The Empire 288

'Thousands March Against the War in San Francisco, Across the Country
By Jim Doyle and Susan Sward
The San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco - On cue from a bullhorn's blast, thousands of protesters fell to the pavement on Market Street in a symbolic "die- in" Saturday as part of a coordinated protest staged in cities across the country against the war in Iraq.
For three minutes the demonstrators lay on the pavement, representing what organizers said were more than 1 million Iraqis killed since the war began in 2003. The protesters then resumed their march from San Francisco's Civic Center to Dolores Park.
March organizers put their number at 30,000 - old, young, workers, students, religious leaders. Police declined to give a formal estimate, but onlookers said the demonstrators definitely numbered more than 10,000. They filled up Market Street for several blocks, shouting that U.S. troops should be brought home and carrying banners decrying the war.
At the head of the marchers was a band of Native American drummers who pounded a steady beat as protesters chanted, "No more war!"
Before the march began, demonstrators gathered in front of City Hall to hear speakers berate the Bush administration and call on Americans to stand up against the war. Organizers said part of the reason for staging this protest was to mark that it is now five years since Congress voted to authorize the use of U.S. force in Iraq.
"Silence shows compliance," Nicole Davis, a leader of the Campus Anti- War Network group, told the crowd at the San Francisco event, which was organized by the Oct. 27th Coalition of several groups, including ANSWER - Act Now To Stop War and End Racism. "If you disagree with this war," she added, "it is your duty to stand up and let the world know."
Sarah Sloan, an ANSWER spokeswoman, said her group estimated the size of the crowd "based on the number of blocks - about seven - that the march takes up and the density of the crowd."
In New York, thousands demonstrated in the rain, marching to Foley Square. In Chicago, thousands of protesters gathered at Union Park and marched to the Federal Plaza. Organizers said anti-war rallies, sponsored nationally by a coalition of groups headed by United for Peace & Justice, also took place in Seattle, Salt Lake City, Jonesborough, Tenn., Philadelphia, Orlando, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Boston and other cities around the country.'

Lees verder:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/28/BAJHT0ULT.DTL Of: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/102807C.shtml