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Seventy-seven protesters were arrested during demonstrations over the visit of US President George Bush which saw an estimated 110,000 people take to the streets. Scotland Yard said 34 people were arrested during the march and rally in central London, mostly for drunkenness and public order offences. The protests were organised by the Stop the War Coalition, which claimed 200,000 were on the streets and said it was the largest weekday protest ever held in London. Police said the protests were generally good-natured throughout the president's visit, beginning on Tuesday. One man delivered a parting shot at President Bush - bombarding...

Bush, Blair: Attacks Are Proof By Matthew McAllester STAFF CORRESPONDENT November 21, 2003 London - President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke yesterday like two men whose main point had just been made for them by terrorist bombers in Istanbul, Turkey. "The nature of the terrorist enemy is evident once again," Bush told reporters at a news conference with Blair, a few hours after bombs hit a British bank and the British consulate in Istanbul, killing at least 27 people, including the British consul-general. "We see their contempt - their utter contempt - for innocent life....

Bush finds Texan welcome in rural England Fri 21 November, 2003 12:53 By Peter Griffiths SEDGEFIELD (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush has stepped onto Prime Minister Tony Blair's home turf to find a Texan welcome awaiting him among his British critics and anti-war protesters. Kelly Smith must be one of the few Texans anywhere in northern England, let alone in this sleepy outpost which Blair represents in parliament. The 39-year-old, who lives in Sedgefield and runs an American-style coffee shop in a neighbouring town, was on hand to greet Bush as the presidential entourage swept into town. Sporting...

<p>On Wednesday, George W. Bush spoke before the British people and confessed to a tragic sin of omission: "Your nation and mine, in the past, have been willing to make a bargain, to tolerate oppression for the sake of stability," the president said. "Longstanding ties often led us to overlook the faults of local elites. Yet this bargain did not bring stability or make us safe. It merely bought time, while problems festered and ideologies of violence took hold.</p>

In an answer likely to upset evangelicals and other members of his Christian base, President Bush said Nov. 20 that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Speaking at a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush was asked his thoughts on how the war on terrorism and his promotion of freedom intersects with his Christian faith. "I do say that freedom is the Almighty's gift to every person," Bush answered. "I also condition it by saying freedom is not America's gift to the world. It's much greater than that, of course. And I believe we worship...

Blair is more determined than ever to back Bush war against terrorism By Alec Russell, George Jones, Political Editor, and Sally Pook (Filed: 21/11/2003) Tony Blair and President George W Bush vowed yesterday to stand firm in the fight against terrorism and pledged that the attacks in Istanbul would not deflect the two allies from finishing the "job" in Iraq. At a joint press conference at the Foreign Office, Mr Blair said the atrocities, the first since the September 11 attacks specifically to target British interests, made him all the more determined to back Mr Bush in confronting and defeating...

<p>LONDON — President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair said yesterday's bombings in Turkey have strengthened their resolve to fight global terrorism, even as thousands marched in London protesting that policy.</p> <p>"These are al Qaeda killers killing Muslims," the president said during a joint news conference with Mr. Blair. "They need to be stopped, and we will stop them."</p>

Does anyone have an video link to President Bush's speech in London? All I can find are text copies..thanks

Here's a webcam view of Trafalgar Square. It updates every five seconds, so you might need a lot of bandwidth. Dude! Where's my protest?!

George W Bush's Whitehall address yesterday represented the boldest challenge to the conventional wisdom of the British and European elites since Woodrow Wilson preached the rights of self-determination of smaller nations after the First World War. A summary of that wisdom would go like this: (a) terrorism cannot be defeated in the long run, its perpetrators sooner or later have to be treated with, and their legitimate demands met in some form or other; (b) the Muslim world, and specifically the Arab portion of it, is culturally unsuited to freedom and democracy; (c) the Arab-Israeli dispute lies at the heart...

