US wants ban on protests during Bush visit

[zimv20]

link (http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=462900)


Anti-war protesters claim that US authorities have demanded a rolling "exclusion zone" around President George Bush during his visit, as well as a ban on marches in parts of central London.

The Stop The War Coalition said yesterday that it had been told by the police that it would not be allowed to demonstrate in Parliament Square and Whitehall next Thursday - a ban it said it was determined to resist. The coalition says that it has also been told by British officials that American officials want a distance kept between Mr Bush and protesters, for security reasons and to prevent their appearance in the same television shots.


The mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said yesterday that Mr Bush should not be shielded from public anger about the Iraq war, and Londoners should not have to pick up the £4m policing bill. He said: "To create a situation in which perhaps 60,000 people remain unseen would require a shutdown of central London which is just not acceptable."


Organisers say they expect between 50,000 and 70,000 people for the biggest protest against a visiting head of state.


(emphasis mine)

[toontra]

I'm not, by nature, the demonstrating kind of person. I'm not a member of any of the special interest or political groups who regularly attend rallies and marches.

But, let me tell you, I'll be there next Thursday. Bush thinks he's going to swan over here to get a few pics of himself with the royals and in Westminster to use for his campaign and hoodwink the US public into thinking he is popular in the UK.

Well, despite all the best efforts of the Whitehouse to create a huge exclusion zone to avoid any embarrassment to your leader, I (and hopefully thousands of others of ordinary UK citizens) will be on hand to get as close as we possibly can and tell Bush in no uncertain terms what we think of his policies!

[vwcruisn]

Originally posted by toontra
I'm not, by nature, the demonstrating kind of person. I'm not a member of any of the special interest or political groups who regularly attend rallies and marches.

But, let me tell you, I'll be there next Thursday. Bush thinks he's going to swan over here to get a few pics of himself with the royals and in Westminster to use for his campaign and hoodwink the US public into thinking he is popular in the UK.

Well, despite all the best efforts of the Whitehouse to create a huge exclusion zone to avoid any embarrassment to your leader, I (and hopefully thousands of others of ordinary UK citizens) will be on hand to get as close as we possibly can and tell Bush in no uncertain terms what we think of his policies!



THANK YOU!:)

[pseudobrit]

Originally posted by zimv20
The mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said yesterday that Mr Bush should not be shielded from public anger about the Iraq war, and Londoners should not have to pick up the £4m policing bill.

Hmm. I guess they should have just done a proper job of washing the news, spinning propaganda on TV, inciting fear, anger and xenophobia in a very anxious public as was done over here.

Then you don't have to spend nearly so much taxpayer money to hide protest and showcase astroturf support.

But it still doesn't mean your egg-splashed inaugural limo ride won't have to haul ass away from the protesters so fast the Secret Service can't keep up.

[Ugg]

Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, will forego the "opportunity" to meet with gw and will be attending a "support peace" Luncheon instead. Way to go Ken!

I've heard that 37 vehicles will be in the convoy, 250 armed secret service will be on hand and i'm sure that all the US forces based in the UK will be on high alert. Any idea as to what this is going to cost? I'm sure that compared to his "mission accomplished" joke it will be unbelievably expensive.

Incidentally, neither Downing Street nor the Royals are claiming to have invited gw. It seems as though the US Ambassador wangled the invitation and now everyone is wishing it won't take place.

[mactastic]

Link (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101031117-538973,00.html?cnn=yes)
It seemed like a great idea at the time. Two summers ago, Elizabeth II decided to invite Bush 43 for a formal state visit, the first for an American President since Woodrow Wilson called on her grandfather in 1918. Prime Minister Tony Blair's government was behind the idea, confident that lots of royal folderol — a white-tie dinner, a ride by the Queen and the President in a horse-drawn carriage — would put a big, emotional exclamation point on the transatlantic bonds Blair has nourished.
But it's going to be a nerve-racking three days. "It's all thin ice," says a Foreign Office official. One element of unpredictability: Bush hates — really hates — the fuss and formality in which state visits are steeped. The last time he dined with the Queen — in 1992 at his father's White House, wearing cowboy boots emblazoned with GOD SAVE THE QUEEN — he asked if she had any black sheep in her family. "Don't answer that!" his mother Barbara interjected, trying to avoid embarrassment.
I've heard it's costing the brits around 4 million of their pounds, about $6.5 million dollars. Also heard one of the sticking points is whether the Secret Service officers are granted immunity from prosecution if they fire their weapons.

[SPG]

Originally posted by toontra
But, let me tell you, I'll be there next Thursday. Bush thinks he's going to swan over here to get a few pics of himself with the royals and in Westminster to use for his campaign and hoodwink the US public into thinking he is popular in the UK.

Well, despite all the best efforts of the Whitehouse to create a huge exclusion zone to avoid any embarrassment to your leader, I (and hopefully thousands of others of ordinary UK citizens) will be on hand to get as close as we possibly can and tell Bush in no uncertain terms what we think of his policies!

Here's a tip in case the US is really trying to run the show in London. You won't get into the exclusion zone and near Bush with an anti Bush sign. Make a really good anti Bush sign, then place a pro Bush sign over it. Dress nice, wave a little american flag, then when you get in and the camera points at you pull the fake sign off and make sure they see it since you'll only have about half a minute before the thought police grab your sign. Good Luck Winston Smith, and remember we've always been at war with Eurasia!

Oh yeah, You should get anyone you know to start putting up anti Bush flyers and signs now while the US press is looking for something to do before the commander in thief gets there.

