³1username³2BryceHarrington³2name³2text_default³2version³21³2ts³2980765623³2ip³264.81.18.202³2data³2newauthor³31³3minor³30³3text³3'''Bush inauguration meets resistance'''

<img src="http://www.agrnews.org/issues/106/J20%201.GIF" width="300" height="384"><br>

''Protesters confront police in Washington, DC on Saturday, Jan. 20. ''

By Eamon Martin

'''Washington, DC, Jan. 20- '''As the pomp and circumstance 
of President George W. Bush's inauguration attempted to forcibly 
transcend the domestic instability left in the wake of what 
may be the most contentious election in US history, approximately 
20,000 people gathered in the nation's capital to protest.

Bush, the first President in more than a century to lose the 
national popular vote, took the oath of office as president 
of the United States, pledging to "unite" the country which 
the November elections showed to be deeply divided, along cultural, 
geographic, and ethnic lines. For a large percentage of the 
US public, the presidency is deeply mired in a crisis of legitimacy 
by numerous allegations of vote fraud, voter disenfranchisement, 
and the controversial Supreme Court decision that halted the 
vote count on a legal technicality. For the many who came to 
demonstrate from as many as forty US states, a Bush/Cheney White 
House represents nothing less than a debasement of democracy, 
a Republican coup d'etat with a suitably incompetent figurehead 
for a puppet regime.

Despite a relentless, cold rain and unprecedented security 
restrictions for demonstrators, widespread feelings of outrage 
and contempt for the incoming administration were literally 
overwhelming for many of those in attendance. The day saw numerous 
marches, assemblies, street theater performances, and confrontations 
between police and protesters that have since drawn concern 
from media analysts, given the dramatic scope of the activities 
and - in many cases - their subsequent, mysterious absence from 
most news reports. Demonstrators were evident on every block 
of the 1.6-mile inaugural parade route, and on some blocks on 
the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue, they outnumbered other 
paradegoers.

The day began early for protesters, who were in the streets 
well before Bush supporters. At 8:30am, a few hundred met at 
12th and G streets NW, then marched to 14th Street and Pennsylvania 
Avenue, to the beat of homemade drums.

A boisterous crowd of more than 1,000 assembled at Dupont 
Circle just before 10 am, chastising Bush for "stealing" the 
election. At 10:30, city crews arrived to cut an effigy of Bush 
from a tree. Speaker Patricia Ireland, president of the National 
Organization for Women, told the crowd: "Let them have the tree. 
We have all of Dupont Circle and we have the whole country. 
They just have the White House." 

Meanwhile, near the Supreme Court, Al Sharpton, Walter E. Fauntroy 
and other civil rights activists were holding a "shadow" inauguration 
and parade, attended by over 2,000 people. Laura Brightman of 
Brooklyn, NY commented, "We were sold out," as others around 
her chanted, "No justice, no peace." 

"And when we tried to get justice [from the Supreme Court] 
we were sold again," said Brightman. "The election was stolen." 


At the Supreme Court building, Rudy Arredondo of Takoma Park, 
Md., put it this way: "Bush is a Supreme Court appointee. In 
my eyes, and in my children's eyes, he will never be a legitimate 
president."

'''Anarchists destroy inaugural checkpoint, hoist flag: media 
blackout '''

<img src="http://www.agrnews.org/issues/106/J20%2088.GIF" width="300" height="203"><br>
<font size="2">''&quot;Black bloc&quot; activists build a barricade 
in the streets of Washingtoon, DC.''</font>

Notably ignored by the mainstream press, radical activists 
made anarchist history during George W. Bush's inaugural parade 
when one of nine police checkpoints to the celebration was battered 
down and overrun with thousands of protesters. Not long after, 
protesters -- led by the masked, black-clad, anarchist collective 
known as the "Black Bloc" -- seized the Naval Memorial on Pennsylvania 
Ave. and raised anarchist flags up the monument's flagpole. 
Overwhelmed by the security breach, DC police and Secret Service 
appeared confused, powerless, and embarrassed as they tried 
to contain, arrest, or disperse the demonstrators, only to fail 
time and time again when Black Bloc members physically fought 
back and successfully prevented almost any such police retaliation 
from happening.

In the weeks leading up to Bush's inaugural moment, the "historically 
unprecedented" security measures being undertaken by the Republican 
Party in tandem with DC police and the US Secret Service received 
extensive attention in the news media. For the first time ever, 
anyone wishing to attend the inaugural parade was required to 
pass through one of nine police checkpoints, have their bags 
searched, and in some cases be frisked and have protest signs 
confiscated. 

