American expatriates to lead the protests against Bush

The Independent (U.K.) ^ | 11/15/03 | Marie Woolf

[Pokey78]

Americans marching beneath a banner proclaiming "Proud of My Country, Shamed by My President" will lead a demonstration against George Bush during his state visit next week. The Stop the War Coalition, which is organising the rally, expects up to 100,000 people to take to the streets of London and express their hostility to the American President.

Trade union members, Muslim groups, environmentalists and peace activists will join forces for the march, with about a hundred US expats, who are adamant the event should be perceived as an indictment of their President, not a snub to their country.

Luke Robinson, 29, a website developer from the United States who has lived in Britain for four years, is among those who will attend the protest. He will be joined by American academics and City workers."Most of us love our country and won't take any anti-American sentiment but we feel this guy is leading us down a bad path," he said. "Allowing a fully fledged state visit is [sending] a bad message that Britain is really backing Bush. The pictures from this visit will definitely be used in his election campaign."

Demonstrators carrying placards reading "Bush - Blair Dumb and Dumber", "Bush Eco-terrorist" and "George W.ar Criminal", as well as blood-splattered anti-Bush banners, will gather in Trafalgar Square where a mock statue of the US President will be symbolically toppled.

Coachloads of demonstrators who oppose the war in Iraq and Mr Bush's environmental and economic policies are to be bused in from Wales, Scotland and the West Country among other points. Michael Moore, the American film maker and comedian who is known for his outspoken views on the US leader, is donating $1,000 to transport demonstrators in from Manchester. Pupils missing school, worshippers from mosques around Britain and a busload of pensioners from an old people's home in Hounslow, west London, will also join the march to express their anger at the visit. Alongside them will be members of the far-left Socialist Workers' Party, the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats, and peace demonstrators from CND and other anti-war groups. A large contingent of Greens will make their feelings known on President Bush's environmental policies. They plan to express their opposition with a week of events including a street party and an anti-Bush home-made T-shirt competition outside Buckingham Palace on Wednesday evening.

"Bush would be better off staying at home to sign the Kyoto Protocol on global warming than coming to Britain," said Spencer Fitzgibbon, a former army officer and member of the Green Party executive.

The exact route of the march is still being negotiated with the Metropolitan Police, who will have 5,000 officers on duty. The protesters want to parade past the Houses of Parliament and Downing Street but police have suggested a shorter route, which would keep them away from Whitehall.

There will be 500 stewards to try to ensure the march does not deteriorate into the sort of violent attacks on American businesses, such as McDonald's restaurants, that have marred anti-capitalism demonstrations in recent years.

The march organisers insist they have not had any trouble during seven previous events and insist Thursday's protest will not be hijacked by anarchist groups. Meetings with the police yesterday were said to have been constructive. They will meet again on Monday to discuss the route.

A spokesman for the Stop the War Coalition said: "We are not anti the American people - in fact many share our reservations about President Bush. This is about the President. There are 500 local Stop the War groups who are bringing people from around the country and the phones are ringing non-stop. We are making 6,000 placards."

The march represents the main event in four days of anti-Bush events, for which the President has drafted in an entourage of more than 500 people, including up to 200 secret service and security personnel. On Tuesday activists are organising a public rally in London with high-profile speakers including the acclaimed playwright and actor Harold Pinter, and the Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic, whose story inspired the Tom Cruise film Born on the Fourth of July. The former Labour cabinet minister Tony Benn and George Galloway MP, who was recently thrown out of the Labour Party for his public comments about the war, will also speak.

There will be a march to the American consulate in Edinburgh on Wednesday and a petition from people throughout Britain will be presented to Downing Street on Monday.

[InvisibleChurch]

don't these people have jobs?

[dighton]

"Most of us love our country and won't take any anti-American sentiment ..."

Needless to say, the next word is "but."

[Dan from Michigan]

To the ex-pats that hate America - Stay the F out.

[halfdome]

I see posts calling for freepers to protest on weekdays. Don't these people have jobs either?

[Arpege92]

The blind leading the blind!

[wimpycat]

Trade union members, Muslim groups, environmentalists and peace activists will join forces for the march, with about a hundred US expats

"About a hundred" US expats, out of the 200,000 (info from another article) living in London. But that's a nice collection of nuts and flakes for the protest. The more pissed off people like that get over President Bush, the more I know he's my kind of President, LOL!