[toontra]

"Make a really good anti Bush sign, then place a pro Bush sign over it. Dress nice, wave a little american flag, then when you get in and the camera points at you pull the fake sign off and make sure they see it since you'll only have about half a minute before the thought police grab your sign."

Good idea SPG. Any suggestions for a slogan (the concealed one!).
Bush yesterday said to some UK press that he thought it was "fantastic" that we Brits were allowed to protest during his visit. Apart from being incredibly patronizing, this seems at odds with the extraordinary lengths he is going to to ensure that these protesters are not seen in the same camera shot!! The use of the word "fantastic" may have been Freudian - as in it's meaning "fanciful, imaginary, not real".

PS I always dress well!

[huntsman]

Originally posted by toontra
Bush yesterday said to some UK press that he thought it was "fantastic" that we Brits were allowed to protest during his visit. Apart from being incredibly patronizing, this seems at odds with the extraordinary lengths he is going to to ensure that these protesters are not seen in the same camera shot!!
He said the same sort of thing when asked about the potential for protests on his recent (and very brief) visit here to Australia. We went through the whole controversy over keeping the protestors as far away from him as possible, but the Government was just as keen on keeping them away from Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, who was visiting at the same time. So it's not exclusive to Mr Bush.

Certainly he can be patronising--when one of our senators interjected in protest during his speech to our Parliament, Mr Bush actually smirked and winked at our Prime Minister. But when you're sitting in an ivory tower surrounded by powerful people who support you, and the ordinary people are kept at a safe distance, it's easy to get away with it.

[guiverunit]

Its amazing the amount of atention this is bringing up. Every where you look there are STOP BU$H stickers (the O is a red light), and this is in walthamstow ~20 miles from the center of london. There are a group of 15-20 people by the high street with a honk to stop bush board, and I have half a mind to go join them.

[IJ Reilly]

Originally posted by huntsman
Certainly he can be patronising--when one of our senators interjected in protest during his speech to our Parliament, Mr Bush actually smirked and winked at our Prime Minister. But when you're sitting in an ivory tower surrounded by powerful people who support you, and the ordinary people are kept at a safe distance, it's easy to get away with it.

Bush is the Smirker in Chief. His handlers had him lay off that particular affectation during the election, but since then we've seen it reappear quite often and in inappropriate situations like the one you mention. I don't like to draw deep conclusions from facial expressions, but this one has often had me wondering whether W. thinks this presidency stuff is just a bunch of grins. I will admit that it feeds my sense that the man simply doesn't have a complete grasp on the gravity and significance of his actions.

[wwworry]

In the political forums half the postings are about Bush lies, coverups and maneuverings to end questionings. The list of specific instances would be a long one.

[zimv20]

Originally posted by wwworry
In the political forums half the postings are about Bush lies, coverups and maneuverings to end questionings.

and a good chunk of the rest:

move to france, you commie-loving welfare state socialist america-hater. democrats suck, you terrorist.

[skunk]

We haven't heard "bring 'em on" for a while. I think London will be a very uncomfortable stopover.

[professor]

Originally posted by guiverunit
Its amazing the amount of atention this is bringing up. Every where you look there are STOP BU$H stickers (the O is a red light), and this is in walthamstow ~20 miles from the center of london. [...]

Where can I get those stickers? Just in case GB decides he wants to snuggle up with Gerhard?

[guiverunit]

ask these guys, I'm sure they'll help you out http://www.stopwar.org.uk/

[SPG]

You were asking about slogans above, my preferred slogan has been:
Bush Lied
Our sons and daughters died.

Works quite well when you have the names and photos too. It pisses me off to no end that now that there is a real war that Bush wnated so badly he won't even acknowledge the ones who have died and been wounded for his folly...the guy has no class.

[leet1]

Originally posted by SPG
Bush wnated so badly he won't even acknowledge the ones who have died and been wounded for his folly...the guy has no class.


Yes, he has acknowledged the ones who have died. He has made a lot of speeches about the troops.

[SPG]

Read some of those speeches, then check how many times he's attended a funeral for any of them (he's had over 400 opportunities) or visited any of the double amputees over the river at Walter Reed. This same administration has cut the hazard pay the soldiers get for being in combat and also cut the benefit their families get if they die in combat.
This is what is known as lip service...actually it's worse, it's hypocracy.

[zimv20]

Originally posted by leet1
Yes, he has acknowledged the ones who have died.

are you referring to US servicemen and women who've died in iraq? the ones for whom he attended zero memorial services? the ones whose return home is off-limits to the cameras?

[leet1]

Originally posted by zimv20
are you referring to US servicemen and women who've died in iraq? the ones for whom he attended zero memorial services? the ones whose return home is off-limits to the cameras?

Yup, that would be it. Do you actually think the president should attend all these funerals? or pick one person out of the many? and its good that the return home is off-limits to cameras.

[zimv20]

Originally posted by leet1
Yup, that would be it. Do you actually think the president should attend all these funerals? or pick one person out of the many?


1. some people might think it means he cares
2. every other president has attended one or more funerals
3. bush is planning on meeting w/ the families of some British soliders. why do you think that is?


and its good that the return home is off-limits to cameras.

why?

[abdul]

Dipolmatic immunity......thank god we didnt give the US officers that.....u never know with the americans trigger fingers an egg may be classed as containing a poisonous substance so lets shoot them before he throws it!!

look at what propagander has done to me im starting to see that as a viable excuse!!

hundreds of ppl are going from my uni. i cant go, i ant to tho.

and more importantly why the ******* does he get a state visit and not a normal one? hes made the world more unasafe for us while Clinton who curbed the IRA which did make us safer just got a normal visit. what a twat GWB is !!