"He stole the vote," said Ethyl Tobch, 79, of New York City. 
"The fact that the people's votes were absolutely stolen plus 
the checkpoints are very frightening. It makes you feel like 
you are in a real dictatorship." 
<p>It was a single egg that landed on the presidential motorcade, 
a brief, maybe blurry tele-view of colorful protest signs along 
the parade route. By most news accounts, the protests were an 
inaugural footnote, not worthy of much comment or attention. 
However, for the thousands of people attending the inaugural 
parade who had gathered near the US Naval Memorial, a dramatic, 
captivating spectacle unfolded before them, for many the likes 
of which had never before been seen. As the well-to-do sat perched, 
waiting anxiously in the expensive bleacher seats and hotel 
balconies overlooking the parade for the arrival of the Bush 
motorcade, parade-goers suddenly found themselves in the midst 
of a giant confrontation between police and protesters. 

It began when a march of nearly 600 Black Bloc demonstrators 
began to make its way towards the parade route, leaving a small 
trail of impromptu blockades -- mainly newspaper distributor 
racks and automobiles -- behind them. Soon after, DC police 
appeared and managed to corral against a building wall about 
80 of this group who called themselves the "Revolutionary Anti-Authoritarian 
Bloc." Mass arrests seemed imminent with the police holding 
loads of plastic, "zip-tie" handcuffs and City Transit Authority 
busses parked nearby at the ready for "criminal" mass transit. 
DC Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer said 
the police contingency plan for up to 5,000 arrests involved 
the use of several buses and 180 officers specifically prepared 
for that many cases. All told, about 7,000 officers had been 
deployed from various law enforcement agencies, including US 
Marshals and National Guard troops.

A standoff ensued between the police, spectators, and a groundswell 
of protesters suddenly reinforced by the unexpected arrival 
of a National Organization of Women (NOW) march and a Voter 
Rights march, chanting "Let them go! Let them go!" Hopelessly 
outnumbered, the police eventually complied, freeing the demonstrators 
to continue their protests. 

With protesters now numbering in the 1,500-2,000 range, a massive 
march proceeded to Pennsylvania Ave. Not much later, with the 
reunited Black Bloc at the front, a group of inspired participants 
grabbed a fairly large cart parked in front of a vacant construction 
site.

"What is this?" someone asked.

"It's a battering ram!" another yelled in reply. 

Much to the astonishment of thousands of waiting parade-watchers, 
the construction cart came careening down an overlooking hill, 
crashing through a police checkpoint, only to be stopped from 
going into the parade avenue by a Secret Service car which pulled 
in front of it's path, damaging the federal vehicle in the process. 
The floodgates had been battered open, allowing what from balcony 
seats must have looked like a giant pool of black ink to seep 
into the crowded festivities, followed by a colorful barrage 
of signs proclaiming: "Supreme Coup," "Hail To The Thief," "Not 
Our President" and hundreds more. For all of their elaborate 
preparations, much to their surprise, police and military were 
now confronted with an embarrassingly massive breach of national 
security. 

Shocked Republicans and police watched as, soon after, four 
Black Bloc members scaled the nearby Navy Memorial flagpole 
to the roaring cheers of demonstrators. In little time, the 
Nautical flags were pulled down and replaced by black and red 
anarchist flags, as well as an upside down US flag -- the widely 
recognized symbol of distress. 

Over the next few hours, riot police attempted at least three 
times to rush and disperse those assembled by the monument, 
only to be pushed, fought back, and defeated. Dozens of times, 
without identifying themselves, several undercover police attempted 
to "surprise arrest" demonstrators. Activists responded quickly, 
however, and with little exception, prevented this from happening 
by directly confronting the police, tackling them, fighting 
them, and many times forcibly removing them from the area. 

Meanwhile, the parade had been delayed. When the Bush/Cheney 
motorcade eventually did arrive, the cars abruptly sped by this 
concentrated protest area, forcing the Secret Service chaperones 
to break pace and run full steam to catch up. At this particular 
moment, while food, debris, loud insults, and a sea of hundreds 
of middle fingers were hurled toward the new president, apparently 
several news networks broadcasting live simulcasts, simultaneously 
thought it best to cut to commercial breaks or check in with 
comments from fawning news pundits. 

Most demonstrators in the area soon dispersed afterward, the 
object of their animosity having since passed by in the new 
Cadillac, which featured puncture-proof tires and six-inch-thick 
bulletproof glass.

Of the estimated 350,000 people who came downtown Saturday 
to see the swearing-in ceremony or parade, DC police arrested 
only five, and other law enforcement agencies arrested only 
a handful of others. 

'''Demonstrations nationwide'''

Protests in opposition to what many are characterizing as 
an appointed regime by the US Supreme Court were not limited 
to Washington DC. Thousands of US citizens in over a dozen cities 
such as San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Austin, Tallahassee, 
New York, Montpelier, Santa Fe, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland 
and others protested the inauguration. According to the Independent 
Media Center, thousands of protesters took over part of downtown 
San Fransisco, stopping cable cars. 3,500 demonstrated in Los 
Angeles. Even Paris, France saw thousands of demonstrators against 
the death penalty protest the swearing-in of the new US President. 


