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Today's Top News
Protest Group Calls Bush Invitation An Outrage
Human rights protesters have urged Northern Ireland's politicians to tackle US President George Bush on the issue of prisoner treatment.
Amnesty International staged a demonstration in the city centre yesterday to voice their concerns about the detention of terror suspects without trial at Guantanamo Bay and the transfer of prisoners to other countries for interrogation, known as extraordinary rendition.
Further protests are expected today to coincide with his arrival in Northern Ireland, with police notified of two separate events.
The Bush Not Welcome group, which represents in excess of 100 people, have organised a protest at Stormont scheduled for 2.30pm.
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph last night, group spokesman Paddy Meehan said it was an outrage for Northern Ireland's politicians to have invited the US leader to the province: "Bush Not Welcome opposes Bush's legacy in Iraq, his environmental crimes and his anti-worker policies," said Mr Meehan.
"And we're very angry the Assembly has invited him."
Another demonstration, under the auspices of the Belfast Anti-War Movement has been planned at the City Hall at 12.30pm, ahead of Bush's Belfast visit.
Amnesty has written to Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness asking them to raise the concerns when they talk to Mr Bush at Stormont.
© 2008 The Belfast Telegraph

27 Comments so far
Show AllThat is a sweet t shirt.
How long would a guy wearing that and walking in any mall in America last before the brownshirts hauled him away?
The number one terrorist (group) is the world's NAZI elite.
Bush just works for them!
Isn't it obvious that these protests are encouraged by those who hide behind their favorite ruse that the US presidency is a position of power?
Remember when it was discovered that the anti-war demonstrations in SF were organized by undercover cops?
Q. Why?
You really need to think hard on this one! Because there is a great effort to always mislead the public... and continue to convince you that this is a somewhat 'freedom of speech'/democratic and open society.
It's not.
It is a total surveillance and controlled society and any who attend demonstrations (other than undercover operators) are slated for investigation.
Here's a link to some ground truth photos of the demonstration from indymedia in the UK.
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/06/401236.html
100 people? Not exactly and groundswell of disapproval.
It's nothing new that the number of protesters is always severely downplayed. If the press says "100" count on it really being 500+ and maybe even 1,000.
In LA, they called the crowds "a few hundred" when there were tens of thousands present.
There were no protests when Hitler visited his 'Vichy' French occupied territory --- mainly because of the waiting tow-trucks with wire-rope nooses.
Perhaps the British stooges need a more militarist threat than a few 'bobbies' with night sticks to keep their peons in line when the Global Corporatist Emperor vists his British territorial faux state.
Excuse me.
Not to be unfair to the few British protesters, who have not yet quietly accepted fascist rule:
The US people and media are being just as serious and responsible in constraining the folly of this corporatist Empire, that now rules the US through a two party "Vichy" government, as were the German people and media in reversing and righting the crimes of the Nazi Empire.
At least the Irish still have some fight left in them. Much unlike the British - a bunch of whimpering Chihuahuas under the porch.
Bush sucks wherever he goes. The only time it won't suck is when he finally goes away or to hell ... if you believe in such a place. So yes, George W Bush, go to hell
I don't know if that's a good idea. Since all religions say that you are going to hell if you aren't () and nobody can be all religions at once, it means we're ALL going to hell. I'd rather that bush not be there.
January 20, 2009 at one minute after noon, Eastern Standard Time, yeah 9 a.m. Pacific the moment the entire planet WAITS for!!!!
An "excess of 100 people" could be thousands. I agree that the protesters are probably getting down played -- don't look for them on any main stream media broadcasts tonight.
A "tip of the hat" to Truthseeker58 (1:10pm)
The size of the crowd being reported can vary greatly depending upon who's doing the reporting at the time.
I may have a twisted outlook on things, but I honestly believe that about the only place where our esteemed leader is going to receive a warm welcome is someplace where they never heard of him.
I understand that while he stood next to Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London (yesterday or earlier today) the PM stated that he was going to be sending more British troops into Afghanistan.
At the risk of sounding ungrateful, I have mixed feelings with regard to additional support given us in Afghanistan. While I don't recall the numbers, I believe I read recently where a large number of NATO military forces there are made up of Canadians
Osama bin Laden didn't order an attack on London or Toronto, it was New York on 9/11.
These other countries are giving up lives in Afghanistan while we're off destroying Iraq which, to the best of my knowledge, didn't attack anybody on 9/11.
But what the hell do I know?
And don't even talk to me about reports of Afghanistan planning on going to war with Pakistan. I've got to take my afternoon nap.
It'sanaziworld said "Remember when it was discovered that the anti-war demonstrations in SF were organized by undercover cops?"
I don't remember the cops organizing any demos in SF, please enlighten me.
For some unknown reason I have always felt great love and respect for the Irish. In this particular case, you are doing the right thing and I hope a lot of people attend. This part of the world (South America) many of us are sick of the emperor, his wars and predatory politics.
"Human rights protesters have urged Northern Ireland's politicians to tackle US President George Bush on the issue of prisoner treatment."
And that's all the article speaks of, protesters focused on the human rights of GWoT detainees. Again, the totally criminal wars of aggression on Iraq, Afghanistan and Haiti, besides other, but less known cases, have been disappeared by "human rights" "activists". They and the corporate msm "news" media make a "fine" team.
I am against all of those crimes and would sideline NONE of them. After all, it isn't difficult to [remember] them all, in addition to many others.
Bush, Cheney, ... are criminals and their and as bad as their criminal treatment of GWoT detainees, which includes wrongfully arresting MOST of them to begin with, the Bush-Cheney cabal's and USA's gravest, very most extreme, supreme crimes are these wars of aggression. Is it too painful to think about that, so people prefer to forget about mentioning it?
