Homeland Resistance.West Coast.
Matthew X
profrv at nex.net.au
Sat May 15 05:39:35 PDT 1999
USA: PROTESTING THE BUSH REGIME Aug 24 2002
Dissent Flares Against Bush on the West Coast
'Commander-in-thief' George Bush's visit to the West Coast of the United
States this week was met with protests at every stop. In Oregon, Bush's
purpose was to spread lies about forest health [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ] and shake
down local wealthy to raise money for Senator Gordon Smith. One hundred
protesters met Bush in Medford, and briefly blocked a road 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ].
In Portland, forest activists kick-started the day of dissent by erecting a
tree-sit in a downtown park. Hundreds of people gathered at a Pacific Green
Party rally and then joined the main crowd at the tree-sit park for a march
downtown, 3000 strong. Hundreds of police, including many in full riot
gear, staked out a nine square block area around the Hilton Hotel where
Bush was speaking. Protesters had free reign throughout the rest of
downtown where they took the streets, blocked intersections, and made a
joyful noise.
In the late afternoon, police declared a state of emergency, and threatened
to arrest anyone who did not disperse, though these annoucements were heard
by very few people. Police then turned violent, shooting people with rubber
bullets and pepper-spraying many others [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
]. Children were among the victims of chemical attacks, including a 10
month old baby [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ]. When the sun set people danced in the
street and continued to protest. The general feeling among participants was
that it had been a great day that offered some lessons for future efforts.
Corporate media accounts of the day betrayed an institutional bias against
democratic action and in favor of police brutality [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
| 7 | 8 ]. Friday morning, the chair of the Portland chapter of the
National Lawyers Guild called for the police chief's resignation, and that
afternoon protesters marched on City Hall to demand police accountability.
| 11 | 12 | 13 ]
On Friday, Bush was given a California welcome with protests inside and
outside his first campaign stop for political friends in Stockton [ photos
| video ]. Medea Benjamin gained entry to the event and took off her jacket
to reveal a "No War On Iraq" tee-shirt. She was hauled off by police
immediately, but not before Bush's televised speech was disrupted [ 1 | 2 |
3 ]. Further south that afternoon, 400 people protested Bush's arrival in
Santa Ana, and another 250 demonstrated outside a fundraiser in Dana Point,
Orange County. In Los Angeles on Saturday morning, 7:00 a.m. wasn't too
early for hundreds to come out and express dissent [ 1 | 2 | 3 ], while
hundreds of vehicles caravaned to Crawford, TX.
Other recent actions against the Bush regime in the U.S. include protests
at a 7/11 Bush visit in Minneapolis [ 1 | 2 ], a 7/18 Bush visit near
Detroit, a 7/25 Bush trip to Greensboro, NC, Cheney visits to San Francisco
(8/7) [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 ] and Minneapolis (8/12) [ 1 ], and a 8/14
Bush trip to Milwaukee [ 1 | 2 ].
[ Portland IMC | SF Bay IMC | Los Angeles IMC ]
http://www.indymedia.org/index.php3?newswire=open
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