November 20th Anti-Bush march (Updated Wednesday November 19th)

NOON Thursday November 20th: Main Anti-Bush March to Trafalgar Square (Russell Square)
IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Please pay attention as the plan has been slightly altered (again) at the request of the Stop the War Coalition.

I still want you to come to the Northeast corner of Russell Square, but we need you there earlier than 1PM if possible. If there's any way you can be there by 12 noon that would be ideal. An Expats Against Bush steward should be there to give you further instructions.

The reason for this change is that Stop the War have now requested that some of us be available at the head of the procession from 12 noon onwards for press purposes. The more of us, the better. So, when you get to Russell Square, ask the EAB steward (identified by holding an EAB placard) where you should go - they will have the latest information.

The EAB Steward will only be there until 1:30 or so, at which point he/she will proceed to join the rest of the EAB folks at the head of the procession. The actual procession will set off at or around 2PM along the march route.

If you get to Russell Square later than 1:30PM, or generally have any questions or concerns, then call one of our stewards for the latest information:

Angelique 0796 625 3211
Sarah 0781 293 8767
Graham 0797 660 1193

If none of those work, you can call me (Luke) on 0771 512 0153 - though please try to keep my line free for emergencies etc.

If all else fails (the much-mooted total mobile network meltdown for instance) - go through to Malet St and find the head of the procession, which should be at the south end.

Now, a couple of points.

- In case of any trouble breaking out, get as far away from the trouble as possible. If it looks like the police are disbanding the protest, especially in Trafalgar Square or on Whitehall, then make your way to the southwest corner of Leicester Square and we'll regroup there. If in doubt, contact one of the stewards.

- If anything dodgy starts going down, such as anti-American displays (flag burning and the lot) try to distance yourself from it. We don't want to be photographed with any of that sort of thing!

- If the press approaches you, please direct them to me or, if you know who they are, one of our other press people. We've got the soundbites ready to go, and will do the best job communicating the reason behind the march.

The route is now as follows:

• Malet St
• Russell Square - (Expats Against Bush meet here @ 1PM)
• Southampton Row
• Kingsway
• Aldwych
• Waterloo Bridge
• York Road
• Westminster Bridge
• Parliament Square
• Whitehall
• Trafalgar Square

The BBC have their own map which is slightly incorrect - we're going down Southampton Row, not Bloomsbury.

Look for the main banners saying "Proud of my Country, Shamed of my President", and also the new issue-specific banners. If you can, it would help if you followed the directions below to bring a banner of your own and a spare one if you can swing it!

Also, if you have (or can acquire) an American flag, and would feel comfortable displaying and flying it, that would be great! The more we can reinforce the fact that we love our country whilst wanting to get rid of Bush, the better.

We will be at the head of the entire procession of between 70 to 100,000 people, so the more of you show up, the better it looks for all of us!

Sign up to the mailing list for updates to make sure you stay in the loop!

NEW - Quick guide to making placards

It's dead easy to make placards.

1. Download either the main placard or, if you prefer, the PDF containing the issue-specific placards on multiple pages.
2. Put it on a diskette and take it down to your local high street Prontaprint or similar printers. If you are printing one or more of the issue-specific placards, make sure and tell them which page(s) out of that PDF file you want printed - each "page" consists of one placard - alternately many office inkjet printers and larger laser printers are able to print A3 - have a look around your office and you may strike pay dirt.
3. Ask for it to be put on A3 (small banner) or A2 (medium/large banner) - if they can stretch the poster to fill the paper size, so much the better - your first A3 should cost £5 or so and each additional one costs between £1.50 and £2 so you're better off pooling together with friends to spread the cost a bit
4. (optional but recommended) Obtain rigid card paper or posterboard of equal or slightly larger size, and a can of spraymount. Affix the printed posters to the backing material with the spraymount.
5. Obtain for each poster a 3 foot length of 1" by 2" wood from your high street builders merchant or hardware store. Each 3 foot length should cost you no more than £1.50 or so. While you're there you may wish to get a cheap staplegun (see below)
6. Staple posters to wood, using common office stapler, or, if necessary due to backing material, a garden variety staplegun which you can also pick up at the hardware store for £10-£15. Again, the more of you band together the cheaper it is per poster.
7. If you get a few people together each poster ends up only costing £5-£6.

Comments

[Brian Donahue]

Thanks for doing the broadcast on the news. My wife told me about it as soon as I got home, and I was so happy to know there are other Americans over here to unite with. I have seen that Republicans Abroad lady on TV about 3 times; now it's time to show the UK there are some sensible Americans living here, too. See you at the march!

[Merkin]

Shouldn't that be "Ashamed of my President?" Or "Shamed by my President?"

[Bob Richard]

Yes, I agree with the posting by Merkin ....it really DOES need to read ASHAMED of my president ... "shamed" is just incorrect and confusing.
Is there time to fix it?

