YOU ARE INVITED: Celebrate the D.C. Chapter's 4th Anniversary w/ Counter-Freep of Commies 9/28/02

The D.C. Chapter of FreeRepublic.com invites all FReepers and lurkers in good standing to come to Washington, D.C. a week from Saturday and celebrate with us as we commemorate our fourth anniversary with a counter-freep of the communists and anarchists who will be ostensibly protesting the World Bank and IMF, but in reality are protesting against America and in favor of communism.

FreeTheHostages explained our reasons for standing against this crowd on this thread:

Hey, I'm with the DC Chapter and I live right near their Ground Zero protests each year. TRUST ME they're only PRETENDING to hate the World Bank. What they actually hate is private property. As per the above news article, they intend to destroy some. They make it clear that they want to harm the entire "system" in downtown DC.

They come, they have banners about the virtues of socialism, etc. Oh, TRUST me, they're socialists. Also there are a lot of Green Party people that come with environmental stuff. (Hey, I even believe there's manmade global warming, but I'd protest their anti-capitalist solutions to it.)

The name of the group is the Anti-Capitalist Convergence. That should give you an idea that globalization is just this banner for their rantings.

Sauropod added: I assure you that no one is more anti-globalization than myself on this forum. Yet I will be out there counter-protesting these eco-fascists. They are not anti-globalization. They are just anti-globalization because they are not the globalists in control.

We will not be demonstrating in favor of the World Bank and IMF. We will be demonstrating in favor of capitalism, private property rights and America.

The D.C. Chapter demonstrated against this same crowd last September 29. That demonstration was peaceful and boisterous. We expect the same atmosphere at this one. Law enforcement officers will be everywhere like last year.

Alas, also like last year, we will have to wait a few more days before we announce our meeting place. The leftists just changed the place of their rally from the Ellipse to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument and have yet to announce a march route.

We will exercise our right to stand on the sidewalk (somewhere) along the parade route and peacefully offer our opinions on their message.

As always, the D.C. Chapter's rules for protesting will be in effect: No violence, no racism, no profanity, no threats, no provocations, obey the law and treat all law enforcement officers with respect.

Afterwards: We will have an early dinner to celebrate the 4th anniversary of the D.C. Chapter and plan for our future actions at a restaurant to be determined then.

Protesters pledge to shut down Washington
By DAVID HO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Protesters are pledging to shut down the nation's capital Friday with demonstrations that will ``disrupt traffic and convey a symbolic message'' against capitalism and war.

The protests are a prelude to even larger demonstrations planned for the weekend during meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

The FBI issued a warning this week that computer hackers may conduct ``cyber protests'' during the financial meetings.

``A small group that intends to disrupt the meetings with a physical attack may use cyber means to enhance the effects of the physical attack or to complicate the response by emergency services,'' the agency said in a statement.

The Anti-Capitalist Convergence, a group that wants to abolish the global financial institutions, said Wednesday that they would hold several nonviolent demonstrations during Friday morning's rush hour. The events include a mass bike ride to protest the Bush administration's environmental policies and a march opposing ``corporate greed'' that will target the headquarters of various companies.

The demonstrators said they do not have permits for these events, which would wind through Washington's downtown business district.

Police plan to block off streets in the area around the financial institutions, located just a few blocks from the White House, and are bringing in 1,700 officers from neighboring communities to help local law enforcement.

On Wednesday, U.S. Park Police officers practiced crowd control maneuvers, including drills on removing people who obstruct roads and buildings - things protesters are threatening to do Friday.

Deputy Chief Dwight Pettiford said his officers will be ``kind and gentle'' with protesters, but they'll also be very firm with those who practice disobedience.

Further disruption could be caused by demonstrator ``affinity groups,'' small clusters of protesters working independently.

``They will be staking out strategic and political targets to disrupt traffic and convey a symbolic message to the city to draw attention to the issues they think are important,'' ACC organizer Andrew Willis said. He said affinity groups will converge from all over the United States and Canada, bringing thousands of demonstrators to Washington.

``The people who are coming here on Sept. 27 do not consider themselves violent nor do they consider their tactics to be violent,'' Willis said. He said the demonstrators want an end to all debts, including personal debt, and universal access to food, water and housing.

Many members of the ACC call themselves ``anarchists.'' Police have blamed anarchists for much of the violence during past protests against the global financial institutions.

In April 2000, Washington police arrested about 1,300 people during demonstrations against the IMF and World Bank.

Confrontations last year outside the Group of Eight summit in Genoa, Italy, caused extensive property damage, hundreds of arrests and injuries and the death of one Italian protester who was shot by police.

Last year's IMF and World Bank meeting was canceled after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, so protesters called off their plans, with many holding anti-war demonstrations instead.

Protests in Washington during the April meetings of the IMF and World Bank were peaceful and focused on issues ranging from the war against terrorism to U.S. Mideast policy.

This year, the global financial institutions have scaled back their annual meeting, from a week to two days, in an effort to trim soaring security costs.

Mobilization for Global Justice, which advocates nonviolent protests and serves as an umbrella organization for a number of activist groups, is the main organizer of planned protests to take place outside the World Bank on Saturday. Protest organizers say they expect thousands to turn out to demand that the financial institutions open their meetings to the public, end harmful economic policies and cancel Third World debt.

Protesters from around the world plan a series of teach-ins and workshops leading up to the weekend demonstrations.

