi President

"The potential for white Western body parts flying around with the Iraqi ones should make them think again about this imperialist oil war." ... "The hypocrisy is mind-blowing. The biggest threat to world security at this moment is US President George Bush."

- Kenneth Nichols O'Keefe, former US marine and leader of "We the People" organisation, a human shield programme acting at key Iraqi sites and populous areas in case of a United States-led war on Baghdad.

War drums still beat, instigation rises despite world’s certainty that Iraq is free from WMD, according to inspection committees. It is an inconsistency to the wise, a procedure to those who recklessly fiddle with the human reason as Bush the little and his group do as if they are USA. The way they behave improves that they are belong to the same illusive criteria that deal with matters according to its own selfish interests to build an aggregation of falsehood made of unreasonable political ties supported by the heads of US security institution and military arsenal whom they work instinctively to create the necessary misleading figure of their enemy, driving continuously the dynamics of racism to take a part in the field.

- Babil Newspaper, Iraqi daily newspaper (run by Saddam Hussein's eldest son Uday).

Whoa, coda.coza going political! Don't worry it won't last long. What prompted me to search for an Iraqi news source, has mostly to do with Sunday's front page article on IOL of US Marines suffering head injuries in Kuwait from falling off trailers and crashing their vehicles. It's hard enough to escape the reality of a seemingly inevitable war in the near future, so I start to get really pissed off when all we have to read about is trivial irrelevant shit like this.

It wouldn't be silly to suggest that IOL has gone slightly mad reporting this dribble, not to mention the United States of course.

Anyway. Also check out the INA and Dar al hayat websites, for a different view on global matters.