the anti-war rallies

[Roca Wear]

does anyone here participate in the anti war rallies? i dont want war and everything but i wont go and protest. lol i think id be in a car alll the way at the back of the line if i were to protest lol. but u know, it may sound like a sick idea but if terrorists were to strike with suicide bombings..then what could stop them from striking in the crowds? .. no one suspects them .. and no one checks u .. :(

[Lady Ashley]

I think I'd go for an anti-war rally if I could. I don't want war either. Now, if it were Middle-Earth style war with swords etc, that would be better, but I despise guns and nucleur weapons. Horrible things.

But if I could find an anti-war rally, I'd sure grab a protest sign and join in.

[Roca Wear]

no offense but that wasnt really the point of the thread. lol

[Dawn Noelle]

i'm not too keen on war either, but i would never go to a rally
they're just not my thing

i'm glad you're not a terrorist, cuz that's a definite way to get at us
(by doing something in a crowd that large)

i have a friend who consitently tells me the things terrorists could do
for example, set a ship on fire (or set it with explosives) and send it into one of our harbors
and i consistently respond that i hope he never becomes a terrorist

[Alatar]

lol i think you had beatter keep an eye or two on him as often as you can spare them:thumbs:

Also i dont think i would go in an Anti-war protest either course i could be doing more important things with my time.

For example a heap of people rallied for no war in Australia yesterday and for what?? the PM said it didn't even change his stance to the War.

All those people went out there waveing there signs for hours and what did they acheive?? nothing!

But then again i suppose it would have to be praised that they actually did something to try and stop lives being lost while tha rest of us sit at home watching them.

[Bonos-Girl]

i really wanted to go out to london on staturday but unfortunately my health was against me...completely typical....5 or 6 weeks of school then as soon as we gte half term i get ill!

if i had been able to actually get out of bed i might not have been able to get intom london anyway though cos trains were all gone wrong and stuff....not that they ever run right!

[Keverzwijn]

I wanted to go to the anti-war rally in Brussels but unfortumatley I couldn't. There will be other ones. Did you know that Amerika is going to sanction my Country cuz we are against war and have put a veto against it. Incredible that they can do that, that's just blackmail.

[Daisy Gamgee]

Originally posted by Lady Ashley Thalionwen
I think I'd go for an anti-war rally if I could. I don't want war either. Now, if it were Middle-Earth style war with swords etc, that would be better, but I despise guns and nucleur weapons. Horrible things.


IMO, middle earth style war would be as bad, if not worse - swords and axes were made to dismember, not just kill, pretty gruesome things really.

Keverzwijn, I'd heard about America moving most of their troops away from Germany, which will hit their economy hard, but not about sanctions. Its a shame but the only thing thats meant to stop the US from acting alone is having trouble holding things together.

I didn't attend an anti-war rally......I don't agree with war, but I also don't really agree with protesting.....I think it affects the soldiers, who are just doing what they are told to....it must be hard on them to go to war when they know alot of the population is against them. Besides, although we live in a democracy, I think there is something written in law that states that the Government can do what it wants to safe guard the country.....so protesting isn't really going to change that.

[Roca Wear]

i know i sound like a terrorist lol strange ideas..

[Keverzwijn]

Keverzwijn, I'd heard about America moving most of their troops away from Germany, which will hit their economy hard, but not about sanctions. Its a shame but the only thing thats meant to stop the US from acting alone is having trouble holding things together.

Actually, I'm from Belgium. You know; Good beer, lots o' chocolat and French fries ( stupid name cause there from Belgium) and rain.

[Roca Wear]

are u dr.evil? lol

[Keverzwijn]

****, how did you find out? I thougt I managed to keep it hidden.... OK, so serious, what do you mean?

[Daisy Gamgee]

Originally posted by Keverzwijn
Actually, I'm from Belgium. You know; Good beer, lots o' chocolat and French fries ( stupid name cause there from Belgium) and rain.

Sorry....so the home of Stella Artois - the best beer in the world! And I should really ask for belgium fries next time I go to Macdonalds then? lol

[Roca Wear]

dr.evil is from belgium(but then he found out he was adopted lol)

[Tári Celebrindal]

I'd definitely go. There are other ways to show my protest, but I think it's one of the ways that has the most impact. If the terrorists attack...well, we only live once and if it ends that way...it ends that way. :)

[Lady Melody]

Funny, I just returned from a peace rally and stumbled upon this thread when i've eaten, showered and ready to sleep.

