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| Fifth Column |
| Thousands join anti-Bush protest |
| 2003-11-20 |
| Thousands of people have taken to the streets in London to protest against George W Bush and the war on Iraq. Organisers claim more than 150,000 have joined the march in central London, although police put the figure closer to 30,000. Whom to believe police or the protestors? Mr Bush has carried on with his engagements which have included talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair. He and Mr Blair jointly condemned Thursday’s bomb attacks in Turkey and reiterated their war on terror. Foreign activists Security in the capital has been stepped up for the presidential visit and in anticipation of Thursday’s march, 5,123 police officers have been deployed. There have already been 50 arrests since Tuesday night as part of the special security operation. The operations was called BOBBIES BONK BONEHEADS! Deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Andy Trotter said the attacks in Istanbul underlined that his officers were working for the protection of demonstrators as much as Mr Bush. "As we have seen, terrorists really don’t care who they blow up or who they target," he said. "They would have no compunction to take out demonstrators, no compunction in any way at all. And that’s a very difficult message to get across to some demonstrators." Officers are prepared for major disruption to the city centre as the march heads towards Trafalgar Square, and some roads around the route have been closed. They are particularly concerned that as many as 1,000 European anarchists have targeted the event for their own purpose. Anti-war and anarchists? Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens said they were "absolutely intent on not carrying out peaceful protests and mischief-making". Schoolchildren And Mr Trotter said police intelligence had already suggested strongly that there could be pockets of violence and disorder breaking out, especially after the rally breaks up this evening in Trafalgar Square. Many schoolchildren were expected to leave their classrooms, particularly in London schools, and join the march. Marchers started gathering from 1200 GMT, with the protest wending its way to Trafalgar Square via Whitehall and Parliament. Organisers say the rally, which will culminate in the toppling of an 18ft effigy of Mr Bush, will be Britain’s largest weekday protest. "This phenomenal response shows the depth of feeling of the British public towards this visit," said a Stop the War Coalition spokesman. Then his lips fell off. In Scotland, the Scottish Parliament was suspended after a protester dressed in a George Bush mask shouted anti-war slogans from the public gallery during a debate on Iraq. Mr Bush and Mr Blair held talks at Downing Street, following which they met representatives from several African countries to discuss action against HIV/ Aids. They made a joint appearance earlier in the day to condemn the bomb attacks in Turkey and reiterate their commitment to the fight against terrorism. The day is scheduled to be more low-key than the formal first day of the visit, which saw a 41-gun salute and lavish state banquet at Buckingham Palace. Can we declare the ANSWER/STOP WAR marches a failure? 30K people after all this build up is a definite let down. Wonder how the LLL press is spinning this? Anybody over the pond hear anything about the protesters? The BBC link had a picture of what looked like models demonstrating? Just kidding I am sure they aren’t hookers and just dress trashy to get a job in this socialists state. Wonder what the Red Mayor is saying? I need to know! Just kidding I am sure they will tell us tomorrow that there were 200k people and they stopped war all over the world. |
| Posted by:Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) |
| #13 well..in fact they are telling us today that it is 100,000 people. I'm still skeptical, since, as yet, I have not seen a single picture back this up. No footage, no photos, nothing but the BBC..which hahaha...need I say more? |
| Posted by: B 2003-11-21 2:54:11 AM |
| #12 Organisers claim more than 150,000 have joined the march in central London, although police put the figure closer to 30,000. One of the local news progs on the tube just said that the police estimated the crowd to be around 100K. Somebody is no doubt fudging numbers. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-11-20 8:37:00 PM |
| #11 > My first thought was the BBC probably searched through thousands of photos to find the ones that put the protestors in a decent light. < They were probably were trying to attact some guys to the protest to get the numbers up. |
| Posted by: g wiz 2003-11-20 7:17:27 PM |
| #10 Is it just me, or is everyone else having fun. The BBC is like a crack addicted whore, selling her credibility on the cheap for any loser desperate enough to buy it. The protesters reveal themselves as the biggest freak show to hit town since Barnum and Bailey. What is that movie...Camille??? It's becoming so easy; I almost feel mean. In fact, I would feel mean, except that these are the enablers for the Castros Kim Jong's and Sadaams who rape children then run them through paper shredders. So I shrug and think..hey! What goes around, comes around. I have to say that there is a certain satisfaction in seeing the NPR/BBC/Desperate-To-Be-Cool Crowd(TM) finding their rightful place among the freaks of the gutter. |
| Posted by: B 2003-11-20 4:58:51 PM |
| #9 Actually, the BBC report has been trending up all day. First 30, then 70, then 100k |
| Posted by: RussSchultz 2003-11-20 4:34:29 PM |
| #8 at least 50,000 protestors Ok, so we've gone from upwards of 100,000 to 70,000 to "at least 50,000". Anyone else noticing a trend, here? |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-11-20 3:54:51 PM |
| #7 I just read an AP report saying that "at least 50,000 protestors" were marching in London, and that organizers expected the number to grow to 100,000. |
| Posted by: Tibor 2003-11-20 3:07:59 PM |
| #6 Michael Jackson and the Stop the War Coalition...hmmm, aside from both of them being freak shows... |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2003-11-20 2:38:22 PM |
| #5 The MICHAEL JACKSON CRISIS is a Fascist Imperialist Plot™, created by FoxNews and their ZOG masters to steal the headlines away from the Can you say 'wet firecracker', boys and girls? |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-11-20 2:12:46 PM |
| #4 Thx Tibor, also STOP WAR said there were 200k. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2003-11-20 1:55:41 PM |
| #3 The current version of this Beeb article puts the number (according to the police) at 70,000. |
| Posted by: Tibor 2003-11-20 1:44:12 PM |
| #2 How IRONIC. Contrary to this 'report', al Qaida would never blow up those protesters, they're a PR goldmine. The result being, the protesters are actually PROTECTING Georgie by being there. Thanks for the help, boneheads ! |
| Posted by: eyeyeye 2003-11-20 1:19:35 PM |
| #1 BBC had a picture of a couple of hotties protesting (drudge had the picture as well). My first thought was the BBC probably searched through thousands of photos to find the ones that put the protestors in a decent light. |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2003-11-20 1:15:50 PM |