All around the country, mock coronations of "King George II" 
were staged. In Seattle, an actor dressed in a Revolutionary 
War costume stole the crown from a shrub and offered it to the 
people. The crowd of 3,000 placed the crown at the head of a 
parade. 

Chicago protesters converged on the city's Federal Building. 
Demonstrators protested at the state capitols in Denver, Colorado 
and Montpelier, Vermont. In Albuquerque, New Mexico local TV 
coverage gave more time to local protests than to the Bush ceremonies.

In Austin, Texas, 500 people gathered on the state capitol 
steps. The election "was stolen and it was stolen in Florida. 
I think there should be a revolution in this country on just 
this issue," said Arthur Joe Sr. of Dallas. 

In Asheville, North Carolina, forty-five indignant people braved 
freezing rain to sing, dance and wave signs, to the obvious 
delight of passing motorists, who responded with honks and thumbs 
up. The protest lasted from ten until two o'clock.

AGR staff contributed to this report.

Additional sources: Independent Media Center, Washington Post, 
IPS, Philadelphia Inquirer 


(c) Copyright 2000 Asheville Global Report.
Reprinting for non-profit purposes is permitted: Please credit the source.
³3summary³3(Are free for reuse but not-for-profit articles ok?)³2tscreate³2980765623³2keepts³2980765739³2id³21108³2host³2dsl081-018-202-sea1.dsl-isp.net³2revision³21³1username³2BryceHarrington³2name³2text_default³2version³21³2ts³2980765739³2ip³264.81.18.202³2data³2text³3'''Bush inauguration meets resistance'''

http://www.agrnews.org/issues/106/J20%201.GIF

''Protesters confront police in Washington, DC on Saturday, Jan. 20. ''

By Eamon Martin

'''Washington, DC, Jan. 20- '''As the pomp and circumstance 
of President George W. Bush's inauguration attempted to forcibly 
transcend the domestic instability left in the wake of what 
may be the most contentious election in US history, approximately 
20,000 people gathered in the nation's capital to protest.

Bush, the first President in more than a century to lose the 
national popular vote, took the oath of office as president 
of the United States, pledging to "unite" the country which 
the November elections showed to be deeply divided, along cultural, 
geographic, and ethnic lines. For a large percentage of the 
US public, the presidency is deeply mired in a crisis of legitimacy 
by numerous allegations of vote fraud, voter disenfranchisement, 
and the controversial Supreme Court decision that halted the 
vote count on a legal technicality. For the many who came to 
demonstrate from as many as forty US states, a Bush/Cheney White 
House represents nothing less than a debasement of democracy, 
a Republican coup d'etat with a suitably incompetent figurehead 
for a puppet regime.

Despite a relentless, cold rain and unprecedented security 
restrictions for demonstrators, widespread feelings of outrage 
and contempt for the incoming administration were literally 
overwhelming for many of those in attendance. The day saw numerous 
marches, assemblies, street theater performances, and confrontations 
between police and protesters that have since drawn concern 
from media analysts, given the dramatic scope of the activities 
and - in many cases - their subsequent, mysterious absence from 
most news reports. Demonstrators were evident on every block 
of the 1.6-mile inaugural parade route, and on some blocks on 
the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue, they outnumbered other 
paradegoers.

The day began early for protesters, who were in the streets 
well before Bush supporters. At 8:30am, a few hundred met at 
12th and G streets NW, then marched to 14th Street and Pennsylvania 
Avenue, to the beat of homemade drums.

A boisterous crowd of more than 1,000 assembled at Dupont 
Circle just before 10 am, chastising Bush for "stealing" the 
election. At 10:30, city crews arrived to cut an effigy of Bush 
from a tree. Speaker Patricia Ireland, president of the National 
Organization for Women, told the crowd: "Let them have the tree. 
We have all of Dupont Circle and we have the whole country. 
They just have the White House." 

Meanwhile, near the Supreme Court, Al Sharpton, Walter E. Fauntroy 
and other civil rights activists were holding a "shadow" inauguration 
and parade, attended by over 2,000 people. Laura Brightman of 
Brooklyn, NY commented, "We were sold out," as others around 
her chanted, "No justice, no peace." 

"And when we tried to get justice [from the Supreme Court] 
we were sold again," said Brightman. "The election was stolen." 


At the Supreme Court building, Rudy Arredondo of Takoma Park, 
Md., put it this way: "Bush is a Supreme Court appointee. In 
my eyes, and in my children's eyes, he will never be a legitimate 
president."

