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| Fifth Column |
| Stars unite in war protest |
| 2003-02-14 |
| Yes, Believe it or not. The Brits beautiful people check in.. 13 February 2003 Stars from the worlds of music, stage and screen have declared their opposition to a war on Iraq. Actress Joanna Lumley, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and singer Elton John are among dozens of celebrities joining a protest organised by architect Lord Rogers. He will publish names of more than 150 supporters in a newspaper advertisement tomorrow, alongside the statement: "Why Iraq? Why now? The facts do not justify war. Join us in saying no." The petition - the most significant so far against military action against Iraq - could attract even more protesters to Saturday's anti-war rally in Hyde Park. A chance to rub shoulders with the stars? Count me in! Organisers estimate the number of people attending the Stop the War demonstration could reach "the high hundreds of thousands" -a sharp rise on the 500,000 predicted last week. Although wary of such predictions, the Metropolitan police is preparing contingency plans including roadblocks and shutting railway stations outside London if crowds coming into the capital approach danger levels. Officers will monitor the situation, via closed-circuit television cameras, from Scotland Yard and restrict or speed up the flow of marchers at key points to ensure safety. Actors signing the petition include Dame Judi Dench, Dustin Hoffman, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Pryce, Emma Thompson and Sir Ian McKellen. Singers Damon Albarn, Jarvis Cocker, Sir Bob Geldof and Sting are backing the campaign along with artists Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst. Other supporters include comedian Harry Enfield, TV presenter Mariella Frostrup, authors Nick Hornby and Jeanette Winterson, theatre directors Nicholas Hytner and Richard Eyre, and Chelsea footballer Graeme Le Saux. Signatory Mike Leigh, director of Secrets And Lies and Topsy Turvy, said: "I am totally opposed to this lunacy, which will undoubtedly escalate into unimaginable disaster." Topsy Turvy is opposed to "this lunacy". I am impressed. And Kazuo Ishiguro, author of Remains Of The Day, said: "We should go to war only when convinced it's the last, least evil option. We've been offered only vague, alarmist hypotheses. Saddam must be disarmed but it's absurd to claim all other options have been exhausted." Maybe he'll just.....go away. The march is expected to attract many people who have never attended a political demonstration before, including many from Middle England. I cut the rest of it, which was mostly logistical stuff. Could any of our British friends Let us know who some of thes people are? |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #2 Oh well. More "artists" for me to boycott. At least I'll always have Bach. It would be real tough for him make a jackass of himself. |
| Posted by: Christopher Johnson 2003-02-14 16:31:02 |
| #1 One of the most poignant moments in "Remains Of The Day" (film version) was the servant (Anthony Hopkins)'s realization that his employer's morally bankrupt pre-war Nazi sympathies have compromised the household to which he has devoted his life's energies. Wonder how these celebrities, many of them very talented, will square the realization that they "worked" to keep Saddam in power with post-war evidence of the scale of his atrocities? Disgusting. |
| Posted by: JDB 2003-02-14 16:08:38 |