Sunday's Protest, Asheville NC

Sunday's Asheville NC, peace rally:

There was a good turnout and the weather was very nice. Some powerful speakers and poets shared the stage.

Cindy Sheehan who spoke the day before in Fayetteville, once again brought tears to many eyes. She co-founded the group Gold Star Families for Peace and her son Casey was killed in Iraq. There was also a strong veteran showing in Asheville. I estimated the crowd to be at least 400 (?)

Cindy Sheehan and other speakers at the Fayetteville protest can be heard at: www.DemocracyNow.org
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Iraq war opponents rally downtown

photo: John Fletcher/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
By Barbara Blake
STAFF WRITER
published: March 21, 2005 6:00 am

ASHEVILLE - Several hundred opponents of the war in Iraq gathered peacefully at City-County Plaza on Sunday afternoon for a Global Day of Action commemorating the second anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Baghdad.

Carrying placards, banners and posters with slogans such as "Bush Lied - Thousands Died,'' and "Are We Safer Yet?,'' the peace activists listened to poets, singers and speakers call for a withdrawal of troops and an end to the war.

"The U.S. military is igniting rather than stopping violence all over the world,'' said one of the speakers, Dr. Don Richardson of Brevard, a member of WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility. "Real security would not include killing people to win their hearts and minds.''

The crowd on the government plaza ranged in age from newborn to a woman in her 90s, and included a number of church members unified in their opposition to the war.

..more..

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050321/NEWS01/503210324/1001

I know it's not about Schiavo, but hey, we were there protesting a war where over a hundred thousand have been killed! :shrug:

nationwide. Let some negative shit happen and they're all over it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3318344&mesg_id=3318344

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0503/S00191.htm

Media Downplay Historic Day of Anit-War Protests
Monday, 21 March 2005, 12:11 pm
Opinion: Scott Galindez

Media Downplay Historic Day of Protests

By Scott Galindez
t r u t h o u t | Report

From: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/032005A.shtml
Sunday 20 March 2005

Fayetteville, NC -- The second anniversary of the war was the impetus for major demonstrations throughout the world. In the United States, over 800 communities held events calling for an end to the occupation.

CNN, however, reported that in the United States "barely a ripple was made while large protests took place in Europe." The New York Times reported that protests in the United States ranged from 350 people in Times Square to thousands in San Francisco. Later in the same story, the Times reported that several thousand marched from Harlem to Central Park. If thousands marched in New York, why did the Times highlight the 350 in Times Square?

CNN's report was worse … nothing about US protests. While they only saw a ripple, a huge wave passed them by. If CNN had been in Fayetteville, North Carolina, they would have seen what could be a major turning point in the anti-war movement. The largest Anti-war protest ever in this heavily military town took place.

<snip>
CNN missed the boat … perhaps a good thing for them, since they were only prepared for a ripple and not the giant wave that formed in Fayetteville.
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Photo Essay, M19 Fayetteville:
http://chapelhill.indymedia.org/news/2005/03/14179.php
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Mercury News:
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/iraq/11188288.htm

Great speeches and video coverage!

Everyone should watch the whole show. The first segment is Greg Palast explaining the plan for taking over Iraq, and they play the special he did for BBC.

still looking for some photos from Asheville....