Blair calls off royal parade for Bush after Iraq protest fears: report

[kayell]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20031018/wl_uk_afp/britain_us_visit_parade_031018232114

LONDON (AFP) - Britain has scrapped plans for Queen Elizabeth II (news - web sites) and US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) to take part in a triumphant London parade next month because of fears of angry protests over the war in Iraq (news - web sites).

A senior palace official told The Sunday Telegraph that detailed plans had been made for the procession which is usually a high point of any state visit.

"But Downing Street, anxious about possible anti-war protests from the start, has now decided to pull the plug on it," the unnamed official was quoted as saying.

"We are liaising with the White House and they have made no attempt to hide their disappointment. They saw it, obviously, as a great photo opportunity," the source said.

more

They NEED to straighten out their priorities.

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. A triumphal parade?????

What ta hell for???? More dead soldiers????????????? Jeez.

Sorry, kayell, couldn't help but vent.

[kayell]

7. Vent on GreatAunt

I feel like a pressure cooker with a faulty relief valve most days.

oh and :hi: Does anyone still go over to the OOM chatroom? I couldn't for a while, and when I went back it was always empty. Haven't checked in a while.

[greatauntoftriplets]

19. Usually empty, kayell.

:shrug: :hi:

[saigon68]

16. Maybe the protesters could learn from the Filipinos

They are experts at throwing flowers and kisses

<>

[RapidCreek]

32. Funny ain't it?

Never saw a bit of the flower and kiss throwing fun depicted in that picture, on the news tonight. Not a bit. All they showed was AWOL George chattering platitudes to an audience of fat assed, black haired, dough-boys and dough-girls, clapping like a bunch of seals hoping a dead carp might be thrown their way.

RC

[Media_Lies_Daily]

41. Despite their claims to the contrary, the NeoCons have nothing...

...to be "triumphal" about. The last time I looked, which was today, we still have ongoing combat situations in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Additionally, we still have no idea, other than the "official figures", how many casualties have been sustained in the Middle East to date. We have heard nothing about Afghanistan for quite some time, and the "official figures" include only those casualties that have been returned to the U. S. for burial or treatment for wounds. There are quite a few casualties in U. S. hospitals in Germany that are too severely wounded to travel to the U. S., and of those being returned to the U. S. quite a few are being housed in hotels/motels close to the primary care hospitals. Additional reports discuss 600 sick and wounded soldiers being housed at Ft. Stewart, Georgia...and that's just one base.

[Cha]

2. It would be "a great photo op" all right! For us!

"pulling the plug", eh? Now you're getting smart! Too bad..

I'll bet there were millions of Brits who would love to protest that parade and get the Queen in on it, too.

[warrior1]

3. England

Should protest anyway.

Bush the unloved. May this be his curse, never, ever, be able to show his face in public again.

[0007]

4. They'll protest junior's visit for sure

you can count on it!

Just wish they could have had their parade.

[Cha]

11. That'sa what I was thinking!

:toast:

[PaDUer]

21. They'd be dropping...

their pants like the Swedes, plus more..

[snippy]

35. An attempt at organizing a 'Bare Your Bum at Bush' protest is being made.

http://www.bloggerheads.com/can_weblogs/bush_bum.asp

[Rose Siding]

36. Now I'm disappointed too!

What a swell parade that would have been.

[snippy]

37. True. I take some consolation though in the fact that

just as Whistle Ass is not allowed to hold press conferences, now he is not allowed to appear in public.

[w13rd0]

5. I won't be satisfied...

...until Bush and Cheney are forced to walk the Iraqi desert wearing burquas...

[caledesi]

8. ROTFLMAO!

[InkAddict]

12. Yep, no sunscreen and leaky canteens!

[DeathvadeR]

20. Cheers......

Shun him like OJ!!!!!

[Malva Zebrina]

6. Truimphant parade?

No wonder it is scrapped--there is nothing to be celebrated about the invasion and occupation of Iraq. LOL--the more they try to PR and fool the people with words, the deeper they get into the mode of the jerks who lie. -it is pure greed and pure empire seeking and is nothing triumphant at all. No one in the world except the Bushes and the Blairs, see this as any sort of a triumpant victory for god's sake. They invaded a depleted country that had no military defenses--and they knew this before they invaded because for ten years they sanctioned the country, weakened it and then waited until the UN inspectors told them that Iraq had nothing with which to resist an invasion. There are no heroes here--only poor children and innocents who were murdered by Bush who lied in order to murder them.

[Dan]

9. The bigger story is

the quote "..."We are liaising with the White House and they have made no attempt to hide their disappointment. They saw it, obviously, as a great photo opportunity," the source said. "
which reflects just how out of touch Bush is.

[snippy]

15. That does show "how out of touch Bush is."

[InkAddict]

10. That ought to p.o. him - Watch out! n/t

[snippy]

13. The day may be coming where Whistle Ass just can't appear in public.

From the article:

Bush will instead travel by helicopter to avoid protesters on the road routes and will not address parliament because of fears of a boycott by some lawmakers, the newspaper said.