I wonder why people are often omissive like this. We had this happen many times in the U.S. over the past several years, and it is not good for "movements" when with respect to critical issues and there's a multiplicity of them.
This report is interesting in that I just listened yesterday to a report on NPR by reporter Don Gagne (sp?) who basically said that protests against Bush were sparse and hard to find. I wonder . . . .
The reason Bush is stopping off in Ireland, is the same reason he's been to other countries, to use whatever means to get the backing for the War he demands, with Iran. The same tactics he used for his Iraq War. I hope there is no kind of a catastrophe, to blame Iran, to encourage others to back him. How many more will die?
Bush went to Northern Ireland because The Brittish Crown could count on a respectful audience. Had Bush gone to Dublin, in Southern Ireland, I think there would have been at least 10,000 people in the streets.
sung425 ,
Thanks for the link to the much more en-heartening article at indymedia.org.uk.
=================================
" amacd June 16th, 2008 1:35 pm
Excuse me.
Not to be unfair to the few British protesters, who have not yet quietly accepted fascist rule:
The US people and media are being just as serious and responsible in constraining the folly of this corporatist Empire, ...."
Excuse me in return, but you're [dreaming] about the U.S. media, and as for citizen protesters, well, check out the page that sung425 provided a link for. Now that page shows [real] protest and activism; unlike the only so-called anti-war organisation called 'Stop the War' and this oddly light-weight (certainly in terms of the issues upon which the activists speak anyway) protesting in Ireland.
I just posted a comment for that article page and if it's accepted and finally posted, then the post provides, or will, links to articles by a professor of 'activism'. He explains very well the difference between [real] activism, and the only so-called, msm, popular, ... kind, which the ruling elites really don't mind, for they know the latter kind of activists are either undercover, infiltrating, or else a non-threat.
Whether we agree with that professor or not, and I definitely do, his explanation is very good and easy to understand.
=================================
" TheLorax June 16th, 2008 1:43 pm
At least the Irish still have some fight left in them. Much unlike the British - a bunch of whimpering Chihuahuas under the porch."
What this Belfast Telegraph article says about this Irish protest is a description of superficial, awfully light-weight, ... protest; while the page sung425 provided a link for illustrates [real] protest (and that's not in Ireland, but in, now, PM G. Brown's England). Also worth looking at are pages readers who commented provided links to in the page sung425 linked to, TOO.
You'll be eating your words shortly, if you're honest.
The Protestant chimp visiting an integrated school in Belfast is not the same as visiting Catholic Dublin. Sectarian divisions should be buttressed, but lip service to solidarity displayed to fool the young and the gullible. Had the Protestant chimp visited Catholic Dublin, that's a message of universal solidarity. The chimp's handlers know this and it fully explains why they went to Belfast.
The school visit is related in a highly relevant away to billionaires and their philanthropy. The zero-sum conquest is secured, then candy is handed out to the kids. Obviously this is not the same thing as busting up the billionaire's rackets and ensuring the production is evenly distributed among the people.
The school visit is also like invading, occupying, and imposing mayhem on millions of Iraqis while hiring latino and african-americans into the US administration cabinet. The divisions are to be maintained strongly and appearances of unity maintained weakly.
What a better example do we need than the resolution of the "Irish Troubles"?
They did not have a Guantanamo!
Oh Yes! Now I remember, they had a Prime Minister Tony Blair that made the worst mistake in his life and came to help Pres. Bush, who must have completely disregarded ALL his advice.
There is none more deaf than he who does not want to hear, right? Our King Bush takes the Crown. Is it true he was elected TWICE NOOOOOOOO.
Denis Kucinich is interveiwed by Bill O'Reilly:-
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a79_1213433607
Dennis points out the Bush lied us into a war, but Bill O'Reilly says
that we couldn't pin Bush down because the Democrats including Pelosi
and Clinton all supported the march to war. He fails to add himself and
the media to the list of the culpable. Sadly he was right. Check mate
- Bill wins.
The Democrats were and still are complicit. The media, and himself are
complicit. No-one with a full pound of intelligence could have believed
that Saddam was a threat, and yet so many here in the USA either
actively supported this or just went along for the ride.
Dennis had no way around this. He cannot and could not admit that the
Democrats are/were complicit, because he is part of the Democratic
Party. He could not say that the Bill is guilty directly to Bills
face, in front of Bills audience. That would have lost him popularity.
The problem is that the Bush Cabal, and the media (mostly Zionist
controlled) have made so many of us as accomplices, that it gets
difficult to pin them down as the guilty ones. I have no doubt that is
the real reason that impeachment is "off the table".
This is a British protest. Northern Ireland is a British country, as it's part of the UK. Furthermore, protests against W would be strong in England, Wales, and Scotland; also parts of the UK. This isn't saying anything about the ethnicity of the people in this protest. Likely they are varied, Anglo Saxon, native Irish, Scotch Irish or really Scotch, black, Asian, and others. The British are a multi cultural people today more than they've ever been. They've always been a bunch of hybrids of the Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Vikings, Norman, the original inhabitants of the island of Britain, below the Scottish border, and even there the Picts mixed in with the Celtic trible which became the ethnic Scots.
Three more American KIA Monday, yesterday.
Thank You Mr. Bush, where are their coffins, that we might honor them?
Why does Bush make me think of Mugabe? Will he imprison the opposition-people who disagree with him soon? Oh I forgot, he does, or they commit suicide if they criticize Cheney-now THAT sends a message. sssshhhhh or else.
America lives-f the tyrants, brothers and sisters.
To take the admonition of Ralph Waldo Emerson about, "A foolish consistency being the silly hobgoblin of small minds," let me just say this protest is both British and Irish, with it being British by being in the UK, but also being Irish as it's on the Emerald Isle, thus the best of both worlds, British and Irish.