Thousands in Europe protest Iraq war, but few in US (AFP)

[Up2Late]

(Is this true? Or are the really big protests scheduled for Sunday? Is the Chicago protest tomorrow?)

Thousands in Europe protest Iraq war, but few in US

19/03/2006 02h02

NEW YORK (AFP) - Tens of thousands of people in Europe and the Americas protested the war in Iraq on the eve of its third anniversary, with demonstrations in Europe drawing far greater crowds than those in the United States. Events in Washington, New York and Los Angeles drew approximately 1,000 people each, AFP reporters and police said.

At a rally near New York's Times Square, speaker after speaker denounced the Bush administration and US troops in Iraq. The group Troops Out Now called for immediate, complete, unconditional US military withdrawal.

"Public opinion is now overwhelmingly on our side as it becomes clearer every day that this occupation itself is the source of the violence in Iraq," said organizer Dustin Langley.

In Washington, a thousand protested outside Vice President Dick Cheney's home. "This racist war has to go," they chanted, some carrying signs reading "Bush step down", "Impeachment now" and "Hands off Iran". In Hollywood, 1,200 protested the war, police said. Among them were Paul Haggis, the Canadian director of "Crash", this year's Oscar winner for best picture, and actors Martin Sheen, Laura Dern and Maria Bello.

US President George W. Bush said Saturday that invading Iraq was "the right decision," and vowed to overcome violence there that has killed some 2,300 US soldiers and countless Iraqi civilians. "We will finish the mission," said Bush. "By defeating the terrorists in Iraq, we will bring greater security to our own country."

(more at link below)

<http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/060319015709.etdsmpsu.html>

[Stanchetalarooni]

1. Learned helplessness. By design.

What's to fight.

[Kenergy]

2. Protest in my town is scheduled for Sunday (tomorrow) n/t

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

3. 1200 in Hollywood? NOT EVEN!!- MANY more than 1200 !!-- I was there!

I have pictures to prove it-
I have to compress them and upoad them before I post them.
1200? there is no way -
you can count 1200 in one shot I took standing in one small group...
and the march was steady people for blocks and blocks--
---had to be at least several thousand.

Martin Sheen and others spoke at the stage-
It wasn't as strong a turnout as the original Iraq war protest 3 yrs ago
but considering almost no publicity it was pretty encouraging.

I was happy to see a lot of people there!

Just a reminder: don't believe everything the press prints.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

4. Thanks for the personal account

It's much appreciated. :)

They want us to think that there's not a strong anti-war support in the US. I agree, don't believe everything the press prints.

[Up2Late]

6. Maybe they are hoping to spark some outrage to push more people...

...here in the US to get out to the Protests on Sunday?:shrug:

I was out all afternoon today, so I wasn't monitoring the Cable "news" today, Anyone know if any of the protests got any air time on Cable "news" or time on the Local Newscasts?

I just turned on CNN/International, so I'll report back as to what they show in the next few hours. :hi:

[fed-up]

5. Chico, CA checking in-300-400 peaceful persons at our rally/march nt

[oasis]

7. The Bushistas have dumbed down America.

:dunce: 60,000,000.

[Seabiscuit]

8. This is pure bullshit. 25K protested in S.F. 20K protested in L.A. More

than 500 cities and towns across Amerika woke up to protests today.

[niyad]

9. and yet, we have posts on here from protests all around the country,

including the TEN THOUSAND PLUS in SF--but I guess none of those count????

[proud patriot]

10. BS IMO SF had min 10,000+ Today

I was there It wasn't anywhere near 1000.
plus many cities around the SF Bay Area had
200-500 people marches ...We are the Majority .

[Up2Late]

11. And yet, the American "news" media is almost completely ignoring...

...all of these protests. I just posted this, what I found the Cable "news" was showing
at about 12:30am ET, to another thread:

CNN has Larry King "Live" with Donald Trump...

CNBC has Suzi Orman... :puke:

Fox looks like they are working on a new "breaking news" story about some missing or murdered white girl...

MSNBC has some hour+ show about some old Jet Crash in Peru...

Even CNN/International just switched to a bogus "CNN Presents" show about how a FUTURE (2009) terrorist attack on Saudi Arabian Oil Refineries will screw up the US economy, after a future Hurricane "Steve" hit's Huston, Texas.

Also, I've been watching CNN/HLN for about an hour now, and they are giving the New York Protest about 20 seconds, the Sydney, Australia protest about 20 seconds and I saw about 10 seconds of the L.A. protest once, but that might have been on CNN/International before they started that "CNN Presents" show.

And this is the only story the AP has on it's website, just posted at 11:38 PM EST (middle of the night, when most won't see it)
<http://staging.hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ_WAR_PROTESTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT>

What IS CNN/HLN covering? The Pirate Attack off the coast of Ethiopia, and the French Youth/Job Protests, both in a big way. Probably the first time the Ethiopian Pirate story has been covered.

Man this RW controlled MSM really is pissing me off.

[0007]

13. Amazing! Have we been muzzled again?

I'm pissed!!

[Up2Late]

15. kick n/t

:kick:

[gratuitous]

12. Portland will represent tomorrow

I'll be there with a sign, a camera, a banner, and a bunch of gentle, angry pacifists from the Church of the Brethren.

[DoYouEverWonder]

14. Here's just a 'few' people in NYC

[skeeters2525]

16. We Were There

Went to two peace rallies in Chicago today. For once the media was there in force. And the Chicago Cops were even cool, believe it or not. I think they are on our side.

Even got my picture taken by two newspapers. The Chicago Tribune, but I had a Mets jacket on and they own the Cubs so that could be a red flag. But then he sent over my local paper and she said she was looking for someone local and started snapping.

Just incredible speakers. Chicago Islamic leader telling us to start fighting. We did nothing about Florida and Ohio, and we can't take it anymore.

And the different groups was the best part. You name a minority or cause and they were there. At the end of one, a group of Native Americans did a dance with a little girl in the middle of the circle. Every group was just transformed by that.

We bonded like you wouldn't believe. It is a wave people. Don't give up. And all we were saying, was give peace a chance.

[Up2Late]

17. Do you know if WGN was there? What time do they have news on...

...Sunday?

Thanks for the report and Welcome to DU! :toast:

BTW, I'm a life-long Cubs fan (I grew up 2 hours West of Chicago, in Indiana).

[struggle4progress]

18. 4,000 Spaniards call for end to U.S. "occupation" of Iraq

Madrid, Mar 19 (EFE).- Some 4,000 people protested here Sunday against the "U.S. occupation of Iraq," expressing their support for the "resistance" of the Iraqi and Palestinian people and demanding that the Spanish government withdraw its troops from Afghanistan and Haiti.

On the third anniversary of the start of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the demonstrators here marched through several downtown streets to the foreign ministry at the behest of some 30 leftist social and political organizations.

Writer Belen Gopegui publicly read a manifesto representing the stance of the marchers in which they said that the administration of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was "complicit" in what they called the U.S. strategy of global war that had involved the Spanish government in "imperialist adventures in the service of the Spanish multinationals, which are not part of our people."

"The announced withdrawal of Spanish troops from Haiti," read the communique, "includes an implied stepping up of Operation Enduring Freedom in the Afghan theater of operations." <snip>

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/03/19/1471235.htm