It was called "Peace For Malaysians" and basically we just shout and make a lot of noise, plus performances by reknowned and new uprising artists in their message against war and violence. Oh, there were speeches by the prominent politicians in my country too. I'm sorry I can't say much details now, it's 2 AM and I'm dead tired. I promise you details later. What I can tell you is that it was peaceful, we're supporting the Palestines for their own country and we're against the US in the war againsy Iraq. We've collected around a few hundred thousands of signatures of Malaysians all over and we're all behind Dato' Seri Dr. Mahathir, our Prime Minister through thick, thin and all.

*yawn* Good Night all.

P.S = I've a nice blue flag too... There's a pic of a white dove, representing peace upon a blue background and written on it is Peace for Malaysians... ain't that nice?

[Bonos-Girl]

wow! i saw loadsa rallys from aroud the world on the news....our english one looked really tame compared to every other country!

[Roca Wear]

u know all these rallies and nothing happens. U.S isn't backin' down lol

[Lady Melody]

Isn't it ironic that when a few years ago when there was this peaceful reformations all over my country against the goverment(I support the goverment and believe me this people are idiots) by just oh, a few hundred people all over the streets the US went as so far as to suggest that we change the goverment and all (luckily we didn't). Just because of a few silly demonstarters while look they just casually flung that into our faces, while everyone's against the US, ALL OVER THE WORLD, and why not we suggest we change the goverment, shall we?

Selfish, and brainless acts, they have done.

In any case... US have gone too far. It's the oil they wanted, there've been crueler dictators/etc out there and they never cared to interfere, while when a country with oil suddenly have inner skirmishes... look who's the vulture waiting for the kill.

*sighs*

Oh yeah, I promised more details;

Well, I think I explained already just as much, and we didn't burn anything because as I've said, it's a PEACEFUL demonstration. It was held in the Bukit Jalil stadium (where we held the Olympic games in 1998) and there was a presentation depicting scenes of 9/11 and the suffering of people around the globe, with the song "Heal The World" by Michael Jackson and also another with Siti Nurhaliza (superstar of Malaysia) with a guy, dunno his name. There was also Palestinians there, and although it was raining heavily, it didn't deter our spirits... would you believe it that they ran around in the middle of the stadium with the flags of the Palestinians and Iraqians blowing proudly while getting themselves wet from head to toe. At first, I got the far seats and then I sneaked in through the staff only enterance with my friend, and got ourselves inside and literally in front of the stage. I saw the performances, and the speeches and our politicians quite clearly. How cool is that?

Around 1116 or something like that non-goverment and goverment associations were there. It shows how supportive everyone was of our Prime Minister. Oh, there were tons of banners tied up all over the stadium too. There was the usual message of peace and detesting war, and even one stating quite clearly "Dr. M Father Of Peace".

COOL!

I went at around 5 pm and got home around 11-12 pm... It was deliriously and invigoratingly fun! I mean, I get to have fun and promote a good cause at the same time... ^_^

:thumbs:

[Lady Melody]

Oh, today's paper just arrived... and like it says here that we actually had collected more than 2 MILLION signatures and around 200 000 people was with me yesterday... ^_^

Whoa...

Here's the report from www.thestar.com.my ;

200,000 turn up to show love for peace

MALAYSIANS rallied behind the call for peace when about 200,000 people of all races and walks of life turned up at the Bukit Jalil Stadium to show the world that war is not an answer.

The message of peace was loud and clear in the stadium which was bursting at the seams to accommodate the crowd.

Even a downpour failed to dampen the spirit and enthusiasm of the people, from politicians to ordinary folk, who wanted to show how they felt about the impending war in Iraq.


SPEAKING OUT WITH ONE VOICE: Malaysians of all walks of life as well as foreigners rally for peace at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, Sunday. --STARpic by S.S. KANESAN.
On T-shirts, banners, placards and flags, and on everyone’s lips, the message was clear - Malaysians Want Peace.

And to make their presence heard, the shouts of anti-war and peace slogans such as “We want peace,” “Say No to War in Iraq,” “Give Peace A Chance” and “Stop US Aggression” filled the night air.

