500,000 Protest Bush's Visit In Rome (UPI)

[doxieone]

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040604-040853-5056r.htm

500,000 protest Bush's visit to Rome



Rome, Italy, Jun. 4 (UPI) -- Thousands filled Rome's streets Friday to protest President Bush's visit and their own country's involvement in the Iraq war, CNN reported.

Police deployed some 10,000 officers around Rome as an estimated 500,000 protested Bush's arrival and Italy's active support of the U.S. war in Iraq.


snip

[doxieone]

1. This is the Friday Night Surprise... All day our media has

only said "tens of thousands" protested.

[patdem]

2. If Washington Times says 500,000 must be about 1,000,000?

n/t

[struggle4progress]

14. Absolutely! Three cheers for the free Italians!

[CO Liberal]

15. Yet Earlier Today...

...CBS Radio News was reporting that the crowds were "nowhere near what was suspected."

Were they expecting the whole damn COUNTRY to show up???

[Mokito]

21. YES!

Don't you know a protest doesn't mean shit unless 200% of a country's total population turns up! <sarcasm...obviously>

[struggle4progress]

22. One Million Protest Terrorist Visit to Rome

An estimated million people filled Italy's capital city Rome's streets on Friday to protest the Terrorist President Bush's visit and Italy's involvement in the Iraq occupation war.

Italian state police deployed tens of thousands of officers around Rome as an estimated one million protested Bush's arrival and Italy's active support of the U.S. war in Iraq.

Protests, which were largely peaceful, reached a peak shortly after Bush had an audience with Pope John Paul II in Vatican City.
<snip>

http://mathaba.net/x.htm?http://mathaba.net/0_index.shtml?x=53169

[JusticeForAll]

56. Great article Struggle!!!

Refreshing clarity and honesty from a journalist! A must-read!

[KoKo]

46. The BBC Report from London on PBS just said 25,000! That's a huge

difference! And yet the Moonie Times says 500,000! It must have been a million and the BBC has been told by Blair to shut up. :shrug:

[PartyPooper]

3. Wow! This is terrific. I hope Junior watches TV to see his 'welcome'.

Way to go, folks!

:toast:

[crossroads]

10. This oughta roast Poppy's butt, eh?

He may realize no one likes his lil prince.
:nuke:

[Jacobin]

4. Oh my. Poor Smirky

Can't leave the country without be heckled by legions of hacked off citizens.

Good thing we won't be seeing those throngs on Pravda here at home. :eyes:

[ElementaryPenguin]

5. The Bushler, the War President busy spreading more love!!

Most hated human being on earth!!! Go Rome!

[Just Me]

13. Isn't that shocking: being the most hated man on the face of the earth!!!

Actually, it hurts me,...as an American,...it hurts me and is embarassing and humilitating,..and,...I just can't say,...

[montana_hazeleyes]

63. I remember as a young girl,

seeing President Kennedy beloved where ever he and or he and Jackie went. Throngs and throngs of people cheering him and loving him.

I remember the whole world in dispair at his death. I'm glad I'm old enough to have those memories. This world would have been a much better one had he lived. No one can change my mind on that.

Mainly what I'm saying, don't dispair,people over the world know it's this awful little man who wasn't really elected and not most Americans.

[Say_What]

6. The pResident POS even tries to buy the Pope

What a f*ck'n lowlife and that includes his *deer in the headlights* stepford wife.

...During that meeting Bush gave the pontiff the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. honor given to civilians.

[LizW]

7. Wow!

That's huge! Think we'll see pictures of the protestors on Nightly News?

[stopbush]

8. 25000. Yep. AP reports earlier in the day had official Italian

sources putting the crowd at 25,000. No problem, they always miss it by a multiple of 20.

You'd think that by now they'd be able to take an aerial shot and estimate the number of people via a standardized people-per-square-yard formula. Of course, that would make problems for govs worldwide.

[Mokito]

23. When do they do their counting?

Three hours before the official start?
Why not make it three days instead; "Yup, I told you so. Nobody showed up."

[crossroads]

9. Maybe the Romans will crucify him...

nah, no such luck!
:shrug:

[Just Me]

16. BWAHAHAHAHA,...good one,...but, way off "God-sends". n/t

[sundancekid]

11. Headline News (not CNN though) has been reporting 500,000 all day -- YEA!

[hippywife]

30. CNN is even reporting 500,000 believe it or not!!

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/06/04/bush.italy/index.html

Protesters swarmed the streets of central Rome after Bush met with Pope John Paul II, one of the strongest critics of the war. Police estimated the number of demonstrators at 500,000.

