-Caveat Lector-

Thousands Rally in D.C. Against Iraq War

By CALVIN WOODWARD, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Tens of thousands rallied in the capital Saturday in an emphatic dissent
against preparations for war in Iraq, voicing a cry — "No blood for oil" — heard in
demonstrations around the world.

A rally in the shadows of Washington's political and military institutions anchored
dozens of smaller protests throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United
States.

In Washington, police said 30,000 marched through the streets, part of a much larger
crowd that packed the east end of the National Mall and spilled onto the Capitol 
grounds.


"We stand here today, a new generation of anti-war activists," Peta Lindsay from
International Answer, the main organizers, exhorted the spirited masses in a biting 
cold.
"This is just beginning. We will stop this war."

Police reported few arrests in the rally, which preceded the march past Marine barracks
to the Washington Navy Yard.

"We don't want this war and we don't want a government that wants this war," said 
Brenda
Stokely, a New York City labor activist. A sign branded America, not Iraq, a "Rogue
Nation." Another said, "Disarm Bush."

Activists invoked the nonviolent legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. on the long weekend
that marks the civil rights leader's birthday, and booed President Bush (news - web
sites), who was at Camp David, Md.

King's historic "I have a dream" speech rang out from the opposite end of the mall, the
Abraham Lincoln Memorial, before a crowd of more than 200,000 in 1963.

"Mr. Bush hung Dr. King's picture up in the White House last year but he need to hang 
up
Dr. King's words," the Rev. Al Sharpton, a Democratic presidential candidate, told the
demonstration.

Added civil rights activist Jesse Jackson: "We march today to fight militarism, and
racism, and sexism, and anti-Semitism, and Arab-bashing."

Terrence Gainer, chief of the U.S. Capitol Police, said "about 30,000 people moved out 
on
the march route," a two-mile trek from the huge rally.

Bush believes that protesting "is a time-honored part of American tradition and it's a
strength of our democracy," White House spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo said.

Demonstrators hoped the protests and more ahead would win over an American public
unsettled by the prospect of an Iraq war yet supportive of Bush's leadership. Some 
dared
hope their activism would give his administration pause.

"Our voices ought to matter." said Joyce Townsend, 69, who came from Detroit on a bus
with members of her church.

As with any big Washington rally, the main cause made room for other causes.

"Free Palestine" was one of them. Racism and genocide were others.

"The underlying motives for this government's actions have always been greed and 
racism,"
said Moonanum James of United American Indians of New England.

"In the spirit of Dr. King, in the spirit of Crazy Horse," he said, "no blood for oil."

Elsewhere, protesters denounced Bush's Iraqi policy in a major rally in San Francisco,
where protesters came by the thousands.

"I'm hoping that the bus loads of people coming as far away as Oregon and Nevada give 
an
indication that this isn't just the crazy loons in San Francisco — but we reflect the
opinions of the entire United States," said Tim Kingston of the anti-war group Global
Exchange.

In Lansing, Mich., several hundred people met at a church before marching 20 blocks to
the state Capitol. "It's just great enthusiasm here, and a great spirit of 
peacemaking,"
said the Rev. Fred Thelen from Cristo Rey Catholic Church.

In Des Moines, Iowa, about 125 protesters marched two miles in a bitter wind that made
temperatures feel below zero. "Standing out in this kind of temperature is nothing
compared to innocent people losing their lives in Iraq," said marcher Eric Kimmer, 32, 
a
credit union worker.

About 400 people, many of them elderly, gathered in downtown Venice, Fla., to listen to
anti-war speeches. "America cannot unsheathe the sword, and tell the rest of the world 
to
brandish plowshares," said Methodist minister Charles McKenzie.

Demonstrators staged peace rallies worldwide, events that typically drew hundreds or
fewer.

But 5,000 people marched through downtown Tokyo, carrying toy guns filled with flowers
and wearing face masks that parodied Bush.

Larry Holmes, speaking for organizers of the Washington rally, said protesters 
everywhere
sense war is close.

"It seems like it has a momentum and a sense of inevitability, and so we're rushing
against the clock," he said. "So as they send the troops there and surround Iraq, we're
sending the troops into the streets of Washington, D.C., so to speak."

Three dozen people stood by the Vietnam War Memorial to show support for Bush's policy
and offer a contrary voice to the blitz of demonstrations.

"The protesters don't understand the threat" of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news -
web sites), said Scott Johnson, 55, a Navy veteran from Minneapolis. "It's a war of
liberation for people."

Overseas, 60 protesters in Hong Kong shouted, "War, no," and in Pakistan, the familiar
refrain "No blood for oil" was heard — accusing America of wanting to attack Iraq only 
to
control its oil wealth.

Police in the Netherlands detained 90 activists who tried to enter Volkel Air Force 
Base,
where Dutch and U.S. forces are stationed, to conduct a "citizens' inspection of 
American
nuclear arms."

More than 400 New Zealanders demonstrated in Christchurch. In Moscow, a few hundred
people agitated outside the U.S. Embassy.

Bush says Saddam has weapons of mass destruction and no qualms about using them on the
United States, if he could. U.N. inspectors are in Iraq trying to find them.

--------------------------------------
Steve Wingate
ANOMALOUS IMAGES AND UFO FILES
http://www.anomalous-images.com

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