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dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

I've just been watching the news. An estimated 100,000 people went for a stroll in london today(at what cost to the British taxpayer) They put red dye in a fountain, built a couple of fires, waved signs saying 'Bush is a C***' and pulled down a paper mache effigy. Thats's really going to stop world terrorism. At least Bush is doing something positive to try and combat things like the latest attrocities that happened in Istanbul today.
Why don't people protest about terrorists killing innocent people rather than a democratically elected president. is it because they believe that terrorists won't listen to them and politicians will?
Disclaimer: I am in no way pro or anti Bush. I'm not even American

shenyanggerry · Joined: 02 Nov 2003 Posts: 619 Location: Canada

I think that people object to bullies deciding that they don't like a particular country and then slaughtering their citizens wholesale for the crime of being patriots. They also object to members of resistance movements being called terrorists. After all, even Hitler didn't find it necessary to bomb suspected resistance sites of countries he currently occupied.

Then again, maybe it was a nice day and they all decided to go for a walk.

joe-joe · Joined: 15 Oct 2003 Posts: 100 Location: Baku, Azerbaijan

I'm very ambivalent on this issue; I do think it's wrong for governments, in the UK and US to impose their will on a foreign country for supposedly noble reasons, especially when the UN and the EU objected so loudly to military action without proof. BUT I do think people should realise that whilst having at a go at Tony and 'Dubyah', they should be thankful they are actually allowed to do so without being shot, tortured, run over by tanks, etc, as would happen in a place run by someone like Uncle Saddam for example.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Bush doing something positive???????? Where???? Since when is bombing a country totally unrelated to the terrorist attack on America considered positive. Even he has admitted that NO ties to Al-Qaeda have been found along with none of the WMD that they also lied about to the American people. Everything he has done so far has only made terrorism worse. Welcome to modern life!!

I AM American and he was NOT democratically elected. Check your facts. He got about a half million less votes than the other candidate and was eventually given his position by the Supreme Court which was in a large part put into their positions by his father.

This is NOT democracy as I was taught in school.

VS

johnslat · Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2003 10:47 pm Post subject: Terrorists and public opinion

Dear dmb,
Perhaps people don't protest against terrorists killing innocent people for the same reason you don't try and reason with a rabid beast. They know it wouldn't do any good; such individuals are not subject to or interested in "public opinion". But elected - even, as VS pointed out, fraudulently "elected" ones such as Bush - are. I AM very grateful to be living in a country where peaceful protests against disapproved government actions are still possible (having spent 20+years of my life in lands where it wasn't).
Regards,
John

nomadder · Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2003 11:23 pm Post subject:

Right like saying you shouldn't fu**in swear. Works well. Nice try anyway England.

Nonetheless why don't more Americans protest? I try to stick up for them saying they can't help what their government does but as John says they can protest unlike the Iraqis. Not much happening on that front. Meanwhile abortion rights are being eroded and the whole country is sliding back into a scary right wing Religious fervor. Oh right they were too busy watching which girl the latest Bachelor picked. Laughing

And they must have the best PR in the world. Almost no part of the world untouched by them one way or another. Maybe they want to hang on to their Coca Cola and so let things slide.

johnslat · Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2003 11:48 pm Post subject: Free speech ain't always free

Dear nomadder,
Well, look at what's happened to some who spoke out against our "Iraqi policies":

http://www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/advocacy/protest/iraq/2003/0809americans.htm

But there are those who are protesting - they just don't get much media attention.

http://www.worldmessenger.20m.com/march2.html

And let's not forget the many, many thousands (such as, ahem, me) who are "protesting" in what may be a more practical way: by getting involved in the campaigns of those who are running for the Democratic nomination and the chance to oust Dubya and Co. in Nov. 2004, less than a year from now.

Regards,
John

mjed9 · Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 242

Let's also not forget the fact that people might actually hate the American government for all the atrocities that it carries out under the guise of democracy when really we all know its because the fantastic US of A government is paranoid and money-driven.

The below link provides an amazing insight into the somewhat dubious foreign policy of the USA since WW2

http://cloud.prohosting.com/unify/blum.html

MJED

PS The UK is almost as bad ... thankfully just not as powerful!

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

Americans ARE protesting, as johnslat pointed out.

As to why we don't protest the terrorists--I surely cannot speak for the growing number of Americans who are finally seeing through the charade, but I can say that perhaps, in a chicken-and-egg sense, we feel that the (insert your own adjective here--cruel/imperialistic/fascist/whatever) policies of the W. regime actually CAUSE terrorism--wipe out the cause of the terrorism, and the attacks will subside.

Yes, I know that there are other causes of terrorism, other Western targets, etc., (basically, I know I am grossly overgeneralizing by blaming everything on W) but the good ol' US of A has its hand in quite a bit of the current quagmire.

d

Just a guy · Joined: 06 Oct 2003 Posts: 267 Location: Guangxi

nomadder · Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2003 2:15 am Post subject:

Yes Mjed9 as said-no stone unturned. And now another military man looking for power too-sure John knows his name as its escapes me now. Scary militaristic government as only option and we used to think Latin America was bad. I'm sure that all these wars are not the way to go-bad karma if nothing else. True about the UK being potentially bad but not enough power as of yet. Funny to see Bush all dressed up looking terribly uncomfortable next to the Queen. Meanwhile my country Canada has become completely impotent. Perhaps our new PM will do something. Canada should have kept closer ties to the UK. So far the future looks scary.

johnslat · Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2003 2:44 am Post subject: Hanging chads et al

Dear Just a guy,
For an excellent description/analysis of just how the electoral college votes in Florida were stolen, please read Michael Moore's "Stupid White Men".
Actually, you can start reading it here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0060392452/ref=sib_dp_rdr/103-4167745-9711806#reader-page

Regards,
John

voodoochild · Joined: 04 Apr 2003 Posts: 80

Take a look at these photos of the protests....great!

http://www.rense.com/general44/brits.htm

struelle · Joined: 16 May 2003 Posts: 2372 Location: Shanghai

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish