Canada - Protesters gear up for Bush
 

if you are bored.. you know what to do :)



http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...Story/National

Protesters gear up for Bush

By SUE BAILEY
Canadian Press

Ottawa ? Protesters are frantically organizing to yank the welcome mat out from under U.S. President George W. Bush when he arrives here Tuesday.

Sporadic graffiti heralds what could be a nasty reception as he starts a two-day visit to Canada.

The black scrawl spray painted across a walkway near Parliament Hill uses a familiar obscenity to tell Bush to stay away.

A noon-hour rally Tuesday is expected to draw thousands of marchers anxious to vent their views on everything from the war in Iraq to plans for a U.S. anti-missile defence shield. Smaller events and candlelight vigils are planned in cities and towns across Canada.

Organizers say they hope participants will be peaceful but warn they can't control individual troublemakers or the police.

?We're organizing mass, inclusive demonstrations,? said Ottawa resident Jessica Squires of the No to Bush Committee.

?I would hope that police would not repeat their mistakes of the past, would not provoke confrontations, would not use dogs and batons.

?If they're well behaved, we'll be well behaved.?

Ottawa Police Staff Sgt. Monique Ackland said officers with local and provincial forces will join the RCMP in a ?soft hat? approach. Police in helmets and riot gear will not be seen unless trouble erupts, she said in an interview.

The same tactic was used for large but mostly calm marches two years ago when Canada hosted the G8 group of world powers.

Police respect the public's right to demonstrate but will respond ?professionally and appropriately? to any crime, Staff Sgt. Ackland said.

?This is a high-profile visit with very high security.?

Protesters are also mobilizing in Halifax, where Mr. Bush is expected to express thanks Wednesday for the city's warmth toward stranded travellers after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Tamara Lorincz, a spokeswoman for the Halifax Peace Coalition, is promising a ?very bold and creative action? but said it will be peaceful.

?We would actually prefer to welcome President Bush with open arms but we absolutely cannot,? she said.

?We must bear in mind that the United States has launched this illegal war and occupation that has slaughtered at minimum 100,000 innocent Iraqi men, women and children.

?Wherever Bush is going to be, we are going to have a mass convergence of people there.?

The U.S. must allow Iraq the freedom to define itself, said Sid Lacombe, co-ordinator of the Canadian Peace Alliance. The coalition includes individuals, churches and labour groups across Canada.

?We want to see self-determination for the Iraqis,? Mr. Lacombe said. ?The Iraqi population is under the thumb of an occupation that does not represent them.?

At least one conservative group is planning a pro-Bush rally and hopes police will keep any rabble-rousers in line.

Connie Wilkins of Free Dominion is baffled by the extent of American-bashing among Canadians and even some politicians. She co-founded the on-line forum that offers about 5,000 members a place for right-wing views but is not officially linked to any political party, she said.

?We stand behind the United States and we stand behind their President,? Ms. Wilkins said in an interview. ?We consider them as our allies and their country as our friend.

?If it had been the CN Tower that had been bombed instead of the World Trade Center, the U.S. would have been right there.?

Do they have the same bullshit "protest free" zones in Canada that they do in the US? (Usually along the whole route that the president travels).

We don't have that yet :)

I'l definitly be there since it will be like 10 mins cars from here ...

The RCMP will have no problems pepper spraying them. It's like a Canadian tradition almost. Police with monster tanks of pepper spray in riot gear rule.

Doesn't get much better than that.. . :1orglaugh

Hmm actually I think it'd be covered by Ontario Provincial Police ... It might just be the RCMP we have here in BC that cowboy it up like that. They were using fire extinguisher sized bottles of pepper spray on a crowd out here. :(

i heard rumours that bush only will be at the airport (hellifax?).

That protest free zone sounds like some bullshit. :2 cents:

seems he is afraid of you canadians :1orglaugh

http://www.hfxnews.com /

The most talked about man on the planet is coming to Halifax. U.S. President George W. Bush is slated to visit Nova Scotia briefly Wednesday to thank us for allowing 41 diverted jets to land here after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.

Several officials suggested the visit will be short and that Bush may not even leave Halifax International Airport. ?It sounds like he?s just going to go in and out,? said one source.

The Halifax Peace Coalition had already organized a mock trial for Bush on Tuesday to prosecute him for war crimes in Iraq. The group also asked people to wear black armbands during the president?s Canadian visit ?to symbolize the death and destruction the U.S. government has caused to other people and to the natural environment.?

They exist.

http://www.amconmag.com/12_15_03/feature.html
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/ar...away?mode=P F
http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Nov/11092...nta/109238.asp
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0513-11.htm

Its a good thing the responsible poeple at theglobeandmail.com are printing articles that contain quotes like.

:1orglaugh

Whoever buys crap like that needs to turn to the right JUST A SMIDGE to avoid flying off the road completly.


Real Body Count backed up with sources:

http://www.iraqbodycount.net/

If I was near Ottawa, I'd go there for sure!