[Luke]

Actually it is "Shamed by my president." Check out the PDFs on the right there. The Observer got it wrong last Sunday.

[elisabeth cornwell]

I am an expat living in St. Andrews, Fife - are there any ex-pats in the area with like views concerning Bush and his henchmen? It would be nice to form a group to encourage many of the American students up here in Scotland to vote. Anyone interested in forming such a group?

[danny nolan]

I am ashamed by the protestors.

5% will be sensible people who've thought the thing through, come out with the wrong answer, but at least thought about it. The other 95% will be the usual melange of professional whingers,students, muslims, pinkos, crusties, layabouts, liberals, communists, Guardian readers, teachers, politocos on the make etc who protest about anything and everything provided it is a vaguely trendy lefty cause and offers the chance for a fun day out and the opportunity to 'make you feel good about yourself because you're doing something about it'. Whatever 'it' is.

Anyone outside the Ba'ath Party who believes that ridding Iraq of a genocidal traitor was somehow 'a bad thing' needs their head examined. The whole shower of them shame Britain.

The fact that the protests cost a huge amount of money to administer and that they act as cover for the usual shower of drink-sodden trouble-makers is of course to be ignored. My right to demonstrate and to hell with the cost.

Where were all the protesters when Vladimir Putin was driven down the Mall to see the Queen? That's the former head of the KGB and current presider over the genocide in Chechnya, in case you were wondering which Putin I'm talking about.

Do everyone a favour, all of you, stay home.

[Luke]

For all our sakes I hope that your plea falls on deaf ears, and it will.

[Heather]

Danny Nolan should know better than to make generalisations about any large group of people. The group will probably contain all of the "types" he's mentioned -- but there will be more. If he is blind to the fact that even the apolitical public have felt this call to action and are prepared to put their former apathy aside to protest about something that really matters, then perhaps he needs to acquaint himself better with the feelings of this country. If he'd rather stay home and watch Eastenders, he's welcome. But he really shouldn't be trying to discredit those people who have the conviction to speak out. Bush wasn't popularly elected, and neither was Tony Blair unless you're a Labour MP... so the vote isn't doing much good. The leaders aren't listening. But we can always yell louder.

[Larry Boyd]

What's wrong with reading the Guardian? And if I was a Russian I would have marched against Putin. Bush and Putin -- two of a kind -- smarmie power junkies. Me -- I'm taking a day off work and dragging my sorry 53 year old ass to the first demo I've been at in over a decade. And come November, I'll vote in US elections for the first time in over a decade for whatever the Dummiecrats put up against the biggest threat to world security and world peace going. See you on Thursday. Not you, Danny, best stay home and make the world a better place.

[abdul]

I find Danny's email ironic. When 1 million people marched on one day in February, Bush dismissed them as a "focus group." But one million people makes 2% of the UK popultion; hardly a focus group. Now, as usual, we have someone compassionate conservative labelling people in an ad hominem attack. This gives him the perfect opportunity to just ignore the merit of their argument.
Well, Danny, here is the thing. The Bushit is hitting the fan in Iraq, and while your patriotic behind is busy standing up for freedom, I don't see you serving in Iraq. By all accounts, our military is stretched to its limits. What says you join up. Here is the link... www.goarmy.com have fun in Fallujah.

[Justin Perry]

I just found this site - and have to say that it was refreshing to see that there are other Americans out there who "Are ashamed" of the "narrow-minded, bumbling, cronyist, money talks" President who has done an amazing job of isolating and alienating the United States from the rest of the free world - and this from a former "Southern Republican". Obviously my feelings are very strong on the subject -- but I think it is important that we all take great care in conveying our distaste for the individual in office -- but not for the office itself -- and most definitely not for our great country. We would be doing all of ourselves a great disservice if the media could easily categorize us with the "fringe" element that is bound to be present at this march - - and I would ask that the organizers make it clear that at no point should we disrespect the flag our disparage our country. We must act with purpose/with dignity/with honor -- if only because those tenets appear to have been abandoned by this administration - and are simply beyond the grasp of the man who has cost so many lives, repealed so many liberties, all in the name of his precious Texas Tea. Let us all take advantage of our rights, voice our opinion, but retain our standing as patriotic Americans who care about our country enough to show up.
Regards, Best of Luck,

JP

[Constance]

I am surprised to hear Americans urging other Americans to be cautious in expressing dissent. Our country was founded by people who were not afraid to stand up for what they believed in. Surely some people in the Colonies would have considered Jefferson and Washington rude and 'fringe.' But ideals are more important than maintaining the status quo. If America means anything to me, that's it.

And lest we forget, we're in a country with a population that is much more informed than America. Are these people in the streets really so 'fringe?' The last march I went to included families, the elderly, students, moslems (Btw, what's wrong with that, Danny? Are you anti-moslem? Doesn't sound very American to me), and regular Brits, taking time out to slog through the streets, no matter the weather.