[sundancekid]

53. and by now, the BASTARD media has removed the key 500,000 sentence

from the posted article -- same link as yours -- just SCRUBBED of the facts the busheviks did not like -- more REVISIONIST history :puke:

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/06/04/bush.italy/index.html
<snip>

Protesters swarmed the streets of central Rome after Bush met with Pope John Paul II, one of the war's strongest critics.

Authorities deployed 10,000 police in strategic sites in anticipation of violence. The crowd was boisterous but relatively peaceful.
<snip>

[hippywife]

62. The whole damnable

article is different! The line did say that the police were placing the estimates at 500,000...the police, not the organizers.

I really am so proud to be of Italian descent. :D

[hiphopnation]

12. any link

or pics yet?

[Ilsa]

17. BBC news says police put it at 25,000

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3777281.stm

[JDPriestly]

18. The Austrian Press reports

The following is a brief, rough translation from a report on http://derstandard.at/:

Hundreds of thousands of protesters walked through the streets of the inner city (Piazza della Republica) of Rome behind a huge banner saying, "No war, no Bush." Among them were anti-globalisation people, members of left-oriented parties, Catholic movements, members of the strongest unions and environmentalists. One sign read, "Bush, Blair, history will punish you." Opposition political leaders participated, including the head of the leftist democratic party (I don't know the name of the party in Italian), Piero Fassino and the leader of the opponents of globalization, Vittorio Agnoletto.

The demonstrations were peaceful. The organizers tried to exclude anarchists and members of disruptive groups. Members of one of the unions yelled out slogans against the police.

Bush's visit is Berlusconi's most expensive campaign advertisement at the expense of the Italian people. The 10,000 police, etc. will cost about 40 million Euros, twice as much as Italy is spending on humanitarian relief for Iraq.

The protesters blocked some of the streets. Most residents of Rome kept away from the streets. For example, the subways registered 40% less traffic than normal.

If you want to see pictures, go to "Ansichtskarten" (post cards) at http://derstandard.at/.

[Mokito]

26. Even the Easter Bunny hates his guts!

[maddezmom]

19. another protest article in the Washington Times?

what's going on? :shrug:

[demgrrrll]

20. Ciao Italia ! Good for them. He is despised throughout the world.

How anyone could even entertain the thought of voting for
him is beyond me.

[Snellius]

24. Some photos here:

http://www.repubblica.it/2003/e/gallerie/politica/bushcorteo/1.html

[Dirk39]

25. More here

http://germany.indymedia.org/2004/06/84833.shtml
http://germany.indymedia.org/2004/06/84861.shtml

Hello from Germany,
Dirk

[weedthesmoke]

33. What's up with all the protester support for Che Guerra?

Were the protesters mostly communists? I thought they were supposed to be ordinary citizens with a common hatred for bush. WTF does Che have to do with a bush protest? Che is long dead.

[Dirk39]

37. They are all communists...

all of our comrades, who don't like to be a banana, are communists:-)
Are communists excluded from being "ordinary citzens", just because they eat little children and want to expropriate the small shop owner around the corner and did survive Gladio?
What the hell is an ordinary citizen? Funny happy little girls like Lyndie England, who dream the american dream? Those who are racists, watching Fox-TV, think there is a jewish world conspiracy or that the American Government was hijacked by UFO's? Or those, who just did vote for Bush and think that Iraqis did attack the WTO? And who consume, drive SUV's and watch TV. It's better for them. Sooner or later those evil communists with their Ernesto Guevara Pictures will seduce them or their children. Stay at home, watch T.V., go to Wall Mart, go straight back home or to your fundamentalistic church. Evil communists are around every corner.....
The world is dangerous and America just one great nation. And even Kerry did kill some gooks, who wanted to expropriate small shop owners in New York and install some kind of patriot act....

Many communist members of the parliament were critical against the protests. One communist member of the french parliament, Maxime Gremetz (PCF" said yesterday:
»We have to receive Bush with the respect, a leader deserves, who is a descendant of those, who did liberate us«

One communist in Italy said: once they liberated us, now, let's do them a favour and liberate the USA from Bush.
Hasta la victoria siempre in Germany,

Dirk

[bobbyboucher]

39. "Che Guerra and the Red Chinese"

What time is the mensa meeting?

[despairing optimist]

42. Guerra is the Italian word for WAR

Not to be confused with Che Guevara.