Right now MSNBC.COM has on its front pages that 100,000 protestors are expected to protest the current war on Iraq. They are still reporting this even after the measley 300 protestors showed up after the ariival of Bush the other day. To continue their blatent bias MSNBC also has a link about protestors protesting here in the U.S. to coincide with those in the UK. Why is noone calling this new service for what it is? 300 protestors is hardly news if you were to ask me. But to add fuel to the fire since MSNBC cannot get to their...

They came prepared with graphic placards demanding vengeance against "Bush the No 1 Terrorist", vacuum flasks and lunchboxes packed with cheese sandwiches. From sex workers to Muslim clerics, City executives to American expats, and retired teachers to giggling schoolgirls, they were the noisy coalition that yesterday brought central London to a polite and very British halt. On the afternoon in which Downing Street swapped the pomp and circumstance of George Bush's state visit for hard politics, it fell to thousands of protesters to provide the symbolism of the day by marching through the capital against the American President and, to...

George Bush has met the families of British troops killed in Iraq and has told them they had not died in vain. The US President said the war had been "noble and necessary" and their loved ones had given their lives for the cause of human freedom. Relatives were selected to represent all the armed forces and ranks of the British dead for the private meeting at Westminster Abbey. Speaking afterwards the president said he would continue to pray for the families. "These brave men died for the security of this country and in the cause of human freedom," he...

LONDON (Reuters) - Around 100,000 protesters have marched through London and torn down a mock statue of visiting U.S. president George W. Bush, many of them convinced his policies were to blame for anti-British bombs in Turkey. Demonstrators of all ages beat drums and blew whistles along a three-mile route that took them past parliament and the end of Downing Street, where crowds paused to jeer towards Prime Minister Tony Blair's office. When they reached Trafalgar Square, protesters felled a six-metre (20-foot) papier mache statue of Bush in a parody of the toppling of a statue of Saddam Hussein when...

Link to letters: CLICK FOR LETTERS. ================================================== Today's GUARDIAN in England has letters to the editor. Some will make you want to scream. Some will make you want to throw a brick through a window. Some will make you want to slap a useful idiot upside the head. This one, however, will make you feel good. Dear Mr President, Today you arrive in my country for the first state visit by an American president for many decades, and I bid you welcome. You will find yourself assailed on every hand by some pretty pretentious characters collectively known as the British...

LONDON -- A throng of at least 50,000 demonstrators moved through the heart of London to send an anti-war message to President George W. Bush. The march set off from the University of London and passed parliament and the prime minister's residence. Thousands more gathered ahead at Trafalgar Square. Demonstrators moved to the beat of drums, their chants mixed with the blasts of foghorns. A towering effigy of Bush holding a missile was toppled in an effort to mirror the toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue when Baghdad fell to U.S. forces this spring. The march began hours after deadly bomb...

What the heck, why not go for broke. Everyone else is upping the numbers by the minute while the official estimates are disappointingly low.

Organisers of today’s huge demonstration in London against the controversial visit of President George Bush say that up to 150,000 people joined the protest. The numbers taking part in a march and others waiting in Trafalgar Square for a rally were a record for any weekday protest in the UK, it was claimed. Stop The War Coalition said 130,000 people were on the march, which started close to Euston Station and was passing the House of Commons and Whitehall before ending at Trafalgar Square. Around 15,000 people lined the route of the march, waiting to join in, while thousands more...

A massive demonstration against George Bush drew up to 200,000 marchers on the streets of London today. Organisers of the march, ending in a rally at Trafalgar Square, said the number was a record for any weekday protest in Britain. With a huge police presence the Met reported no incidents of violence and the march passed off peacefully. "This phenomenal response shows the depth of feeling of the British public towards this visit," said a spokesman for the Stop The War Coalition. The march started near Euston Station and went past the House of Commons and Whitehall before finishing at...

President George Bush blindsided the Pentagon in London Thursday, saying if more troops were needed in Iraq, they would be sent. That contradicted earlier Pentagon statements claiming the goal was to reduce troop strength, and reportedly startled both National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of State Colin Powell at the news conference. "We could have less troops in Iraq. We could have the same number of troops in Iraq. We could have more troops in Iraq. Whatever is necessary to secure Iraq," Bush said. He said there are now 130,000 Iraqis trained to work in the army, security, intelligence...

