Photos of Melbourne Protest against Bush sleepover : Melbourne Indymedia

About one thousand people rallied outside the State Library this afternoon in opposition to the 21 hour visit of George W Bush to Australia. There were the regulars such as the Socialist Alliance, Resistance, Socialist Alternative, the Greens, and a few anarchists. A number of peace groups were present, as well as Friends of the Earth.

After the speakers, there was the traditional march down Swanston Street to Federation Square. More speeches at Federation Square.

I guess the interesting thing for me was people's inventiveness in creating banners and placards, and even a giant puppet of George Bush.

The march stopped for a few minutes at Bourke Street to demonstrate some simple steps for Parliamentarians against the war. See:
http://sydney.indymedia.org/archive/features/current#9797

The rally was all over by 7.30pm. A number of buses will travel overnight from Melbourne to Canberra to enable people demonstrate against the Bush address to the Australian Parliament.

In other states:

Sydney: 5,000 people marched from the Sydney Town Hall to the United States consulate in a noisy protest against President George W Bush. At the Sydney Town Hall protesters heard from a range of speakers including Labor MP Harry Quick who will wear a white armband in Federal Parliament tomorrow, during the address by Mr Bush.

"Why should we respect this duplicitous, conniving, and lying president of the United States," Harry Quick said. "When I was growing up as a young man, I was taught respect had to be earned. George Bush will never be shown respect by the countless Australians who realise our government entered a war which was based on a deliberate lie."

The Greens leader Bob Brown told the crowd that the President's visit means the federal parliament will be closed to visitors while the President is addressing a joint sitting.

"This is the Australian parliament, this is not the parliament of a dictatorship, and it is not the parliament that locks out the people who own it," he said. "And that is the message that should go, not just to president Bush, but to our Prime Minister who has locked the Australian people out."

Protesters waved placards with slogans such as "Regime change, Bush and Howard you're next", and chanted "George Bush, terrorist" and "Hey, hey, USA, how many kids did you kill today".
Source: ABC Online and AAP report in The Age Online

Brisbane: About 200 people rallied in Brisbane's King George Square also protesting against the US President's visit.

Hobart: About 200 people have attended a protest in Hobart tonight.

Source: ABC Online, AAP reports

Quite a few middle aged people attended the protest.

I liked these home made placards

Crowd shot at the State Library

"George, thanks for everything, Now bugger off" really says it all. The foreground banner explains why.ÿØÿà

Anarchists make their point

We are all targets of the Bush administration, even the children.

It seems we are about to lose our Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and Local content rules on TV -

"United States Trade Representative Robert Zoellick has confirmed that the US wants changes to Australia's pharmaceutical benefits scheme and freedom to set future local content rules on TV as part of the free trade agreement."

Government misleads patients about cost of pharmaceuticals
22-Oct

According to the Doctors Reform Society patients will need to be prepared to pay or suffer.

"John Howard's hollow reassurances that the PBS is not under any threat was exposed today as the US Chief Trade Negotiator Robert Zoellick, has confirmed that the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is a definite target for the Free Trade Agreement," said Dr Tim Woodruff, President of the Doctors Reform Society.

"If the US gets its way on the PBS, patients will be faced with US style prices for their prescription drugs," said Dr Woodruff. "That could see patients paying $500 per month cost of managing their diabetes, or epilepsy, or many other chronic diseases."

“The question of the pharmaceutical protection system...' needs to be addressed said Zoellick. That's code for reducing the protection for Australian patients who try to afford the monthly drug bill," said Dr Woodruff.

"We ask the Howard Government to stop giving empty reassurances that the PBS is not under threat, and simply take the PBS off the negotiating table"

Middle aged protestor??? Sheesh, if this guy's middle aged he's gonna die at 180.

If a grey-haired man is middle-aged, then what does that make Takver?

A teenager. ;)

Come on - There definitely wasn't over 500 people at the Melbourne rally. And all I saw was the same people I used to attend all these rallies with a couple years ago - annoying socialists who, while many haven't read anything aside from ' a beginners guide to socialism ' (i mean don't you think that one would need to read other theories before making a decision? - i know some of you fall into this category..).

I was shocked at the old and overused comments issued by speakers especially considering the devastating information that is around on this guy. I mean the fact that he knew about the 9/11 attacks and allowed them to happen and so on.

I think that 1000 is indeed a reasonable estimation. I know what 1000 people grouped together looks like, as I have seen over 1000 students and staff grouped together in a fire drill at my school.

It is a result of my browser calling upon saved field inputs.

We are with you in SF, USA. We will have this man, this regime held accountable for the murders they have ordered. Check out SF indy media tomorrow.

Pacé, Another US Veteran

(this went to all my MP's and senators in Australia).

As this is a collective email to "all of yous", I guess it's based upon John (the PM) greasing up to his BIG BUDDY George Dubbaya Bush, and then seeing almost none of you's standing up to or confronting him, and seeing this cretin from the USA, eyeball all of you in the parliament - and when I looked into him, I saw a resolutely and intractably evil man - and no one said anything about this either.

And since almost no one had the balls to say, what I would have said if I had of had the opportunity to say it to him to his face, - well I would like have said "Get out of my country - you lying, theiving murdering prick" infront of the whole planet - and I would not have liked to have stuck him on a plane, I would have liked to have given him a hiding, dragged his scrawney arse to a pier, tossed him off and said "Swim home you bastard".

Well that's the fantasy.

Even if it wasn't a fantasy, it would be nothing more than a vauge hope, I mean the man is an organised crime boss with his own gang of thugs - hence he is basically untouchable anyway.

And after seeing George Dubbaya (and John Howard) lying his face off - "Oh we only acted upon what we were told" which was piss weak attempt to shift all the responsibility for what he and his scumbag cronies had been planning for decades, from him onto others, I was so incensed that the president of the USA, who also has the most guns, nukes, biological and chemical weapons ever., - the idot president with the WMD stockpiled sky high in his own back yard.... (Oh Duhhh) - that they do use, was such a barse faced liar, but I still regard him as a real parasite on the back of humanity, and so I wrote him this letter.

George W. Bush
Prez
USA

Tuesday, February 03, 2004

Dear George,

And after seeing you on TV “fessing up” that not only you and and the “coalition of the willing” MAY HAVE got it wrong - you just come across as being so full of shit.......

Not only are you a liar,

You are a stupid liar.

Have a look at yourself in your own interviews........

“Oh we the coalition of the willing – oh bullshit bullshit bullshit”

I don’t think you can wake up to yourself – as your idiotic antics lead me to believe that you are a congenital idiot – you know, born stupid – because your crap is so ingrained.

I believe you may go down in history as the idiot president, who was responsible for starting WW3, and setting the entire world against the USA.

I also believe that there will come a time, when your own countrymen will come and cut your head off, and stick it on a pole and then mount it the lawns of the white house.

I can’t say the “entire USA is evil” but you and your cronies, and what you guys get up to - no wonder people hate you.

You’re a murderer, a liar, a thief.

I don’t think you have the balls to be able to personally reply and I don’t expect it either.

I don’t have any time for bullshit artists like you anyway.

.................................

Shane T. Hanson
PO Box 24 Charlton
Victoria Australia 3525

hello... i just wanted to say that hat pictures is not true! ok the onnnly ay he could haveknown was if he was physcic and i don't thinnk o know any 1 who is........so donnn't be saying stuffs that ainn't true!

~Anonomous

Someones left the laptop sitting around where the kids could fiddle at it.

Tsk Tsk, really should utilise a password on expensive equipment.