Anti-war rallies condemn Bush and Blair

[maddezmom]

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Thousands of anti-war demonstrators rallied outside the White House, demanding the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq as public opinion polls show collapsing support for the war effort.


Chanting "Bring the Troops Home Now", a column of protesters stretched for several blocks around the White House, with parents pushing infants in strollers while students beat makeshift drums.

Opponents of the US-led war also marched in central London, protesting the presence of British troops in Iraq. Police said some 10,000 converged on Hyde Park though sponsors said the crowd was much larger.

A small rally was held in Paris and anti-war protests were planned in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle on the US West coast.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050924/ts_afp/usiraqprotest_050924195748

[Options Remain]

1. lol 10k

classic understate the crowd.

[Up2Late]

2. That's for the LONDON Protest if you read the article it says...

"...In Washington, protest organizers had hoped to attract 100,000 people but neither organizers nor police would give an estimate...."

<http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/050924195748.mim4yhvx.html>

[Up2Late]

3. Here's Reuters': Thousands protest Iraq war, economic globalization

(Looks like more than a few thousand to me)

REUTERS/Jim Bourg
A large rally of anti-war demonstrators gathers on the Ellipse near the White House (top) as seen from the top of the Washington Monument in Washington D.C. September 24, 2005. Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the nation's capital in support of anti-war protestor Cindy Sheehan, who lost a son serving in the U.S. armed forces in Iraq, and demonstrated for the withdrawal of U.S. troops and an end to the war in Iraq.

Thousands protest Iraq war, economic globalization

Sat Sep 24, 2005 02:07 PM ET

By Lisa Lambert

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters flooded Washington on Saturday to stage dual demonstrations against the U.S.-led war in Iraq and economic globalization, and to demand that President George W. Bush bring troops home. Anti-war demonstrators marched in London as well, and protests were planned in San Francisco and Los Angeles that called for an end to military action in Iraq nearly 30 months after a U.S.-led invasion ousted Saddam Hussein.

"We need a people's movement to end this war," said Cindy Sheehan, an anti-war protester whose son was killed in fighting in Iraq and who camped for weeks outside Bush's Texas ranch. "We'll be the checks and balances on this out-of-control criminal government," Sheehan, who has become the movement's best-known face, told the group rallying in a park behind the White House.

Meanwhile, several hundred gathered a few blocks away to protest the autumn meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, saying policies that promote globalization and reduced trade barriers hurt the world's poor.

Both demonstrations aimed their verbal fire at the Bush administration, calling its policies and actions "criminal." "A cruel wind blows across America, starting in Texas and Montana and sweeping across America's heartland," Georgia Democrat Rep. Cynthia McKinney told the anti-war crowd. "It settled here in Washington, D.C., and despite our presence today, it continues to buffet and batter the American people," she said, accusing the Bush administration of election fraud and of starting war on false evidence.

<http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=9745414&src=rss/topNews>

(more and page 2 at link above)

[maddezmom]

4. great pic

:thumbsup: Looks a bit more than a few k to me, too!

[seattlemetal]

5. "We're sorry...this story is not available. " eom

[maddezmom]

6. works for me

:shrug:

[maddezmom]

7. try the yahoo link

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050924/ts_nm/iraq_protests_dc_1

[Up2Late]

11. I think they were updating the article at the time, here's a new link

<http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-09-24T211858Z_01_WRI465220_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-PROTESTS.xml>

It's 3 pages now.

"...The crowds swelled throughout the day, and by late afternoon organizers of the anti-war demonstration said 300,000 people had assembled -- exceeding an anticipated 100,000. Washington police declined to comment on the size of the rally...."

More pictures scattered with in the Reuters Gallery, over about 11 pages: <http://photos.reuters.com/pictures/newsgallery.aspx?type=News>

[spooked911]

8. whoa, sweet. Wish I was there.