LONDON — George W. Bush's visit to London this week will be historic for at least two reasons. He will be the first U.S. president to come to Britain on a state visit. He will also observe a bizarre political marriage: one between the remnants of the Marxist-Leninist Left and militant Islamists. Negotiated over the past two years, the "wedding," will be celebrated in a mass demonstration against Bush's visit. The demonstration is organized by a shadowy group called "Stop the War Coalition," part of the Hate-America-International, which has orchestrated a number of street "events" in support of the Taliban...

We see their utter contempt for innocent life, says a defiant Bush By Andrew Grice and Nigel Morris 21 November 2003 Tony Blair and George Bush condemned the attacks in Istanbul and warned the perpetrators that the bombings would make them even more determined to rid the world of terrorism. Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, arrived last night in Istanbul, where he surveyed the scene of the blasts at the British consulate and the HSBC bank headquarters. A team of about 10 anti-terrorist police officers also travelled to the Turkish city to join the hunt for the bombers. The bombings...

The President had a busy day in London today, with a visit with Laura to Westminster Abbey, and a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, a meeting at 10 Downing Street with Tony and Cherie Blair, a joint press conference with the two strongest leaders in the world, and a visit to a London school for a Shakespearian production by the children for the First Ladies, and a tour of the Faberge items at the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace. There are more than a hundred photos out there today, and even with culling a bit,...

LONDON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) held out the possibility that US troop levels in Iraq (news - web sites) could rise despite his intention to begin drawing down their numbers next year. Latest headlines: · Bomb Attack in Iraq Kills U.S. Soldier, Army Says Reuters - 17 minutes ago · Car Bombs Hit Iraq, Bush Says U.S. to Stay Reuters - 35 minutes ago · US forces arrest Saddam's brother-in-law: Iraqi police AFP - 48 minutes ago Special Coverage "We'll match the security needs with the number of troops necessary to secure Iraq,"...

Bush, Blair Pledge Solidarity in Wake of Terror Bombings in Turkey By Gerry J. GilmoreAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2003 – The leaders of the United States and Great Britain today pledged to stand fast in Iraq and continue their unified fight against world terrorism as yet another apparent terrorist bombing rocked Istanbul, Turkey. Meeting with reporters in London, President George Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair both offered condolences to the estimated 25 killed and near-400 injured in separate Istanbul bombings that targeted a London-based bank and the British consulate. The latest attacks, which occurred just...

Thu Nov 20, 3:50 PM ET Demonstrators display the US flag upside down and declare US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) a war criminal near Trafalgar Square in London(AFP/Eric Feferberg Protesters topple a statue of US President George W. Bush during a 'STOP BUSH' protest organized by the Demonstrators prepare anti-Bush placards in Trafalgar Square, London to protest the state visit of US President George W. Bush to Britain(AFP/Eric Feferberg)AFP - Nov 20 3:50 PM Demonstrators dressed as a secret service agent (L), two Guantanamo Bay detainees (C kneeling), Tony Blair (3rd R), a US soldier (2nd R)...

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tony Blair has failed to wring concessions from President George W. Bush on the fate of British citizens jailed at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The treatment of at least nine Britons being held without trial as "enemy combatants" has been a note of discord in the staunch U.S.-British alliance in the war on global terrorism. Speculation had grown that Bush would use his three-day visit to London to announce that the Britons, mostly detained in Afghanistan, might be sent to Britain for trial. At a joint news conference, Bush said on...

I´m beginning to feel toward the naysayers of the world a bit like Eliza Doolittle in the movie, My Fair Lady — “Just you wait Henry Higgins, just you wait!” I really do believe in my heart of hearts there´s a “great day comin´” when we´re all going to stand up and shout, “BUSH WAS RIGHT . . . Hallelujah!” With all the condemnations thrown at George Bush, and all of you who have threatened to make it your life´s mission to thwart any remote possibility of his re-election, isn´t it strange that the Queen of England finds such favor...