'''Anarchists destroy inaugural checkpoint, hoist flag: media 
blackout '''

http://www.agrnews.org/issues/106/J20%2088.GIF
''Black bloc activists build a barricade in the streets of Washingtoon, DC.''</font>

Notably ignored by the mainstream press, radical activists 
made anarchist history during George W. Bush's inaugural parade 
when one of nine police checkpoints to the celebration was battered 
down and overrun with thousands of protesters. Not long after, 
protesters -- led by the masked, black-clad, anarchist collective 
known as the "Black Bloc" -- seized the Naval Memorial on Pennsylvania 
Ave. and raised anarchist flags up the monument's flagpole. 
Overwhelmed by the security breach, DC police and Secret Service 
appeared confused, powerless, and embarrassed as they tried 
to contain, arrest, or disperse the demonstrators, only to fail 
time and time again when Black Bloc members physically fought 
back and successfully prevented almost any such police retaliation 
from happening.

In the weeks leading up to Bush's inaugural moment, the "historically 
unprecedented" security measures being undertaken by the Republican 
Party in tandem with DC police and the US Secret Service received 
extensive attention in the news media. For the first time ever, 
anyone wishing to attend the inaugural parade was required to 
pass through one of nine police checkpoints, have their bags 
searched, and in some cases be frisked and have protest signs 
confiscated. 

"He stole the vote," said Ethyl Tobch, 79, of New York City. 
"The fact that the people's votes were absolutely stolen plus 
the checkpoints are very frightening. It makes you feel like 
you are in a real dictatorship." 
<p>It was a single egg that landed on the presidential motorcade, 
a brief, maybe blurry tele-view of colorful protest signs along 
the parade route. By most news accounts, the protests were an 
inaugural footnote, not worthy of much comment or attention. 
However, for the thousands of people attending the inaugural 
parade who had gathered near the US Naval Memorial, a dramatic, 
captivating spectacle unfolded before them, for many the likes 
of which had never before been seen. As the well-to-do sat perched, 
waiting anxiously in the expensive bleacher seats and hotel 
balconies overlooking the parade for the arrival of the Bush 
motorcade, parade-goers suddenly found themselves in the midst 
of a giant confrontation between police and protesters. 

It began when a march of nearly 600 Black Bloc demonstrators 
began to make its way towards the parade route, leaving a small 
trail of impromptu blockades -- mainly newspaper distributor 
racks and automobiles -- behind them. Soon after, DC police 
appeared and managed to corral against a building wall about 
80 of this group who called themselves the "Revolutionary Anti-Authoritarian 
Bloc." Mass arrests seemed imminent with the police holding 
loads of plastic, "zip-tie" handcuffs and City Transit Authority 
busses parked nearby at the ready for "criminal" mass transit. 
DC Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer said 
the police contingency plan for up to 5,000 arrests involved 
the use of several buses and 180 officers specifically prepared 
for that many cases. All told, about 7,000 officers had been 
deployed from various law enforcement agencies, including US 
Marshals and National Guard troops.

A standoff ensued between the police, spectators, and a groundswell 
of protesters suddenly reinforced by the unexpected arrival 
of a National Organization of Women (NOW) march and a Voter 
Rights march, chanting "Let them go! Let them go!" Hopelessly 
outnumbered, the police eventually complied, freeing the demonstrators 
to continue their protests. 

With protesters now numbering in the 1,500-2,000 range, a massive 
march proceeded to Pennsylvania Ave. Not much later, with the 
reunited Black Bloc at the front, a group of inspired participants 
grabbed a fairly large cart parked in front of a vacant construction 
site.

"What is this?" someone asked.

"It's a battering ram!" another yelled in reply. 

Much to the astonishment of thousands of waiting parade-watchers, 
the construction cart came careening down an overlooking hill, 
crashing through a police checkpoint, only to be stopped from 
going into the parade avenue by a Secret Service car which pulled 
in front of it's path, damaging the federal vehicle in the process. 
The floodgates had been battered open, allowing what from balcony 
seats must have looked like a giant pool of black ink to seep 
into the crowded festivities, followed by a colorful barrage 
of signs proclaiming: "Supreme Coup," "Hail To The Thief," "Not 
Our President" and hundreds more. For all of their elaborate 
preparations, much to their surprise, police and military were 
now confronted with an embarrassingly massive breach of national 
security. 

Shocked Republicans and police watched as, soon after, four 
Black Bloc members scaled the nearby Navy Memorial flagpole 
to the roaring cheers of demonstrators. In little time, the 
Nautical flags were pulled down and replaced by black and red 
anarchist flags, as well as an upside down US flag -- the widely 
recognized symbol of distress. 

Over the next few hours, riot police attempted at least three 
times to rush and disperse those assembled by the monument, 
only to be pushed, fought back, and defeated. Dozens of times, 
without identifying themselves, several undercover police attempted 
to "surprise arrest" demonstrators. Activists responded quickly, 
however, and with little exception, prevented this from happening 
by directly confronting the police, tackling them, fighting 
them, and many times forcibly removing them from the area. 