[sirchtruth]

Bring it on you bloody K'nigits!

[InvisibleChurch]

no, we're all jobless... but at least we don't accept unemployment checks

[blackie]

Yep, GWB is doing something right to piss off the lunatic left like he does ~ He's My Kinda Guy! :)

Go ~ GWB ~ Go!

[Atchafalaya]

Effem!

[Joe_October]

...Trade union members, Muslim groups, environmentalists and peace activists will join forces for the march ....

Funny how these groups join together. Birds of a feather.

[Howlin]

That is a gross misstatement.

It doesn't happen very often, and when it does, it's usually in D.C. and the D.C. Freepers take time off from WORK to go stand in for the rest of us.

It's not a full time job for them -- or for any of us.

[halfdome]

Oh, I hadn't realized the protestors in Britain did it full time. Silly me, I thought most of the protestors in Britain would be taking time off work, like most of the people here do.

[Rome2000]

These "Peace" protests are really subversive socialist anti-semitic anti-capitalist demonstrations against the USA.

These are the same anti-American untermenschen that riot against "Globalization".

If they can get worked up over the "Group of Eight Summit", they must be frothing at the mouth at the thought the USA is going to make the world safe for capitalism.

These hypocritical creatures weren't out in the streets when the ragheads perpetrated a sneak attack in NYC and killed 3,000 Americans in cold blood, they are intellectually and morally bankrupt and pathetic.

Thankfully they help the GOP in the polls everytime they take to the streets, and they'll find out what Americans really think about the war on Election day.

[Howlin]

The people who participate in these particticular protests travel the world to do it.

Try to deal in the facts.

[hilaryrhymeswithrich]

Typically we actually own the businesses and have earned the flexiblity to mold our schedule around our needs, not the dicates of the local union warlord, but thanks for asking.

[Pedantic_Lady]

York's "stop the war" protest earlier this year took place on a Saturday. FYI.

[Cindy]

LINKS OF INTEREST:

BUSH COUNTRY.org: "RADICAL BRITISH-BASED ISLAMIC GROUP WARNS OF POSSIBLE ATTACK DURING PRESIDENT BUSH'S UPCOMING VISIT TO LONDON: SAYS SECURITY IS JUSTIFIED" -Column by Jeremy Reynalds (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "A Nov. 14 2003 press release from Al-Muhajiroun says there is an "overriding grave and very real threat of an operation, similar to 9/11, against the U.S. President."") (November 15, 2003) (Read More...)

On The Net...Muhajiroun.com - AL-MUHAJIROUN

On The Net...YAHOO! Groups: "almuhajiroun_uk" (Discussion Forum)

On The Net...AL MUHAJIROUN.com.pk - Harkat-ul-Khilafah (Discussion Forum)

On The Net..."AL-MUHAJIROUN Harkat ul Khilafah" (Pakistan Branch)

YMUK.net - YOUNG MUSLIMS UK.net - Discussion Forum - Discussion Thread: "Stop Bush!": "yeah hes really gona not come with all those autographs . . .why don't we get an assassin to shoot him?__________________ The Prophet said, "The person who participates in (Holy battles) in Allah's cause and nothing compels him to do so except belief in Allah and His Apostles, will be recompensed by Allah either with a reward, or booty (if he survives) or will be admitted to Paradise (if he is killed in the battle as a martyr). Had I not found it difficult for my followers, then I would not remain behind any sariya going for Jihad and I would have loved to be martyred in Allah's cause and then made alive, and then martyred and then made alive, and then again martyred in His cause." (Vol 1, Book 2, Number 35. Narrated by Abu Huraira )" -Posted by "Mota" on November 13, 2003

On The Net..."YOUNG MUSLIMS UK" (Discussion Forums)

USTREAS.gov - U.S. TREASURY - Office of Public Affairs - Press Release: "TREASURY AND IRS SUSPEND TAX EXEMPT STATUS OF THREE ORGANIZATIONS IDENTIFIED WITH TERRORISM" (PRESS RELEASE SNIPPET: "Today the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service announced the suspension of the tax exempt status of three organizations: Benevolence International Foundation, Inc., Global Relief Foundation, Inc., and Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. The tax exempt status of these organizations is being suspended because they have been designated as supporting or engaging in terrorist activity or supporting terrorism. Contributions made to an organization during the period that the organization’s tax-exempt status is suspended are not deductible for federal tax purposes.") (November 14, 2003) (Read More...)