(CNSNews.com) - Why do people hate you, a British reporter asked President Bush at a news conference in London on Thursday. The same reporter asked Prime Minister Tony Blair what he would say to people who blame his appearance with a "controversial American president" for Thursday's terror attacks on British interests in Turkey. The question, from ITV News reporter Nick Robinson, was phrased this way: Addressing Prime Minister Tony Blair: "What do you say to people who today conclude that British people have died and been maimed as a result of you appearing here today, shoulder-to-shoulder, with a controversial...

By the time this magazine hits the streets it will be jostling for space with about a million marchers. It is important to be fair to those who have turned out to parade their hatred of the American President. Some of them may be inspired by principled objections to, say, the treatment of prisoners in Camp Delta, or US steel tariffs. These are indeed powerful points to be made against Mr Bush’s government. What has brought so many folk on to the streets, however, is a much broader case: that the President is a cross-eyed Texan warmonger, unelected, inarticulate, who...

Here is the link to the webcam that is focused on Trafalgar Square. Doesn't look like tens of thousands to me. Looks like a small gathering. Also I heard Bush will not be even in the vacinity of the protestors today he will be in Blair's home town. HEH HEH!!!

Beginning shortly..

<p>November 20, 2003 -- President Bush's opening speech of his state visit to the United Kingdom yesterday was a triumph: confident, considered and packed with resonant historical references and phrases that will resound long after the trip has come to an end. Bush reiterated recent Wilsonian themes like America's commitment to a "democratic revolution" in the Mideast after decades of "tolerating oppression for the sake of stability" - while making it clear he realized that "the movement of history will not come quickly."</p>

Why this protest is deeply shameful By David Frum (Filed: 19/11/2003) As slogans go, "Hands Off Nepal" has a lot to recommend it: it's simple, direct - and yet at the same time, touched with a certain exotic romance. "What's going on in Nepal?" I asked one of the two compact men carrying the banner on which the slogan was painted. From behind the cloth stepped a good-looking young man in a long blue coat. "A people's resistance movement is battling the Nepalese government." What's that got to do with Iraq and President Bush, I asked him. The United States,...

Dana Milbank Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, November 20, 2003; Page C01 LONDON, Nov. 19 -- On a day when some vulgar Britons stomped on a cutout likeness of him and burned its dismembered head, President Bush compared his experience here to that of stuntman David Blaine, who suspended himself above the River Thames for six weeks without food. "It was pointed out to me that the last noted American to visit London stayed in a glass box dangling over the Thames," Bush said Wednesday in the hall where another head of state, Charles I, was beheaded in 1649. "A...

<p>Stand clear, now. The British press is in full cry — sniping, griping and whining about President Bush's state visit to London.</p> <p>Much of the Bush-bashing recycled tired, rude baggage.</p> <p>"This cross-eyed thief of democracy can exploit the people of Britain as bit players in his campaign to win a second term in the White House," proclaimed Daily Mirror columnist Paul Routledge yesterday.</p>

Set your VCRs and DVRs, folks! 0:46 Speech U.S.-U.K. Relations White House Travel, Foreign Trip George W. Bush , United States

On November 19-21, President George W. Bush will visit London as a guest of the British government. It will be the first ever State Visit by a U.S. president to the United Kingdom. The visit has huge symbolic significance, as well as being a critical meeting for both President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair. The visit should solidify the Anglo-American nexus, which is of primary importance to both countries. The U.S.-British alliance is a strikingly successful partnership of two great nations built on the solid foundations of a common heritage, culture, and vision. The two nations have fought alongside...

<p>Some across the ocean might have been surprised by the grace with which President Bush opened yesterday's address at Whitehall Palace in London — praising the hospitality of his British hosts, while joking about the fact that some of his harshest critics in London would prefer to see him dangling in a box over the Thames River. But when Mr. Bush got down to business, he provided a sober and strategic assessment of how democracies decide when it becomes necessary to use force to repel an aggressor.</p>

Beginning on C-SPAN any minute now (waiting for House debate to end). Scheduled for 7 pm PST.

