Report from NYC event Feb 15th

Subject: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Feb 03 - 05:49 PM

The estimates from police on the scene - not official, is that the estimate of 150,000 was less than half the crowd ... there was more than twice that. The city caused much distress. Though there was plenty of room on 1st Avenue, and that avenue was closed, small groups were kept blocks away from at least third avenue to possibly Lexington In these side blockades we were pinned inside, under the claim there was not enough room on 1st avenue for us, an avenue which leads right up to the Bronx. Where I was, after perhaps a half hour of being penned in, Genie and I at the police line, a metal barricade, trying to keep peace with the angry cold people, the cops suddenly noticed that one of the women in the crowd had a light pine stick on her sign, They grabbed her and the sign, and began to rough her up, at that, the crowd behind me surged forward, knocking Genie and I and a crippled woman down, as the barricades fell, in this way we wound up on 1st Avenue when the crowd took the street. I met others who reported worse events where police horses injured folks and police clubs did as well. I will report more when the TV reports come in.
Peace in our time
Larry

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Feb 03 - 06:22 PM

I seem to have lost my Cookie! This is Larry InOBU here and above, the NBC report puts the number at a half million and reports police horses where driven into crowds causing injuries - and for what? the crowds were peacefull, just kept from going to the rally which it was their right to go...
Larry

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: Deda
Date: 15 Feb 03 - 06:24 PM

From Colorado, Boulder's radio station KGNU interviewed marchers in Colorado Springs who said that the peaceful marchers were teargassed by the police for no reason that the marchers could see. They were not near nor heading toward the Air Force Academy, just holding a routine peace march, which had been planned and announced in advance, but the police herded them off into a parking lot. I imagine there must be more to it but that's all I've heard so far.

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: InOBU
Date: 15 Feb 03 - 06:26 PM

Cookie back, so I can assure folks that it really is me... above, Larry

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: michaelr
Date: 15 Feb 03 - 06:47 PM

In California, I watched coverage of the NY rally from Amy Goodman via WorldLink TV. The last official estimate she announced was 500,000 -- which means it could have been twice that many. This is unprecedented and quite encouraging.

International numbers are even more impressive: Rome 1 million, Madrid 1 million, London 2 million.

My hat is off to Danny Glover who had the courage to say from the stage and in front of TV cameras that our democracy "has been hijacked by an administration of liars and murderers".

We need to keep turning out en masse like today to keep up the pressure on Bush & Co.

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: InOBU
Date: 15 Feb 03 - 06:53 PM

Hi Michael:
I just wish our own Leprichan was here to keep his fellow cops in line.
Cheers
Larry

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 15 Feb 03 - 07:09 PM

Larry. Did you think for ONE MINUTE we didn't know it was you? Thanks for the report.

Rick

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: Sorcha
Date: 15 Feb 03 - 08:26 PM

Ya, what Rick said. But, do you think They will listen???? I doubt it.

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: Bobert
Date: 15 Feb 03 - 08:44 PM

Yeah, Larry, what Michael sid. I was listening to Amy Goodman also and the NY police said a half a million so figure between 750,000 and a million!

Good on all you folks.

And I'm glad it didn't snow on you guys. Just as I thought, it's been snowing here on the Blue Ridge all day and has let up now but then tomorrow we're ecpecting another 12 inches on top of the 5 or 6 that we have now. But the power hasn't gone out yet!

Get warm and have a good sleep tonight, my friend. You desrve it. Hope Genie is thawed out...

Peace

Bobert

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: InOBU
Date: 15 Feb 03 - 10:18 PM

Well, took a hot bath, had some Chinese take out from yesterday, Genie and I watched a strange Gary Cooper movie...(then came Jones) the lies on the news, and now off to bed eventually... almost warm again... Larry

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: michaelr
Date: 15 Feb 03 - 10:29 PM

Here's a link to the AP story -- MILLIONS of us were protesting today all over the world: click.

World opinion is united against the Bush war. The bastards are going to have to back down!

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: katlaughing
Date: 15 Feb 03 - 11:21 PM

Wowo, I am glad we were able to keep it peaceful on the Western Slope of COlorado. There were a few harrassers who drove by a few times, but they didn't cause any trouble.

Larry, I am glad that you and Genie are okay? Thanks for the report!

kat

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: Melani
Date: 16 Feb 03 - 12:50 AM

Jeez, Michael, I hope you're right. Wish us luck in San Francisco tomorrow. I hope it stops raining.

This is gonna sound really corny, but as I was listening to the Security Council session on the radio, I suddenly realized I was singing "Last Night I had the Strangest Dream" under my breath. I haven't heard that song in years.

Do you really think it's possible that we could refuse to be dragged into this against our will?

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: Noreen
Date: 16 Feb 03 - 12:53 AM

BS: Who's marching on February 15th?

London peace march

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: GUEST,The Hated Guest
Date: 16 Feb 03 - 02:25 PM

"...the NBC report puts the number at a half million and reports police horses where driven into crowds causing injuries - and for what? the crowds were peacefull, just kept from going to the rally which it was their right to go..."