The crowd had gathered since noon when a group of several hundred youths gathered at the gates forcing security personnel to open the doors earlier.

Local artistes kept the crowd entertained from 6pm until the end of proceedings at midnight.

By 7pm, the 100,000-seat stadium was filled, leaving thousands of others to occupy the field.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad and wife Datin Seri Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali arrived at 8.30pm for the evening’s highlight – the presentation of 2.8 million signatures collected from Malaysians during the Malaysians For Peace campaign.

In his speech, Dr Mahathir called on the superpowers to hold multilateral talks in settling problems and not resorting to war.

Following his speech, Belia 4B Movement president Datuk Wira Mohd Ali Rustam handed a book to symbolise the handing over of the three million signatures to Dr Mahathir.

Peace Malaysia patron Datuk Hishammuddin Tun Hussein also gave Dr Mahathir the “Memorandum From The Citizens of Malaysia To The People of the World” to be delivered at the NAM Summit today.

:thumbs:

[Bonos-Girl]

wow...thats so cool! i hate that michael jackson song though! lol

i agree that it is just about oil....how else do they get from wanting to destroy osama after 9/11 to wanting to bomb iraq?! makes no sense....but then they are very smal...whoops...wrong world! hehe lol

[Tári Celebrindal]

hey melody, maybe you could go to the House of Politics (Prancing Pony) thread and share your opinion on the US-Iraq situation. i think you'll have a lot to say.. :)

[Daisy Gamgee]

Rallies are fine.....one thing I don't agree with though is abusing soldiers. I read in the local paper that some soldiers have been spat on and insulted rather horrifically just because of the government's stance.....that is wrong, wrong, wrong. The soldiers are just doing their job - to fight for our country and freedom- they should be praised for doing what ordinary Joe Blow won't, and they should have our support no matter what.

[Lady Melody]

I dunno.. I hate politics, but I totally couldn't restrain myself where human rights are concerned... too much scheming, lying, cheating, conceit around... I prefer to become just a normal citizen minding her own business... =)

But I'll check it out for sure.

well, I'm sorry bout that, Daisy, all we needed at the stadium was police and the volunteers of the Peace For Malaysians society, it was enough to restrain around 200k people that was demonstrating =)... Nobody got molested except perhaps when everyone rushed home on the LRT tram.. =P

[Bonos-Girl]

i think it really stupid to attack soldiers. they are not the ones that can change the decisions of the country. peopel only attack them and stuff cos they can't control the situation from where it starts so they try and prove that they can control the system a bit....well...i know what i'm trying to say...its just not happening!

[Keverzwijn]

I went to an anti-war rally today in Brussels, 30 000-70 000 people, that's pretty good for a little country like Belgium. I had fun, the atmosphere was good. I don't think it will make a differencebut I came up for my opinion and I can't blame myself that I haven't tried to do something.

[Lady Melody]

To me, I bode no ill will to soldiers, mostly because I understand well that soldiers have total obedience drilled into them, besides toughness and rock-hard dicipline. They're also quite usually have no say about the orders of thei superiors, and like one war (I cannot recall which, Cold war perhaps), the soldiers didn't really want to fight to their death, but they had to anyways, for a reason they didn't even understand....

*sighs*

Hrm... anti-war rallies... doesn't seem to do much good, and pretty soon US would still attack Iraq... and we'll have millions of potential new terrorists in the making... and then some ulama' would call for jihad... (I don't know how to fight and I wish not too... have never taken another being's life and no matter how interesting it might be, I prefer quiet and peace.)

[Bonos-Girl]

they keep reposrting anti war demonstartions on the news and stuff.....almost every weekend now....its quite sad how many of the marchers still seem to have faith that demonstarting will do nany good. when i was watching the news last night there was someone on that was saying "if we carry on they won't be able to go to war..yada yada yada.."...but thats kinda untrue cos they're the government and we, the majority of the population, have no say at all in the matter.

[Miruvor]

At the rally I just saw today, most of the signs are sympathetic to the soldiers. The people don't want the lives of young soldiers and the lives of their own kids in the Military to be thrown away so carelessly. It's the government policies we protest, not the soldiers.