Thanks for the news article. There was a report on local Fox channel news that a WHOPPING 30 of the commies were staging a "sleep out for the homeless" at HUD HQ tonight, in the rain. :-)

My suggestion to them would be - if you really hate homelessness, and want to do something truly meaningful in solving the homeless problem, why don't each of you spoiled socialist brats adopt a homeless person? Take him/her home to live with you and your family, feed them, clothe them, give them soap (that you aren't using anyway), loan them your car, let them sleep in your comfy homes (that capitalism bought for you). I guess I have no heart, huh?

Will we see you on Saturday? We're going to have a great time! And we need all DC Chapter members in good standing to be on hand for our own brand of street theater. :-)

ATTENTION DC CHAPTER MEMBERS !!

ALL HANDS ON DECK !!

Answer up, guys and gals!

Now is the time for all good men (and women) to come to the aid of their country!

From an e-mail I received: The annual meeting of the World Bank/International Monetary Fund (WB/IMF) is scheduled for September 27-29, 2002, in Washington, D.C. Demonstrations associated with these meetings are planned by several groups in support of a number of positions in opposition to the WB/IMF. One of the demonstrations, Anti-Capitalism Convergence (ACC), scheduled for Friday, September 27, has announced its objective to close down the normal activities of the city on this date. The ACC intends to do this by disrupting transportation, primarily vehicular traffic, throughout the city. Protest activities are expected to center around bridges into the city and major intersections. Potential locations, identified by the Metropolitan Police Department and involved federal law enforcement agencies, for possible traffic disruption are as follows:
     I-495/Beltway
     Whitehurst Freeway (at Key Bridge Ramp)
     I-295 at South Capitol Street
     Constitution Avenue & 3rd Street, NW
     Constitution Avenue & 7th Street, NW
     Constitution Avenue & 12th Street, NW (tunnel)
     Independence Avenue & 14th Street, NW
     Pennsylvania Avenue & 18th Street. NW
     K Street & 14th Street, NW
     D Street & 14th Street, NW
     E Street & 23rd Street, NW
     Constitution Avenue & 17th Street, NW
     Wisconsin Ave. & 17th Street, NW
     Key Bridge/M Street
     Scott Circle (Massachusetts Ave., 16th Street)
     Thomas Circle (Massachusetts Ave., 14th Street)
     Washington Circle (K & 23rd Street)
     Columbus Circle (Union Station)
     Dupont Circle (Connecticut Ave. and P Street)
     Logan Circle (13th & Rhode Island)
     Sheridan Circle (Massachusetts Ave. and 23rd Street)
     Mt. Vernon Square (New York Ave. & 7th Street, NW)
     Farragut Square (K & 17th Street)
     Independence Avenue & 2nd Street, SE
     New York Ave. & North Capitol Street, NE
     New York Avenue & I-395 Ramp (NW)
     New York Avenue and Florida Ave., NE
     North Capitol Street and Benning Road, NE
Metropolitan and/or federal police will be stationed at these locations to counter activities that may disrupt traffic. Additionally, the Metropolitan Police Department will close the streets listed below.
Thursday, September 26 (after rush hour) and Friday, September 27:
     G Street, NW, between 18th and 20th Streets
     H Street, NW, between 18th and 20th Streets
     Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, between 18th and 20th Streets
     18th Street, NW, between G Street and Pennsylvania Avenue
     20th Street, NW, between G and H Streets
Saturday, September 28 and Sunday, September 29:
     C Street, E Street, G Street and H Street, NW, between 15th and 21st Streets
     17th Street and 18th Street, NW, between Constitution Avenue and I Street
     19th Street and 20th Street, NW, between E Street and I Street
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has announced that federal facilities in and around the city will be open for business as usual on Friday, September 27. Supervisors have been encouraged to grant leave requests and employees not on approved leave are expected to report to duty. It is understood that some employees may be late arriving on Friday and each issue of late arrival is to be resolved between the employee and the supervisor.
In order to manage potential traffic disruptions that may be caused by the demonstrations, the Office of Security and the Office of Human Resources Management encourage employees to:

Leave significant extra time for your commute to work and from work on September 27.
Use public transportation such as Metro, MARC, VRE. If at all possible, avoid Union Station because this is a staging area for planned demonstrations.
Utilize telecommuting options that may be available in your unit. If you work an AWS schedule, discuss with your supervisor scheduling your AWS day for Friday.
Not wear your US. Government identification until you enter your building; some of the protestors may attempt to disrupt traffic specifically around federal facilities.
Check your local newspaper and news stations such as www.wtop.com on Thursday and Friday for the latest information on police or protest activities.
Check the OPM Web page at www.opm.gov or call OPM at (202) 606-1900 for the latest information concerning federal government operations on this day.

Protest activities are also scheduled for Saturday, September 28 and Sunday, September 29. If you must come into the city on these days, please consider these suggestions for these days also.

Employees will be advised in subsequent broadcast messages as additional, specific information concerning items such as additional road closures, detours or access restrictions to certain areas of the city becomes available.
____________________________________
This message was authorized by OHRM.

Will be there.

Thanks for all your work. You're a true patriot!

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"Freedom is not something to be secured in any one moment of time. We must struggle to preserve it every day. And freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction."
--President Ronald Reagan January 15, 1983

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"Still, if you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than live as slaves."
--Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965), The Gathering Storm, bk.I ch.19 p.348 (Houghton Mifflin, 1948)

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