[spooked911]

9. WaPo says 150,000

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/24/AR2005092400852.html

[Rose Siding]

10. The AP coverage is very favorable. On MSN home page:

WASHINGTON - Opponents of the war in Iraq marched Saturday in a clamorous day of protest, song and remembrance of the dead, some showing surprisingly diverse political views even as they spoke with one loud voice in wanting U.S. troops home.
....
They were young people with green hair, nuns whose anti-war activism dates to Vietnam, parents mourning their children in uniform lost in Iraq, and uncountable families motivated for the first time to protest.
....
Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey, noting that organizers had hoped to draw 100,000 people, said, “I think they probably hit that.”
....
“Shame on you,” Sheehan admonished, directing that portion of her remarks to members of Congress who backed Bush on the war. “How many more of other people’s children are you willing to sacrifice?

She led the crowd in chanting, “Not one more.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9463993



They covered the march as a whole and not just the rally.

[spooky3]

12. WaPo: Antiwar Protests Commence in Washington

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/24/AR2005092400852.html

Thousands of protesters against the war in Iraq rallied today in Washington and other U.S. and European cities to demand the return of U.S. troops in what organizers hope will be the largest gathering since the war began more than two years ago.

Protest organizers estimated a crowd of about 200,000 rallied at the Ellipse, then marched around the White House and along Pennsylvania Avenue. Police downgraded the count to about 150,000. The crowd thinned when a misty drizzle began before the afternoon concert on the Washington Monument grounds.


D.C. police and U.S. Park Police said there were no significant problems during the demonstrations and reported three arrests -- one for destruction of property, one for attempted theft, and one for disorderly conduct. Police said all three incidents stemmed from the tearing-down of a construction fence and the destruction of a newspaper box in the 1000 block of 11th Street NW. Police said that some windows were broken at 13th Street, just south of L Street.

The antiwar activities occurred on the same weekend as the fall meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, which drew several hundred activists who criticized the organization's policies as detrimental to the world's poor.

(snip)

[truthisfreedom]

13. 200,000 v.s. 150,000? i'm surprised the cops didn't lowball it more.

that's a lot of people!

[DemsUnited]

15. DC police are reluctant to estimate crowd #'s since they always get grief.

If they're comfortable with 150K, you can bet that's a really solid rock bottom number.

[Rose Siding]

14. Sister Maureen is so sweet!

Earlier, at Freedom Plaza, near 13th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in downtown Washington, dozens of charter buses were disgorging protests, among them Sister Maureen Metty, 66.

Metty stepped off a bus from Kalamazoo, Mich., at 8 a.m., arriving for what she said was her first-ever political rally. She carried a sitting stool, a backpack loaded with snacks, a toothbrush and toothpaste and a message from her fellow nuns -- a sign that said "Sisters of St. Joseph's for Peace."

"There were 250 sisters who wanted to be here today, but I'm the one they chose to send," she said. "I believe I'm supposed to be here today. This war is not right."

How adorable is that? Makes me all teary eyed!

[demnan]

16. Look these are liars

I was there, I can't tell you how many people were there but it was massive! And the crowd didn't dissapate when a few drops of rain fell. There wasn't enough rain to even wet my glasses! And I was there. Mother fucking liars, all of them! The march went on as planned. In fact it went later than usual. There were so many people we were waiting to get started to march.

[Up2Late]

17. Why did they set up the stage in the middle of the ellipse?

Was that the choice of the organizers, or was that as close as the Police would let people get to the White House?

[KaryninMiami]

18. WAY MORE then 100,000-- closer to 300,000 I'd say! .

My feet hurt and my body aches but -- it was worth it. What a great turnout- truly amazing! There were people EVERYWHERE-- they filled the streets, poured in from all directions,arrived in busloads from all over the country. It was truly amazing. I'm sure there were over 300,000.

Interestingly enough, there were no more then 200 or so on the other team, most of whom stood on one section of the street, shouting obnoxious things at the crowd, trying to bait the protesters into starting up a confrontation. But, most of us simply walked by, some with peace signs in the air. Frankly, their turnout was pretty pathetic....

But what a great day!!! You were all with us in spirit by the way!