 Insisting that they are "not criminals, they are patriots," an array of Bush-bashing protesters is making last-minute plans for their Inauguration Day demonstrations in Washington. However, the protesters have more in common than an aversion to war. They have a history of sympathizing with America's enemies including North Korea and Cuba, and they look to a former U.S. attorney general for guidance.
"We're coming in a spirit of non-violence," Shahid Buttar, a Washington, D.C., lawyer and political activist, emphasized, at a Jan. 12 news conference at the National Press Club, where various left-wing groups announced plans for "non-violent" protests.
| Rule #1: Never trust a lawyer named Shahid. |
Nancy Shia, organizer of Critical Mass and a self-described freelance photographer/activist, outlined plans for a Critical Mass bike ride on Inauguration Day. Her group's protest is intended to be "creative, not confrontational," she told reporters. "We intend to cooperate with police." Jim Macdonald, a D.C. Anti-War Network (DAWN) organizer, said the group would be protesting the "war here at home on our civil liberties." The protests would "promote a world of peace and justice," he added. Macdonald's group is planning a march, a rally, and civil disobedience in the form of a 'die-in,' featuring 1,000 black-draped coffins to symbolize the U.S. soldiers who have died in the war in Iraq.
| Can we have about a half million black-draped coffins to symbolize Iraqis that Sammy killed? |
Sister Shazza Nzingha, national chairwoman and founder of the National Alliance of Black Panthers, denounced what she called President Bush's "occupation of Iraq, his occupation of Palestine, his occupation of Haiti," and said her group would protest the president's "anti-people policies."
| We're occupying Palestine? |
| I did it last night. Sorry. Thought I'd told you... |
Lila Kaye of the Anarchist Resistance, which boasts of "smash[ing] a Secret Service checkpoint," burning an American flag, and "pelt[ing] the motorcade with trash" at the last Bush inauguration in 2001, said her group was also planning a non-violent march. She said people worldwide are suffering from Bush's policies and that Thursday's protest will be an attempt to "stand in solidarity with those people." She added that Bush is responsible for "genocide."
| He's the one who wiped out the last of the Gepids, you know... |
Sarah Kauffman, field director for Turn Your Back on Bush (TYBOB), discussed the group's plan to protest "without signs, without pins, without placards." TYBOB members will turn their backs on the presidential motorcade to symbolize what they see as Bush turning his back on Iraq, the international community, the economy, the environment and schools. Buttwipe Buttar said there will be "multiple actions all over the city," and "several thousand (people involved) at a minimum, but denied the existence of any kind of "grand organization."
| I'd hardly describe it as "grand"... |
However, Code Pink, United for Peace and Justice, and the International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition were named as major players in the protests. While these groups have been recognized for their large, noticeable protests over the years, they have also been accused of anti-American activity, and their leadership includes unapologetic sympathizers of regimes and political entities that are considered enemies of the United States.
Ramsey Clark is the answer
The International ANSWER Coalition is directed by Ramsey Clark, who rose to fame as U.S. attorney general for President Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s, but since then has publicly defended radical regimes around the world and offered legal assistance to some of the world's most notorious and reviled figures. Clark is currently part of the legal defense team for ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. He also defended former Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosovic in the International Criminal Court when Milosovic was charged with ethnic cleansing, and according to a November 2002 World Net Daily article, represented a Rwandan pastor who had been charged with participating in the genocide of Tutsi civilians. In 1986, Clark reportedly defended the Palestine Liberation Organization in a lawsuit brought by the family of American Leon Klinghoffer, the tourist who was killed by PLO terrorists in the hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship.
According to the Capital Research Center, Clark also founded the International Action Center (IAC), a spin-off of the Workers World Party (WWP), and has served as the official spokesman for the WWP since the early 1990s when he led the group's National Coalition to Stop U.S. Intervention in the Middle East. The Workers World Party, which describes itself as a "revolutionary socialist" political party in the United States, was founded in 1959, the same year Fidel Castro rose to power in Cuba.
| Wow! I knew he was a nutjob, but I didn't realize just how far out he was. More at the link. |
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