Larry

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It's symbology. Horses are used to drive cattle. Seriously. New York and Los Angeles are the media centers in the U.S., and consequently the media centers, so the rest of the nation picks up it's cues from those places. Those cities set the fashion. And the fashion now is going to be to treat American citizens like cattle. Cops all across the nation now have images of horses trampling over citizens, and they will base their future behaviors on that. Really. It's as simple as that. People are more influenced by symbols than words.

It's good to see political activism, but folks...conservative America is steamed right now. Images of 'Hanoi Jane' (symbol/icon), popped into millions and millions of minds during the peace marches, and conservative convictions that GWBush is their man, hell or high water, were reinforced. The liberal left is being used to re-inforce the mindset of the right-wing, while the right-wing does the radical social re-engineering the left-wing leaders desire. Your left-wing leaders are using your numbers to bring about a tyrannical govt.

And the sad thing is, there IS no left/right anymore. Never was. For the past hundred years our colleges have TAUGHT there is, just to obscure the old tension between labor and management, boss and worker. One percent controlled the world a hundred years ago, and it still does now. And we're all quibbling over left vs. right. Democrat vs. Republican.

And the next move in the game is...the upper one percent will convince you that you are either with them (the govt and it's CIA al Qeada) or with the terrorists. So as the liberal / conservative paradigm fades into the mists of history, you'll still be serving the upper one percent in the phony war against terrorism.

That's the reason for the horses.

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Feb 03 - 02:30 PM

Normally I don't re-write, bud dam...that first paragraph confused even me...

It's symbology. Horses are used to drive cattle. Seriously. New York City and Los Angeles are the media centers in the U.S., and consequently the rest of the nation picks up it's cues from those cities. NYC and LA set the fashion. And the fashion now is going to be to treat American citizens like cattle. Cops all across the nation now have mental images of horses trampling citizens, and they will base their future behaviors on those images. Really. It's as simple as that. People are more influenced by symbols than words.

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 16 Feb 03 - 02:41 PM

It's rough on the horses though. Unless they are panicked, horses are very careful to avoid treading on people sitting in the ground, which is one reason why sitting down is the best thing to do in a crowd under pressure.

Back in Vietnam protest days there was talk about people with catapults and ball bearings in face of horses, and if it ever happneed it was a damn silly idea for that very reason. Also of course, if you want to alienate public opinion in England the best way is to hurt animals.

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: GUEST,Hated Guest
Date: 16 Feb 03 - 03:04 PM

No...you don't spook a horse, or then you really have problems. If you've been kicked by one you know what I mean.

And speaking of cruelty to animals...makes me think of the Crocodile guy on TV. Always talking about 'endangered species'. I tuned out TV about the time he did a show in the southwest U.S. and ran across a diamondback rattler. They're everywhere, and he was cooing about how they're 'endangered'. Crock indeed.

Even the environmental movement has been hijacked by it's opposite...the land developers that will end up with the land after the govt seizes it on behalf of the vipers I have to check my boots for every morning.

I just hate to see people with good intentions being misled.

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: InOBU
Date: 16 Feb 03 - 05:19 PM

Dear Hated Guest... I should point out that that was a rehtorical question, though you are welcome to have answered it... CHeers Larry

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: Margaret V
Date: 16 Feb 03 - 08:38 PM

I was there with a friend, "there" being a relative term since, as Larry has described, it was almost impossible to get over to 1st Avenue. However, those of us on 2nd and 3rd just did our best and I guess if any aerial photos were taken then it would be clear just how many people came out to protest. It would have made a lot more sense from a crowd control point of view to have just permitted the march up 1st. Didn't witness any police unpleasantness where we were, though, just a lot of folks in blue looking COLD. May our protests be taken seriously by those who seem to be hijacking their people's governments.
Margaret

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 17 Feb 03 - 01:54 PM

Here's how The Daily Mirror in London reported the New York march. Remember the old slogan when the police rioted against demonstrators in Chicago back in 1968 - "The whole world is watching"? (That was the occasion when Winston Churchill's grandson, who has the same name and was covering the story as a reporter, was foolish enough to tell a cop who asked his name the truth, and got roughed up for being insolent...)

Well that was true this time. And this bit of the whole world wasn't too impressed with some of what it saw. Here's the opening paragraphs of that story I linked to just there:

On the streets of New York I saw the kind of freedom George Bush has vowed to gift to Iraq - menacing squads of riot police.

In an attempt to sabotage this deafening chorus of disapproval, blue helmeted officers backed by horses confined pockets of protesters to Manhattan side streets.

At the corner of 24th Street and Sixth Avenue, 30 blocks from the rallying point, I watched incredulous as around 200 baton wielding police set about a group of 100, feverishly tearing down their banners.

The provocation? Not staying on the pavement. Saddam Hussein's goons would have been proud.

Then they kept them tightly penned in a car park entrance, enjoying the fear and confusion on their faces. One officer warned me: "Hey bud, if you know what's good for you, get the f*** away."

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: GUEST,Hated Guest
Date: 17 Feb 03 - 02:10 PM

Just be glad I didn't give a rhetorical answer. Not enough server space.

Subject: RE: Report from NYC event Feb 15th
From: katlaughing
Date: 17 Feb 03 - 11:22 PM

Larry, I've put some of my pix up at the link in this thread. Will add yours when you send them.

kat