[Arkenstone]

A friend sent me this. I loved it, so I must share!
MINAS TIRITH (Gondor News Network) - Thousands of peace activists took to the streets of Minas Tirith and other cities of Middle Earth today to protest what they termed a rush to war with Mordor.

"We need more time for diplomacy," said a key member of the Middle-Earth Security Council, Saruman the White. "I am not convinced by the evidence presented by my esteemed colleague, Gandalf the Grey, or that the Dark Lord Sauron presents an imminent danger to the peoples of the West."

Many of the people protesting war in Mordor agreed with Saruman's remarks.? "Sauron says he's destroyed his Rings of Mass Destruction (RMD) and that's good enough for me," said one fellow carrying a sign that said "Elrond is a Balrog." Another demonstrator urged, "Give the RMD inspectors more time. There's no reason to rush to any judgment just because Mount Doom is belching lava, the Dark Tower is rebuilt, and Osgiliath has been decimated."

A third protester piped up, "I haven't heard a single bit of convincing evidence connecting the Nazgul with Sauron. I think they destroyed Osgiliath on their own initiative without any support from Sauron. Besides, it's understandable they're angry with Gondor. We haven't done nearly as much for the Orcs and Goblins and Easterlings as the Nazgul and Sauron have. It's understandable they throw their support to them.? It's our own fault really."

As the protesters continued their march through the city, they chanted, "No blood for Mount Doom," voicing a common sentiment that the leaders of the Western peoples are really seeking to get their hands on the powerful Mount Doom, where the One Ring of Power was allegedly forged.

Gandalf the Grey was unavailable for comment. A spokesman said he was in an undisclosed underground location, which sources have revealed is codenamed: Moria.

[Arkenstone]

Ok, seriously, almost no one wants war. As a former soldier,
I hated some of the things I was made to do(sorry, no details),
but sometimes bad things have to happen for us to enjoy the
good things, like freedom to protest war.

My personal feeling is that any leader who would use bio &
chemical weapons on his own people needs to be removed
at any cost.

If this had happened in the late 80's, I'd probably be there
right now...

[SindarinGirl]

Arkenstone, that article is hi-larious, lol and very appropriate. :thumbs:

And let me thank you for serving your country. Our flag flies proudly because of the men and women like you. Some of us appreciate your efforts and sacrifices.

[Keverzwijn]

I'm going to demonstrate again when the war begins (probaly friday). I'll miss some school, but that's not the main reason why I'm going there. Unlike the idiots in my school who just want to go drinking in a pub.

[Bonos-Girl]

i wish my parents would let me have time off school to demonstrate...

[Stone Drake]

I won't go to a rally myself... but I do hope everyone understands that America doesn't care for Irak... It's the oil, the oil, the oil... just look at the people in Bush's government: oil industry, coïncidence?
And next to that... when do you think nuclear or biological weapons will be used? Rather as a suicidal action.
And what is told... a democratic system there... such a system forced by a war is doomed to fail.

[Keverzwijn]

Stonedrake!! You're from Belgium!!. At last I meet someone from my country. Where are you from, do you speak dutch? And if you want to discuss Iraq, there's an excellent thread on the subject (mine :)). Yeah BG, I'm lucky that my parents allow me to do that, they're openminded.

PS, Stonedrake, I checked your profile. You're practically my age and I also do karate (11 years). And you're against the war!, we'll be excellent mates.

[Bonos-Girl]

i don't think they'd object to me going if i asked....just that:
a)there are now loadsa truancy police all round the town i live so it'd be hard to get to london

b)most demos are held at weekends

c)i have exams at the moment...although my parents don't know about them i still son't wanna miss them.....

[Daisy Gamgee]

Arkenstone...love that article...To all the troops out there, I wish you well, and a safe return

Ant war peeps are interpreting LOTR as being anitwar, but I thibk Arkenstone has just emphasied that you can interpret it the other way aswell.

[Arwen Elf]

I want to start my own anti-war rally. But no one agrees with me now. (Or at least not enough.)

[Enelya]

the thing that gets me about these rallies is that if they want peace so bad why are they attacking people on the streets and vandilising shops and cars? just wondering

~Enelya~

[Bonos-Girl]

not many rallies are hjaving problems with violence...i guess its just a few peopel causing troubles ane they are getting a bad name for the rallies....