Meanwhile, the parade had been delayed. When the Bush/Cheney 
motorcade eventually did arrive, the cars abruptly sped by this 
concentrated protest area, forcing the Secret Service chaperones 
to break pace and run full steam to catch up. At this particular 
moment, while food, debris, loud insults, and a sea of hundreds 
of middle fingers were hurled toward the new president, apparently 
several news networks broadcasting live simulcasts, simultaneously 
thought it best to cut to commercial breaks or check in with 
comments from fawning news pundits. 

Most demonstrators in the area soon dispersed afterward, the 
object of their animosity having since passed by in the new 
Cadillac, which featured puncture-proof tires and six-inch-thick 
bulletproof glass.

Of the estimated 350,000 people who came downtown Saturday 
to see the swearing-in ceremony or parade, DC police arrested 
only five, and other law enforcement agencies arrested only 
a handful of others. 

'''Demonstrations nationwide'''

Protests in opposition to what many are characterizing as 
an appointed regime by the US Supreme Court were not limited 
to Washington DC. Thousands of US citizens in over a dozen cities 
such as San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Austin, Tallahassee, 
New York, Montpelier, Santa Fe, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland 
and others protested the inauguration. According to the Independent 
Media Center, thousands of protesters took over part of downtown 
San Fransisco, stopping cable cars. 3,500 demonstrated in Los 
Angeles. Even Paris, France saw thousands of demonstrators against 
the death penalty protest the swearing-in of the new US President. 


All around the country, mock coronations of "King George II" 
were staged. In Seattle, an actor dressed in a Revolutionary 
War costume stole the crown from a shrub and offered it to the 
people. The crowd of 3,000 placed the crown at the head of a 
parade. 

Chicago protesters converged on the city's Federal Building. 
Demonstrators protested at the state capitols in Denver, Colorado 
and Montpelier, Vermont. In Albuquerque, New Mexico local TV 
coverage gave more time to local protests than to the Bush ceremonies.

In Austin, Texas, 500 people gathered on the state capitol 
steps. The election "was stolen and it was stolen in Florida. 
I think there should be a revolution in this country on just 
this issue," said Arthur Joe Sr. of Dallas. 

In Asheville, North Carolina, forty-five indignant people braved 
freezing rain to sing, dance and wave signs, to the obvious 
delight of passing motorists, who responded with honks and thumbs 
up. The protest lasted from ten until two o'clock.

AGR staff contributed to this report.

Additional sources: Independent Media Center, Washington Post, 
IPS, Philadelphia Inquirer 


(c) Copyright 2000 Asheville Global Report.
Reprinting for non-profit purposes is permitted: Please credit the source.
³3minor³31³3newauthor³30³3summary³3*³2tscreate³2980765623³2keepts³2980765900³2id³21108³2host³2dsl081-018-202-sea1.dsl-isp.net³2revision³22³1username³2BryceHarrington³2name³2text_default³2version³21³2ts³2980765900³2ip³264.81.18.202³2data³2newauthor³30³3minor³31³3text³3'''Bush inauguration meets resistance'''

http://www.agrnews.org/issues/106/J20%201.gif

''Protesters confront police in Washington, DC on Saturday, Jan. 20. ''

By Eamon Martin

'''Washington, DC, Jan. 20- '''As the pomp and circumstance 
of President George W. Bush's inauguration attempted to forcibly 
transcend the domestic instability left in the wake of what 
may be the most contentious election in US history, approximately 
20,000 people gathered in the nation's capital to protest.

Bush, the first President in more than a century to lose the 
national popular vote, took the oath of office as president 
of the United States, pledging to "unite" the country which 
the November elections showed to be deeply divided, along cultural, 
geographic, and ethnic lines. For a large percentage of the 
US public, the presidency is deeply mired in a crisis of legitimacy 
by numerous allegations of vote fraud, voter disenfranchisement, 
and the controversial Supreme Court decision that halted the 
vote count on a legal technicality. For the many who came to 
demonstrate from as many as forty US states, a Bush/Cheney White 
House represents nothing less than a debasement of democracy, 
a Republican coup d'etat with a suitably incompetent figurehead 
for a puppet regime.

Despite a relentless, cold rain and unprecedented security 
restrictions for demonstrators, widespread feelings of outrage 
and contempt for the incoming administration were literally 
overwhelming for many of those in attendance. The day saw numerous 
marches, assemblies, street theater performances, and confrontations 
between police and protesters that have since drawn concern 
from media analysts, given the dramatic scope of the activities 
and - in many cases - their subsequent, mysterious absence from 
most news reports. Demonstrators were evident on every block 
of the 1.6-mile inaugural parade route, and on some blocks on 
the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue, they outnumbered other 
paradegoers.