I am hoping that the 'Bare Your Bum at Bush' protest will take place wherever Whistle Ass goes.

Method
George Bush is unlikely to walk around the streets kissing babies because of the large number of people that wish to blow him up. However, a 'Brits love Bush' photo-op of happy crowds greeting the man may be in the offing and it's vitally important that we rob him of such a lucrative propaganda device. By attending such gatherings (by accident or design) and ensuring that you bare your buttocks as he passes by, you either render any photos taken at that moment unusable or make a very clear indication of what Britain thinks of this bigoted warmonger.

Your Role
There are several levels of involvement to suit a number of personal situations and comfort levels. They are listed below.

Baring Your Bum
If you hear of a visit to your part of town or happen to see George W Bush, bare your arse in his general direction. Don't be afraid to wiggle it about a bit and maybe even spread your cheeks; this is a political statement you're making and you don't want to do things by halves, now do you?

Threatening To Bare Your Bum
Write to your chosen local, national or foreign newspaper and inform them that you, as a British citizen, fully intend to do your civic duty and bare your arse at George W Bush. In this same letter, you may also wish to call upon other readers to do the same.

http://www.bloggerheads.com/can_weblogs/bush_bum.asp



The site has a few other suggestions for protesters to show their displeasure with Bush, but the "mooning" plan was the initial idea.

[arikara]

18. beautiful photo!

n/t

[mistertrickster]

14. It only makes sense that the Queen of England wants to hob-nob with

the King of the United States.

God save King George . . .

[arikara]

17. The chimp probably thinks he's a reincarnation of Caesar

and fancied a truimphal procession with all the spoils of their invasion; tanker trucks full of oil, the looted antiquities of Mesopotamia, 9 year old Iraqi and Afghani virgins, his playing card villains (minus Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden) in chains to be put to death in front of Buckingham Palace in front of the cheering throngs. He's nuts enough.

[AnnabelLee]

22. Not getting to be in the parade

with the Queen & the pretty horsies & all that neat stuff--disappointing.

The deaths of hundreds of US troops (& thousands of innocent Iraqis)--politically inconvenient.:grr:

[snippy]

25. Well put. That is how Whistle Ass thinks.

[Bozita]

40. There's a Mastercard ad hidden in your post, AnnabelLee

[cliss]

23. Jeez, where do they come up with these ideas?

yes, the photo about says it all, Saigon.

When did they EVER think that Bush would be welcome in the UK? He must have selective memory, because they staged the biggest protests before and after the war in Iraq. Just because Tony "the Poodle" Blair is his crony, doesn't mean the rest of Britain is supporting it.

Come to think of it, wouldn't it be funny if they are riding in a convertible limousine through the parade, while the sidewalks are lined with angry, hoarse shouting protesters, shaking signs and making a huge ruckus.

The Queen and Bush sit in the limo, starting to get very sweaty. The Queen regrets deciding to ride with this bozo, who causes rioting and destruction everywhere he goes.

[tlcandie]

24. Brits need some kites and ballons and release them when

the copters come around with bushbag!!! Mess up them there rotors!

/sarcasm off

[PartyPooper]

29. And, I wonder what the Queen really thinks of Bu$h and this war.

Normally, the British royals do not immerse themselves into political controversy...but, I read recently that (privately) Prince Charles is adamantly opposed to this war. And, he doesn't want to be on hand in November when Junior visits the Queen. HRH simply does not want to see Junior...or, attend any of the festivities at Buckingham Palace.

But, "duty" to the 'Monarchy and Country' likely will prevail; and, Charles will be present...a gracious (if not begrudging) host on behalf of his mother, the Queen.

[CBHagman]

50. I'm curious about the Charles story

Is there a link to a story, perhaps from the BBC or the Guardian, which describes Prince Charles's viewpoint on the Iraq war? If you have a link PartyPooper, I'd be glad if you'd post it.

[tinnypriv]

26. HHAHHHHAHHAHAHHHHA

FUCK YOU, YA ARROGANT PRICKS! :evilgrin:

I'll be out with eggs for this be-atch if he comes with 500 yards of my first amendment zone.

[snippy]

27. Is the 'Bare Your Bum at Bush' protest getting any media attention?

[tinnypriv]

28. Are you kidding?

Protests get 5 words in The Guardian the day beforehand! :eyes:

I've seen it mentioned in Samizdat literature though.

Although considering British nightlife, anybody would probably get the full ass treatment if they drove round in a limo after 9pm.

Hopefully Chimpy will want a night time stroll! :evilgrin:

[snippy]

30. I would love to see it happen on a large scale.

Too large for the media, especially here in the US, to ignore.

[tinnypriv]

31. Hey, if the BBC can turn 2 million into 750,000, anything is possible

And forgive the bluntness, but your media is a lot worse than that. :D

I'm hoping this will be huge though.

Did you know the Azore summit was supposed to be in Britain? They called that off cos the Chimp couldn't be trusted not to bring a few million screaming people down on the neck of Bliar.

