Italy protests greet Bush visit

[Wickerman]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3777281.stm

First heard this reported on MPR, but its all over foreign news sources.


Tens of thousands of anti-war protesters have taken to the streets in Rome as US President George W Bush visits the Italian capital.
Crowds of demonstrators shouting "No Bush, no war" marched through the city.

The protest came hours after Pope John Paul II reiterated his condemnation of the US-led war in Iraq in a meeting with Mr Bush at the Vatican.

Riot police are out in force to monitor the march and protesters, some of whom have thrown fireworks and flares
--snip

[Wickerman]

1. sounds really wild over there

[maddezmom]

2. Tens of thousands march against Bush visit to Rome

06-04) 09:11 PDT ROME (AP) --

Tens of thousands of Italian anti-war demonstrators marched through central Rome amid tight security to protest President Bush's visit, many waving peace banners and calling for the pullout of Italian troops in Iraq.

A small group of hooded protesters clashed with police, but the scuffles appeared to break up after a few minutes. It was unclear if anyone was injured.

Italy deployed about 10,000 police officers to protect Bush and his entourage. Premier Silvio Berlusconi has said he is worried about the possibility of violence, and the U.S. Embassy warned Americans to avoid the crowds.

Most Italians opposed the Iraq war. Berlusconi, however, insisted that the cause was just, and his government sent 3,000 troops to help rebuild Iraq after Saddam Hussein's ouster.

~snip~

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/06/04/international1211EDT0554.DTL

[Wickerman]

4. San Francisco - another foreign news source!

LOL.

Good reporting, if not short on NPR. Helicopters, tear gas, riot police, sticks, bottles, bricks.

[maddezmom]

6. CNNI showing video from protests earlier

and John King is now talking about the tongue lashing bush* got from the pope.

[Wickerman]

7. good, I want everyone to know how much the little king* is appreciated

worldwide.

[Just Me]

11. I still cannot BELIEVE how the US press has downplayed the protests.

Hardly a day passes where there isn't a protest against this BFEE-backed neocon coup.

Yet, the press has been so malignantly negligent in bringing these protests which exceed any historical precedent to the attention of the American people.

Humanity is taking a stand against a 21st C. regime that is willing to "bring on" world war 3,...and the press is "pretending" it isn't happening.

Damn!!!

[saigon68]

3. CHIMPANZEE WELCOMED IN ROME

A hooded protester throws a flare into the Defense Ministry during anti-war demonstrations in Rome June 4, 2004. Thousands of armed police lined the streets of the Italian capital as activists gathered to protest against the visiting President George W. Bush (news - web sites) and the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq (news - web sites). (Giampiero Sposito/Reuters)

[Just Me]

5. D'ya suppose the hatred he's grown against himself,...

,...could have something to do with his "paranoia"?

The man has been depicted around the world (including within his own country) as a fascist, an anti-christ, an evil pariah, among other loathsome sentiments.

[soup]

8. Wait for it

wait for it
>snip<
The city's Ciampino airport is banning flights for two days because of the visit by Bush, who met the Pope after talks with Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. Bush is also holding meetings with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Flights arriving into Ciampino were diverted to the Leonardo Da Vinci airport, with delays of as long as three hours.

wait for it
Protesters arrived at the train station wrapped in rainbow peace flags and brandishing banners with slogans such as ``Get Out of Iraq'' and ``Stop the Criminal.'' Garbage cans were set on fire and protesters blocked several large streets, including Cristoforo Colombo, one of the main streets leading into Rome.

wait for it
``I'm against the war, I'm against Bush and I'm against Berlusconi,'' said Enzo Salome, 52, a worker at the communications ministry in Naples who came to Rome to join the protests. ``I'm not anti-American; I'm protesting a policy of waging war for oil.''

wait for it
About 25,000 participated in the main march through Italy's capital, police told Ansa news agency. Apart from a few scuffles, the protests have been peaceful, scented with marijuana smoke, underscored by reggae music, and colored by rainbow peace flags.
>snip<

wait no more
Bush's visit contrasts with his predecessor Bill Clinton's 1994 trip to Rome, when the former U.S. president was met with crowds of cheering revelers. Richard Nixon was forced to move entirely in a helicopter during a 1969 visit to the capital after anti-Vietnam war protests turned violent.
full article here:
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=acPoroQ.MHmY&refer=us

[dbt]

13. Nicely done, soup!

:toast:
dbt

[Aunt Anti-bush]

9. Wow!

Now, these guys really know how to host a protest. Go Rome!

[VolcanoJen]

10. My TWO Favorite Italian Protest Photos!!

Italian anti-war demonstrators hold a peace flag in central Rome during a protest march of several tens of thousands of people in the capital's streets against US President George W.Bush's visit


I love her. :-)

[Robbien]

12. The Italian gov't closed down small independent news radio stations

for the day so that word couldn't get spread around Italy about how big the protests are.

Since the gov't owns all the big media outlets, I wonder how much of this is getting back to the everyday Italians.

[TankLV]

16. Doesn't Berlosconi (sp) own them?

Isn't he a media mogul and that's how he's made his fortune?

(sarcasm on)
I am shocked that that would happen. Shocked!
(sarcasm off)

[MGKrebs]

14. Heh! They disrupted *'s schedule!

The protests took place at the Piazza Venezia, the site of Italy's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Bush had been scheduled to lay a wreath at the tomb, but those plans had to be scrapped for security reasons.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/06/04/bush.italy/index.html

[maddezmom]

15. HAHAHA....only far since bush* disrupted all of Italy's schedule.