The day began early for protesters, who were in the streets 
well before Bush supporters. At 8:30am, a few hundred met at 
12th and G streets NW, then marched to 14th Street and Pennsylvania 
Avenue, to the beat of homemade drums.

A boisterous crowd of more than 1,000 assembled at Dupont 
Circle just before 10 am, chastising Bush for "stealing" the 
election. At 10:30, city crews arrived to cut an effigy of Bush 
from a tree. Speaker Patricia Ireland, president of the National 
Organization for Women, told the crowd: "Let them have the tree. 
We have all of Dupont Circle and we have the whole country. 
They just have the White House." 

Meanwhile, near the Supreme Court, Al Sharpton, Walter E. Fauntroy 
and other civil rights activists were holding a "shadow" inauguration 
and parade, attended by over 2,000 people. Laura Brightman of 
Brooklyn, NY commented, "We were sold out," as others around 
her chanted, "No justice, no peace." 

"And when we tried to get justice [from the Supreme Court] 
we were sold again," said Brightman. "The election was stolen." 


At the Supreme Court building, Rudy Arredondo of Takoma Park, 
Md., put it this way: "Bush is a Supreme Court appointee. In 
my eyes, and in my children's eyes, he will never be a legitimate 
president."

'''Anarchists destroy inaugural checkpoint, hoist flag: media 
blackout '''

http://www.agrnews.org/issues/106/J20%2088.GIF
''Black bloc activists build a barricade in the streets of Washingtoon, DC.''

Notably ignored by the mainstream press, radical activists 
made anarchist history during George W. Bush's inaugural parade 
when one of nine police checkpoints to the celebration was battered 
down and overrun with thousands of protesters. Not long after, 
protesters -- led by the masked, black-clad, anarchist collective 
known as the "Black Bloc" -- seized the Naval Memorial on Pennsylvania 
Ave. and raised anarchist flags up the monument's flagpole. 
Overwhelmed by the security breach, DC police and Secret Service 
appeared confused, powerless, and embarrassed as they tried 
to contain, arrest, or disperse the demonstrators, only to fail 
time and time again when Black Bloc members physically fought 
back and successfully prevented almost any such police retaliation 
from happening.

In the weeks leading up to Bush's inaugural moment, the "historically 
unprecedented" security measures being undertaken by the Republican 
Party in tandem with DC police and the US Secret Service received 
extensive attention in the news media. For the first time ever, 
anyone wishing to attend the inaugural parade was required to 
pass through one of nine police checkpoints, have their bags 
searched, and in some cases be frisked and have protest signs 
confiscated. 

"He stole the vote," said Ethyl Tobch, 79, of New York City. 
"The fact that the people's votes were absolutely stolen plus 
the checkpoints are very frightening. It makes you feel like 
you are in a real dictatorship." 
<p>It was a single egg that landed on the presidential motorcade, 
a brief, maybe blurry tele-view of colorful protest signs along 
the parade route. By most news accounts, the protests were an 
inaugural footnote, not worthy of much comment or attention. 
However, for the thousands of people attending the inaugural 
parade who had gathered near the US Naval Memorial, a dramatic, 
captivating spectacle unfolded before them, for many the likes 
of which had never before been seen. As the well-to-do sat perched, 
waiting anxiously in the expensive bleacher seats and hotel 
balconies overlooking the parade for the arrival of the Bush 
motorcade, parade-goers suddenly found themselves in the midst 
of a giant confrontation between police and protesters. 

It began when a march of nearly 600 Black Bloc demonstrators 
began to make its way towards the parade route, leaving a small 
trail of impromptu blockades -- mainly newspaper distributor 
racks and automobiles -- behind them. Soon after, DC police 
appeared and managed to corral against a building wall about 
80 of this group who called themselves the "Revolutionary Anti-Authoritarian 
Bloc." Mass arrests seemed imminent with the police holding 
loads of plastic, "zip-tie" handcuffs and City Transit Authority 
busses parked nearby at the ready for "criminal" mass transit. 
DC Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer said 
the police contingency plan for up to 5,000 arrests involved 
the use of several buses and 180 officers specifically prepared 
for that many cases. All told, about 7,000 officers had been 
deployed from various law enforcement agencies, including US 
Marshals and National Guard troops.

A standoff ensued between the police, spectators, and a groundswell 
of protesters suddenly reinforced by the unexpected arrival 
of a National Organization of Women (NOW) march and a Voter 
Rights march, chanting "Let them go! Let them go!" Hopelessly 
outnumbered, the police eventually complied, freeing the demonstrators 
to continue their protests. 

With protesters now numbering in the 1,500-2,000 range, a massive 
march proceeded to Pennsylvania Ave. Not much later, with the 
reunited Black Bloc at the front, a group of inspired participants 
grabbed a fairly large cart parked in front of a vacant construction 
site.

"What is this?" someone asked.

"It's a battering ram!" another yelled in reply. 