Soon Chimpy will have to have meetings "Chinese-Style":

In orbit.

[T_i_B]

51. I was in London during the week

and there were quite a few stickers advertising the planned protests on the Underground. I will probbably find out more when I next go up to Sheffield. I always seem to get buttonholed by Socialist Workers whenever I am up there and they usually know about these things.

Here is the Stop the War coalition website for more info.

http://www.stopwar.org.uk/

[RapidCreek]

33. Perhaps we should all send an email to Downing street

and insist that they afford our great and wonderful, fearless leaders the honor they deserve. Suggest to them that we as Patriotic Americans, Brits, Canuks, Kiwis and Aussys are quite insulted that the our heroes glorious victory parade has been canceled. I mean, after all, are they ashamed of the architects of the War on Terrorism? Horrible....absolutely horrible. Our young men and women risk getting shot or blown up to protect us from the Evil Saddam Hussein while Freeing a Downtrodden people and President Bush and Prime Minister Blair can't risk hearing a couple of catcalls from a minority of silly malcontents? How terrible that we, a grateful populace, shall not be afforded the privilege of honoring the commendable actions of such brave and heroic men!

RC

[DrBB]

34. Huh? Wait a minute--don't they have free speech zones

...in the UK? If not, I think they should instantly institute this wise precautionary measure. Otherwise important foreign dignitaries such as Our Great President may be inconvenienced by unsightly displays of popular opinion.

It is critical that officials such as Mr Bush should be insulated from any awareness of popular opinion at all costs!

[revcarol]

39. He will helicopter everywhere.

The tops of EVERY building should be festooned with:"Bush #1 Terrorist!!" "Go Home, Bush"(but we don't want him here, please keep him...)

That's the only way he will see the protests. The others are just a focus group.

[cosmicdot]

44. no parade ... heliocopter everywhere ...

so, does that still classify next month's 'vacation' as the "first full state visit" QEII has held for someone pretending to be the American president, unlike predecessors who actually were President, in her 52 year reign???

when does the hurricane get downgraded?

heck, he won't even socialize with us Americans

[bluedog]

38. This person said it all

Bush is so despised, he cannot even face the public in countries that are so-called "allies" - not even in Britain, his main "partner" in his fictitious 'war on terror'.

He is so loathed that everywhere he goes, his audience must be specially chosen or else his speeches will be suffocated by the chants of protestors.

Even at home, Bush has his SS round up any protesters and cordon them off so they won't be captured on film by the cameras when he arrives at one of his "functions."

He is so afraid of his own vulnerability of being assassinated that during his current SE Asia tour, he is only spending a few hours in the countries there and won't even spend the night for fear he could be 'offed'. Airforce One is flanked by fighter-jets that are so close to the plane, you can see the pilots' faces clearly from the windows of the presidential jet.

Bush has created an America full of fear and hatred. He has created a world full of fear and hatred. It is therefore poetic justice that he himself is now trapped within his own four walls - be that the WH or his jet or his underground bunker - trapped in fear....terrified to go out, terrified to face the public, terrified of his own shadow.

Free the world from fear and hatred.

[Rex]

42. Did they have a laurel wreath awaiting King George?

Is he going to build a Triumphal Arch in honor of his manly ability to lead Pax Americana?

If this man-thing is 'elected' POTUS again it will be the downfall of Americana.

[maggrwaggr]

43. "Triumph of Lies" parade

The liars win. The bad guys triumph. The losers die by the thousands.

No one hears the truth.

I'm ready to move.

[Djinn]

45. Meanwhile downunder

The leader of the opposition has ORDERED his MP's to be polite and not to protest when Dubya comes to Australia for 15 minutes to thank "us" for our help in Afghanistan/Iraq.

Australian citizens have been banned from their own parliament and Bush will not see a single protest.

No wonder he actually THINKS that people in the UK and Aust supported his insane "pre-emptive" doctrine - both these countries have snubbed and ignored their own population (overwhelming majority in UK against the war - in Australia it was a bit more even)

MESSAGE TO BUSH - Please stop thanking "australian's" for their help in Iraq - most of us didn't want to help and erroneously thought we lived in a liberal democracy seeing you "thank" us makes most of us retch :puke:

[oasis]

46. "Mission Accomplished"

[emad]

47. Tough luck on William Stamps Farish 3 and his wife Sarah Sharp

deprived of their ambassadorial open-top laundau ride down The Mall........Perhaps some of their well-heeled neighbours in London's Regents Park may put on an alternative display of welcome to commemorate the event!

[brainshrub]

48. This is Proof that Blair isn't an idiot

He knows what's going to happen. Bush on the other hand, lives in a fantasy land.
No wonder Blair is haveing heart problems.

[rocktivity]

49. Even the prospect of negativity sends him off the deep end

There's something very wrong with the psyche of someone who is so adverse to being critcized or disagreed with. Why does it scare him so much--becuase he knows he has no ground with which to defend himself?


rocknation