"Che Guerra?" translates to "Why war?" I believe the accent was dropped, since "che" without one means "what" and "ch'e" is a shortened form of "perch'e," WHY.

Hope this helps you guys out. I'm feeling especially proud of my Italian ancestry right now. I would have loved to be part of the Italian welcoming committee in Rome myself.

[Dirk39]

44. Sorry,

but this face between the word guerra and the word reditto somehow looks familiar to me!

Hasta la victoria siempre,
Dirk

[weedthesmoke]

45. They are carrying a picture of Che

I'm not totally ignorant.

[despairing optimist]

47. Yes, that's Che,

but the word is "guerra," not Guevara.

No offense intended.

[Dirk39]

48. So Italy must be attacked even before Syria?

Che Guevare was among those, who did TRULY liberate a country, that was a fashist whorehouse for Americans before, a neverending paradise for the Lyndie Englands and Jessica Lynchs of West Virginia. What kind of problem do you have with this?
And many Europeans, who can think for themselves, admire him for this.
I'm one of those evil communists, too.
Dirk

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

54. Maybe not totally.................n/t

[Barkley]

27. Great Pictures! n/t

[cliss]

52. Just amazing photos.

This is what's going to stop this madness. The individual people in that photo, and us here in the US.

[California Democrat]

59. I think many on Democrat Underground would enjoy this chat room....

Check it out! Many like-minded individuals who are not afraid to speak their mind!

http://www.che-lives.com/forum/index.php?s=975410a74edd5e4d84aa38b6fc5350ae

[mainer]

28. I JUST missed the protests! Shoot.

We flew home, out of Rome this morning -- the city traffic was ALL screwed up because of Bush's visit. Everyone's grumbling. While traveling in Italy, I kept running into American tourists who were truly pissed off at our great leader. I even heard three nicely dressed middle-aged ladies at the next table referring repeatedly to Bush as "the asshole" who's ruining their stay in Rome.

[molly]

29. Geez - what did he expect?

a donkey and palms? I guess his "I listen to G-d" message doesn't hold much credibility over there.

[Geo55]

31. not surprised

The devil in the Vatican ? ....I guess a FEW folks would show up

[weedthesmoke]

32. Why were they all wearing masks?

All the pictures I have seen showed the protesters wearing head socks. Is it that bad in Rome that they need to hide their identity?

[mmm]

57. WTFare you talking about?

You are making me laugh

[BattyDem]

34. This picture breaks my heart

A swastika .... on MY flag! I don't blame them for drawing it, but I feel terrible that it's there. :-(

[goforit]

36. Send it strait to Richard Perle!!!

[Geo55]

43. This picture breaks my heart

Mine also....look what this ass has done

[cliss]

51. Wow. That's something.

I never thought I would see the day that this would happen.

And it's all Bush's fault. God, we have got to restore our credibility. This ass is destroying our name.

[ILeft]

55. Rove will just tell Junior the crowds are waving American flags

...just as Wolfie predicted...and they are singing songs about us, just as Perle predicted.

Is it too late for America? We'll know by January, 2005.

[mmm]

58. wow!

I wish it didn't fit so well.
I'm afraid it belongs there.

[goforit]

35. Way to go Italy!!!..............The true anti-satan spirit!!!

Rock on!!!

[silverchair]

38. the media really downplayed the protest

wow, i didn't realize how many people were at the protest. bush can't seem to go anywhere these days without people protesting. it is really time for him to get the big boot.

[Politicub]

40. You know this must drive Shrub crazy

Even though the media downplayed it.

All of these people -- probably a million of them since this is a Washington times article.

That a huge number of people to demonstrate to protest *'s visit. Dear leader must be crushed!

[burrowowl]

41. What beautiful pictures!

Some say a million

[lebkuchen]

49. Protests were "largely peaceful" because Abu Ghraib tactics weren't used

on the protesters.

The 2001 summit in Genoa was the test case, with CIA/FBI working with Italian security forces to humiliate, beat, and kill citizens that were of no threat to them. And that was BEFORE 9-11.

The CIA then imported the tactics to Iraq.

[hayduke1]

50. Let's Bring it Here!!!!!

NEXT WEEK!

It's the least we can do!!!!!!

[young_at_heart]

60. I wish our people would notice!

The diehard Republicans just don't seem to care about the rest of the world. What other president has seen such heavy protests?

[Comicstripper]

61. Good Job

Give 'em hell! This must be our mission. Everywhere Bush goes, we follow!