Much to the astonishment of thousands of waiting parade-watchers, 
the construction cart came careening down an overlooking hill, 
crashing through a police checkpoint, only to be stopped from 
going into the parade avenue by a Secret Service car which pulled 
in front of it's path, damaging the federal vehicle in the process. 
The floodgates had been battered open, allowing what from balcony 
seats must have looked like a giant pool of black ink to seep 
into the crowded festivities, followed by a colorful barrage 
of signs proclaiming: "Supreme Coup," "Hail To The Thief," "Not 
Our President" and hundreds more. For all of their elaborate 
preparations, much to their surprise, police and military were 
now confronted with an embarrassingly massive breach of national 
security. 

Shocked Republicans and police watched as, soon after, four 
Black Bloc members scaled the nearby Navy Memorial flagpole 
to the roaring cheers of demonstrators. In little time, the 
Nautical flags were pulled down and replaced by black and red 
anarchist flags, as well as an upside down US flag -- the widely 
recognized symbol of distress. 

Over the next few hours, riot police attempted at least three 
times to rush and disperse those assembled by the monument, 
only to be pushed, fought back, and defeated. Dozens of times, 
without identifying themselves, several undercover police attempted 
to "surprise arrest" demonstrators. Activists responded quickly, 
however, and with little exception, prevented this from happening 
by directly confronting the police, tackling them, fighting 
them, and many times forcibly removing them from the area. 

Meanwhile, the parade had been delayed. When the Bush/Cheney 
motorcade eventually did arrive, the cars abruptly sped by this 
concentrated protest area, forcing the Secret Service chaperones 
to break pace and run full steam to catch up. At this particular 
moment, while food, debris, loud insults, and a sea of hundreds 
of middle fingers were hurled toward the new president, apparently 
several news networks broadcasting live simulcasts, simultaneously 
thought it best to cut to commercial breaks or check in with 
comments from fawning news pundits. 

Most demonstrators in the area soon dispersed afterward, the 
object of their animosity having since passed by in the new 
Cadillac, which featured puncture-proof tires and six-inch-thick 
bulletproof glass.

Of the estimated 350,000 people who came downtown Saturday 
to see the swearing-in ceremony or parade, DC police arrested 
only five, and other law enforcement agencies arrested only 
a handful of others. 

'''Demonstrations nationwide'''

Protests in opposition to what many are characterizing as 
an appointed regime by the US Supreme Court were not limited 
to Washington DC. Thousands of US citizens in over a dozen cities 
such as San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Austin, Tallahassee, 
New York, Montpelier, Santa Fe, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland 
and others protested the inauguration. According to the Independent 
Media Center, thousands of protesters took over part of downtown 
San Fransisco, stopping cable cars. 3,500 demonstrated in Los 
Angeles. Even Paris, France saw thousands of demonstrators against 
the death penalty protest the swearing-in of the new US President. 


All around the country, mock coronations of "King George II" 
were staged. In Seattle, an actor dressed in a Revolutionary 
War costume stole the crown from a shrub and offered it to the 
people. The crowd of 3,000 placed the crown at the head of a 
parade. 

Chicago protesters converged on the city's Federal Building. 
Demonstrators protested at the state capitols in Denver, Colorado 
and Montpelier, Vermont. In Albuquerque, New Mexico local TV 
coverage gave more time to local protests than to the Bush ceremonies.

In Austin, Texas, 500 people gathered on the state capitol 
steps. The election "was stolen and it was stolen in Florida. 
I think there should be a revolution in this country on just 
this issue," said Arthur Joe Sr. of Dallas. 

In Asheville, North Carolina, forty-five indignant people braved 
freezing rain to sing, dance and wave signs, to the obvious 
delight of passing motorists, who responded with honks and thumbs 
up. The protest lasted from ten until two o'clock.

AGR staff contributed to this report.

Additional sources: Independent Media Center, Washington Post, 
IPS, Philadelphia Inquirer 


(c) Copyright 2000 Asheville Global Report.
Reprinting for non-profit purposes is permitted: Please credit the source.
³3summary³3*³2tscreate³2980765623³2keepts³2980765912³2id³21108³2host³2dsl081-018-202-sea1.dsl-isp.net³2revision³23³1username³2BryceHarrington³2name³2text_default³2version³21³2ts³2980765912³2ip³264.81.18.202³2data³2text³3'''Bush inauguration meets resistance'''

http://www.agrnews.org/issues/106/J20%201.GIF

''Protesters confront police in Washington, DC on Saturday, Jan. 20. ''

By Eamon Martin

'''Washington, DC, Jan. 20- '''As the pomp and circumstance 
of President George W. Bush's inauguration attempted to forcibly 
transcend the domestic instability left in the wake of what 
may be the most contentious election in US history, approximately 
20,000 people gathered in the nation's capital to protest.

