Donder10 From Canada, joined Oct 2001, 6659 posts, RR: 24 Reply 7, posted (10 years 3 months 4 days 10 hours ago) and read 864 times:
High profile speakers
Former US presidential candidate the Rev Jesse Jackson also spoke and led the crowd chanting "give peace a chance, keep hope alive".
Off topic but when was he is a US presidential candidate?
Hollywood actor Tim Robbins, also attending, told BBC News the crowds were "what democracy looks like".
If Mr Bush and Mr Blair ignored them "they are not rightful leaders of a democracy", he said.
Well,the opinion polls are quite balanced on several issues relating to an Iraq war so I think that's a very generalised statement.
Tony Benn was rambling on about this being some wider uprising or something equal bollocks.His current penchant for intention seems to be rivalling that of a person he is marching against.Interesting.
Cfalk From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 10, posted (10 years 3 months 4 days 10 hours ago) and read 850 times:
And by the way, 777236ER, don't be so quick to call someone a liar. I know what I heard - and I simply reported it. It's like me believing you're an asshole without really knowing you.
I agree with what Racko said. These were a small minority. Maybe half or less of the demonstrators are there truely about the potential war, the rest are there just for a good time, and a few of them figured to take advantage of the massed crowds and start breaking things.
My wife and I wer invited by several people today to go into town and join the demonstrations. Every one I spoke to treated it as a big party rather than any kind of political statement.
Seb146 From United States of America, joined Nov 1999, 9797 posts, RR: 17 Reply 11, posted (10 years 3 months 4 days 9 hours ago) and read 820 times:
All of the peace protests here in Portland have been very quiet. We have protests all the time. The only one that seems to have the police involved is Critical Mass (anti-petrol). But that is off topic.....
Jesse Jackson (I believe) ran for president in 1988 and maybe 1984.
I also know peace protesters can be violent. I lived in Seattle during WTO. Enough said.
Ikarus From United Kingdom, joined Jan 2001, 3524 posts, RR: 2 Reply 13, posted (10 years 3 months 4 days 8 hours ago) and read 796 times:
I agree with what Racko said. These were a small minority. Maybe half or less of the demonstrators are there truely about the potential war, the rest are there just for a good time, and a few of them figured to take advantage of the massed crowds and start breaking things.
My wife and I wer invited by several people today to go into town and join the demonstrations. Every one I spoke to treated it as a big party rather than any kind of political statement.
Uh, yeah, I'm sure the 1-1.5 million people who froze theis butts off in London were there just for the fun of it. I mean, taking 90 minutes for the 200 metres along the Riverbank leading up to the houses of Parliament, with no music (apart from our friends , the Socialist worker Party guys, singing a mildly entertaining song entitled "George Bush is a w**ker") or fun or toilets or warming coffee or anything around, it sure WAS fun.
OK, so towards the very end, around Picadilly, they had some music and some drums, but for the vast majority of the 5 hours I spent on the walk that would otherwise take 1.5 hours or less, I felt miserable and cold. Especially whenever I looked around and felt embarassed to be seen in the close vicinity of members of the "British Communist Party" or "International Union of Sex Workers" or indeed the "Socialist Worker Party" - all not exactly organizations I would consider myself a fan of.... But hey, at least everyone agreed on ONE point...
Still, every minute was worth it if it has any effect on politics....
Klaus From Germany, joined Jul 2001, 20845 posts, RR: 55 Reply 16, posted (10 years 3 months 4 days 3 hours ago) and read 741 times:
Ryanb741: But it won't, so you have ultimately frozen your butt off for nothing
Yeah, which politician would ever be interested in several million people all over the world protesting against a very specific policy point? Protests which only 70-90% of their populations support? They´d have to be crazy to take such a minor occurence seriously...
Schoenorama From Spain, joined Apr 2001, 2440 posts, RR: 29 Reply 17, posted (10 years 3 months 4 days 3 hours ago) and read 733 times:
To Seb146:
Please do not confuse "peace-protesters" with "Anti-Globalization" protesters, specially when it comes to having used violence or not.
Some US newspaper even labels the protesters as "activists" (Washington Post). So peacefully joining a demonstration after work, by walking a few miles with your wife and children, makes one an activist! Interesting.
Regarding the thread, as far as I have been able to check, only the protests in Greece ('it wasn't Kostas') and Turkey had some minor violence.
Utinam logica falsa tuam philosophiam totam suffodiant!
Heavymetal From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 19, posted (10 years 3 months 4 days 2 hours ago) and read 713 times:
The irony is interesting...
About as ironic as the most overtly 'Christian' U.S. President in the last century about to give the command that could lead to thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of deaths.
Shhh!.....if you're quiet enough you can hear them furiously scraping off 'What Would Jesus Do' stickers across the fruited plain.
B757300 From United States of America, joined Dec 2000, 4114 posts, RR: 25 Reply 20, posted (10 years 3 months 4 days 2 hours ago) and read 706 times:
Sorry Heavy but if you think being a Christian means you go crawl under a bed and run from the bad guys, think again. The Bible says plenty of times that sometimes war and death are necessary evils. It is sad but in order to rid the world of people like Saddam Hussein, innocents must die. I guess you would also have a problem with the "innocents" (of which there were none) who died to defeat Hitler.
B747forlife From United States of America, joined Nov 2001, 392 posts, RR: 3 Reply 21, posted (10 years 3 months 4 days 1 hour ago) and read 701 times:
Is it just me, or do you all ever wonder why the actual silent majority (the ones who agree with Bush and taking Saddam out and disarming Iraq) are actually silent? I mean, all you ever hear about is the loud, minority. Look at the numbers in the world as a whole, a few million people is not a majority. Anyway, there is no possible conclusive way to see if a majority of people is for one thing, as you will not get the opinion of every single person in the world.
Heavymetal From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 23, posted (10 years 3 months 4 days 1 hour ago) and read 690 times:
You can make a poll say anything you want it to.
Yes you can indeed. And you can make the Bible say anything you want to too.
Sorry Heavy but if you think being a Christian means you go crawl under a bed and run from the bad guys, think again.
The current modus operendi of conservative religionists in the US..."Think Again...... And again. And again. And when you stop on the thought that is exactly like ours....you can stop thinking. We did."
Cfalk From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 24, posted (10 years 3 months 3 days 23 hours ago) and read 666 times:
Is it just me, or do you all ever wonder why the actual silent majority (the ones who agree with Bush and taking Saddam out and disarming Iraq) are actually silent?
Perhaps because the silent majority has more sense than to freeze their butts in sub-zero weather all day.
[Edited 2003-02-16 06:56:04]
25 Artsyman: I think that items like the Iraq invasion should have a vote or similar across the country. While my opinions of this are unrelated, if as many people
26 777236ER: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2767761.stm Well this thread is a bit pointless as there was NO violence. Care to explain Cfalk?
27 Cfalk: Why do you keep throwing reports of individual demonstrations at me? Where did I mention one specific demonstration or another? There were 6000 of the
28 Arsenal@LHR: This is just another propaganda thread by the pro-war faction, no facts, no evidence, just pure BS. The pro-war people have run out of excuses for a w
29 Delta-flyer: Arsenal, As I see it, there is no war, only a threat of war. And it is showing results - Saddam is showing signs of cooperating and the Arab world is
30 ADG: The *limited* violence at protests is ALWAYS there, it's the injection of the *rent a crowd* who aren't there because they believe in the cause, they'
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, the Socialist worker Party guys, singing a mildly entertaining song entitled "George Bush is a w**ker") or fun or toilets or warming coffee or anything around, it sure WAS fun. 
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