These marches are not fun. I don't think most people consider them an entertaining day out. They offer long queues, no toilets, loud whistles blown in one's ears, and this time especially, the risk of being brutalized by the police.

But it is our obligation to the truth, our responsibility to the troops out there, and the people of Iraq, to stand up and be counted and tell Bush he's wrong and must cease and desist this path to madness.

That's the American way!

[Alexandra]

I'm with you Constance - dissent was the basis for much of the founding of America and frankly I think it's everyone's patriotic duty to question. Didn't Kennedy say something very much along those lines at his inauguration? But this isn't just one kind of blind idealism versus another. It is about fundamental issues of what America is and should be and should not be. Bush and his cronies have hijacked the Constitution for the good of the few and their pockets and that just isn't what it's supposed to be about.

On the point about the articles in the papers today giving levels of those for or against Bush's visit, I think that's really a red herring. I'm not against his visit as such: I'm against him. I'm not totally against the war - I'm glad Saddam Hussein is gone, but not at all happy with the way it was done, planned, thought about, followed up. I'm against what the administration is doing across a number of issues domestically and internationally and frankly heart-broken that what is being done in the name of America is destroying the name of America. So that's why I'm coming along on Thursday.

[T Brown in San Francisco]

While you're all at it, do us a favor a stay over there in the U.K. I have no problem with the Brits protesting Bush on their home turf. It's you folks that disgust me.

[Mike O'Keeffe]

Do people like Tim Go through life with Blinders on? Doesn't he know that it is a persons right and Duty to question the corruption and lies of the Government? Did He vote Arnold because he was told to? No one should be disgusted with anyone who has a different point of view. If he wants to support Oil loving Texans who abuse power and kill innocent people to make themselves and friends even more wealthy, that is his right. It's my right to disagree with him on that. Hope you guys and Girls stay safe, and know that you have support over here!
mpo-in Milwaukee

[T Brown]

If it's a citizen's duty to question the corruption and the lies of government, tell them to do it on their own soil. The majority of Americans are ashamed of these people who masquerade as "patriots". Someday they will all come crawling back to the U.S., having overspent their welcome and unable to get a work card. They'll also have to contain their glee at coming back to the greatest country in the world.

[Brian Donahue]

Oh, here we go.
Well, you know if the Department of Homeland Security didn't make it so difficult for me to bring my wife back to the U.S. -- that's the original reason why I settled here after 13 years in the military blowing the crap out of Bosnia and Afghanistan. GW is the reason why my wife's visa application is gathering dust in the store room. Go back? Not till the place don't stink so bad!

Seems like feelings are running very high on here as the march approaches ... and i guess that's as it should be.
What I focus on as a proud American who has lived in the UK for 17 years is a simple contrast between 2 USA/UK moments:
The first moment, 3 years ago, when the Star-Spangled Banner was played at the Changing of the Guard, the day following the attacks on America. The people of the UK could offer no more eloquent and beautiful demonstration of solidarity with America.
Contrast that with the second moment, the march on Feb 15, 2003, when the impending and fraud-fueled attack on Iraq was protested by over 1 million people in London.
What could possibly have happened to erode that huge swell of international goodwill over just two short years?
George W Bush is what happened.
As expats, we are uniquely positioned. We owe it both to our home country and to our host country to demonstrate tomorrow, to show that the USA is much greater than our dangerous president and that the UK is much more than a staging post for Karl Rove's re-election photo ops.

[nick]

The poster says
"shamed by my president" instead of "ashamed of" for two reasons.
one reason is purely typographic: that is, if it was just one word, that word could be larger. The second reason is that I'm not ashamed of the president. He brings shame and dishonor upon me and my country.

I am not ashamed of him. We are all shamed by him. And that's the reason it reads like it does.

[zara]

I was just wondering if anyone took video of the Bush effigy being brought down. I would like to tape it if it's available. Any info would be appreciated. I live in the U.S. and am a citizen.

[Sarah Forrester]

Sara,
Hopefully it will get broadcast there as well, but there was plenty of television coverage of it here. Perhaps someone will have recorded the news tonight.

Somehow I doubt I'll ever "come crawling back" to the U.S. For one, my husband is British and black, and mixed couples don't go down as well in the U.S. as they do here in the U.K. My husband was very saddened by the self-imposed segregation of the races that he saw when he visited the U.S.

Even if we didn't have that issue, I have been to every single U.S. state (how many of you can say that?), and it's time to see the world now.

My brother is stationed in Iraq, and with his blessing, I protested today. I marched with Vietnam veterans who see Bush repeating history. I was priveleged to meet Ron Kovic, who was the subject of the movie "Born on the Fourth of July". He's a wonderful man, who was once all for war, but changed. Some might take a clue from him.

[Dennis Farley]

I'd like take part in a protest march against Bush the weekend before the election. Is it possible to organize a world wide peaceful demonstration? I live in Taipei and could apply for a permit to hold a demonstration here. What about in the country where you live in?

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