(CNSNews.com) - President Bush stepped up to the podium at London's Whitehall Palace Wednesday, and poked a little fun at himself. "It was pointed out to me that the last noted American to visit London stayed in a glass box dangling over the Thames. A few might have been happy to provide similar arrangements for me," he said. "I thank Her Majesty the Queen for interceding. We're honored to be staying at her house." President Bush spoke of similarities between Britain and America, and he noted that "free speech, exercised with enthusiasm, is alive and well here in London. We...

NO.10 BAN ON PRAYING Nov 18 2003 By Paul Gilfeather, Whitehall Editor TONY Blair has been banned from praying with George Bush. The US president wanted the PM to join him in prayer at Durham Cathedral on Thursday. But the official request from the White House was turned down amid fears that such an event would leave Mr Blair open to ridicule. Both men prayed together at the president's Camp David retreat after making the final preparations for war with Iraq. A Whitehall source said: "Durham Cathedral was mentioned to the White House as a possible place to visit and...

SALT LAKE CITY – It's a pity that 99 percent of the protesters against President Bush during his British visit this week will not have read his democracy speech of a couple of weeks ago to the National Endowment for Democracy. (I'm fairly confident about that percentage, because not even 99 percent of his own compatriots have read it). It offered remarkable insight into Mr. Bush's thinking about freedom for the world's still unfree, and contained significant clues about the new direction he will take in advancing freedom for them during his presidential tenure. You can protest against the manner...

Protesters at Palace struggle to make themselves heard Jamie Wilson, Hugh Muir and Matthew Taylor Thursday November 20, 2003 The Guardian A series of demonstrations against President George Bush's state visit passed almost without incident yesterday as a huge security operation kept him mostly out of sight and earshot of the protesters. More than 4,000 police officers were on duty and by 7pm they had made just 29 arrests for criminal damage, carrying offensive weapons, possession of drugs, theft, assault and public order offences. One man was found with a sword in his car and was arrested on suspicion of...

There are numerous letters, positive and negative, that can be read at the URL at the top of this post. However, Mr. Forsyth shows that he still has the gift of making every word count. Dear Mr President, Today you arrive in my country for the first state visit by an American president for many decades, and I bid you welcome. You will find yourself assailed on every hand by some pretty pretentious characters collectively known as the British left. They traditionally believe they have a monopoly on morality and that your recent actions preclude you from the club. You...

THE Queen last night backed Mr Bush’s war on terrorism — and said the US and UK had never been closer. She also praised the leader’s strength following September 11 as she entertained him at a sumptuous Buckingham Palace banquet. Referring to Britain and America’s special relationship, Her Majesty said in her address: “Like all special friends, we can talk frankly and we can disagree from time to time. But the depth and breadth of our partnership means there is always so much we are doing together that disputes can be quickly overcome.” The Queen added: “The leadership you showed...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Universal soldier Leader Thursday November 20, 2003 The Guardian Conscious that he has a bit of catching up to do, George Bush piled on the charm yesterday. The US president lavished praise on Britain, America's "closest friend in the world". He stressed the shared bonds of history, values and belief; the key importance of the transatlantic relationship; and the two countries' common cause in pursuit of global freedom and democracy. His forceful defence of military action and post-war policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, his support for multilateralism and his recognition of the centrality of the Arab-Israeli conflict will both...

IT’S a shame George Bush’s speech could not be heard by anti-war protesters marching in Whitehall yesterday. Some would have turned a deaf ear whatever he had to say, but the fair-minded might have given him a hearing. This was a speech that matched his searing address to the United Nations last year. In both, he spelled out the stark reality facing an alarmingly complacent Western world — that extremists are out to destroy it at any cost. He hammered home every point like a staple gun. The September 11 massacre was only the start of a war against America...

GEORGE W Bush warned world leaders yesterday to join the war on terrorism — or put the lives of their citizens at risk. He blamed Europe for turning its back on victims of tyranny while basking in freedom delivered by countries like America and Britain. And he blasted the United Nations for talking big and doing nothing. “The evil is in plain sight,” he said at London’s Banqueting House. “The danger increases only with denial. “Those in authority are not judged only by good motivations. The people have given us the duty to defend them. That sometimes requires the violent...