Groups Protest Bush Troop Increase in Times Sq. (and in Chapel Hill and in Davenport and in . . .)

[Robbien]

NEW YORK (AP) -- Activists angered by President Bush's decision to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq staged protests around the city on Thursday, declaring the extra troops would only give insurgents thousands of new American targets.

Hundreds of anti-war protesters crammed onto a traffic island in Times Square, chanting "Stop the funding, stop the war'' as drivers in one of the world's most famous intersections honked their horns in support. Some held signs depicting Bush as a monkey. Others sold buttons that said "Peace.''

"In times of trouble, like the time we are in now, it helps to feel like you are doing something to right the wrongs,'' she said.

Tony Palladino, of Queens, who identified himself as a former Air National Guardsman, protested in lower Manhattan's Foley Square with a pair of anti-war signs. He said Bush's decision to send more troops would just give insurgents "20,000 extra targets.''

Rallies also were planned in Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and other cities and towns.
http://www.1010wins.com/pages/182720.php?contentType=4&contentId=288217

CHAPEL HILL -- Singing songs and carrying signs, about 200 people gathered Thursday evening to protest the war in Iraq and demand that President George W. Bush withdraw U.S. troops.

The group included high school and college students, mothers, fathers, politicians and grandparents. Unlike protests on college campuses during the Vietnam War, when the majority of protesters were in their teens or 20s, about half the people at the rally held at the corner of East Franklin and Henderson streets had gray hair. Others said they were veterans.

Douglas Lally, 38, wearing a U.S. Navy hat, stood near the edge of the crowd smoking a cigarette and quietly holding one of the paper signs organizers passed out that said, "Stop Escalation in Iraq."

"I was in the first Gulf War, and I think that counts for something," Lally said.

Lally said he was protesting for the U.S. troops fighting in Iraq. "I know what those guys are going through right now. I think it's a tragic mistake," he said. "It's important for people who have served to show up and have a voice, too, because I think that gives it more credibility."

http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-808183.cfm

DAVENPORT, Iowa -- Around three-dozen protesters lined 53rd Street in Davenport late Thursday, holding signs of opposition to President Bush's proposal to escalate troop strength in Iraq.

"One person gave me the finger a little while ago," said first-time protester Melissa McBain, "that's not happened in this context before. But, I'm getting a lot of honks."

Those honks were likely in support of the protesters messages to "Bring them home," or "Oppose Escalation," all painted on cardboard or poster board and held up in the sky.

Similar protests have been held around the Quad Cities since Operation: Iraqi Freedom began in March, 2003.

<snip>

The group that organized the event, Progressive Action for Common Good, will hold similar events in the future, but they say others can help without getting publicly involved. "We hope all these people will call their representatives and let them know we cannot escalate the war in Iraq," Griffith's said.

http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=5928691&nav=1sW7

The one we held here in Chicago's north shore tonight was also just as nice as the ones described in the articles. Peace

[burrowowl]

1. KICK!

We had a good emergency demo in Albuquerque, NM at Pete Dominici's district office. Around 200.

[IndianaGreen]

2. Big antiwar mass rally planned for January 27 in Washington DC

sponsored by United for Peace and Justice.

2007 will be remembered by increased civic resistance to the criminal war in Iraq, and more casualties in a lost war.

[saigon68]

3. Some held signs depicting Bush as a monkey

ITS A LONG TRADITION HERE