Bush, the first President in more than a century to lose the 
national popular vote, took the oath of office as president 
of the United States, pledging to "unite" the country which 
the November elections showed to be deeply divided, along cultural, 
geographic, and ethnic lines. For a large percentage of the 
US public, the presidency is deeply mired in a crisis of legitimacy 
by numerous allegations of vote fraud, voter disenfranchisement, 
and the controversial Supreme Court decision that halted the 
vote count on a legal technicality. For the many who came to 
demonstrate from as many as forty US states, a Bush/Cheney White 
House represents nothing less than a debasement of democracy, 
a Republican coup d'etat with a suitably incompetent figurehead 
for a puppet regime.

Despite a relentless, cold rain and unprecedented security 
restrictions for demonstrators, widespread feelings of outrage 
and contempt for the incoming administration were literally 
overwhelming for many of those in attendance. The day saw numerous 
marches, assemblies, street theater performances, and confrontations 
between police and protesters that have since drawn concern 
from media analysts, given the dramatic scope of the activities 
and - in many cases - their subsequent, mysterious absence from 
most news reports. Demonstrators were evident on every block 
of the 1.6-mile inaugural parade route, and on some blocks on 
the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue, they outnumbered other 
paradegoers.

The day began early for protesters, who were in the streets 
well before Bush supporters. At 8:30am, a few hundred met at 
12th and G streets NW, then marched to 14th Street and Pennsylvania 
Avenue, to the beat of homemade drums.

A boisterous crowd of more than 1,000 assembled at Dupont 
Circle just before 10 am, chastising Bush for "stealing" the 
election. At 10:30, city crews arrived to cut an effigy of Bush 
from a tree. Speaker Patricia Ireland, president of the National 
Organization for Women, told the crowd: "Let them have the tree. 
We have all of Dupont Circle and we have the whole country. 
They just have the White House." 

Meanwhile, near the Supreme Court, Al Sharpton, Walter E. Fauntroy 
and other civil rights activists were holding a "shadow" inauguration 
and parade, attended by over 2,000 people. Laura Brightman of 
Brooklyn, NY commented, "We were sold out," as others around 
her chanted, "No justice, no peace." 

"And when we tried to get justice [from the Supreme Court] 
we were sold again," said Brightman. "The election was stolen." 


At the Supreme Court building, Rudy Arredondo of Takoma Park, 
Md., put it this way: "Bush is a Supreme Court appointee. In 
my eyes, and in my children's eyes, he will never be a legitimate 
president."

'''Anarchists destroy inaugural checkpoint, hoist flag: media 
blackout '''

http://www.agrnews.org/issues/106/J20%2088.GIF
''Black bloc activists build a barricade in the streets of Washingtoon, DC.''

Notably ignored by the mainstream press, radical activists 
made anarchist history during George W. Bush's inaugural parade 
when one of nine police checkpoints to the celebration was battered 
down and overrun with thousands of protesters. Not long after, 
protesters -- led by the masked, black-clad, anarchist collective 
known as the "Black Bloc" -- seized the Naval Memorial on Pennsylvania 
Ave. and raised anarchist flags up the monument's flagpole. 
Overwhelmed by the security breach, DC police and Secret Service 
appeared confused, powerless, and embarrassed as they tried 
to contain, arrest, or disperse the demonstrators, only to fail 
time and time again when Black Bloc members physically fought 
back and successfully prevented almost any such police retaliation 
from happening.

In the weeks leading up to Bush's inaugural moment, the "historically 
unprecedented" security measures being undertaken by the Republican 
Party in tandem with DC police and the US Secret Service received 
extensive attention in the news media. For the first time ever, 
anyone wishing to attend the inaugural parade was required to 
pass through one of nine police checkpoints, have their bags 
searched, and in some cases be frisked and have protest signs 
confiscated. 

"He stole the vote," said Ethyl Tobch, 79, of New York City. 
"The fact that the people's votes were absolutely stolen plus 
the checkpoints are very frightening. It makes you feel like 
you are in a real dictatorship." 
<p>It was a single egg that landed on the presidential motorcade, 
a brief, maybe blurry tele-view of colorful protest signs along 
the parade route. By most news accounts, the protests were an 
inaugural footnote, not worthy of much comment or attention. 
However, for the thousands of people attending the inaugural 
parade who had gathered near the US Naval Memorial, a dramatic, 
captivating spectacle unfolded before them, for many the likes 
of which had never before been seen. As the well-to-do sat perched, 
waiting anxiously in the expensive bleacher seats and hotel 
balconies overlooking the parade for the arrival of the Bush 
motorcade, parade-goers suddenly found themselves in the midst 
of a giant confrontation between police and protesters. 

It began when a march of nearly 600 Black Bloc demonstrators 
began to make its way towards the parade route, leaving a small 
trail of impromptu blockades -- mainly newspaper distributor 
racks and automobiles -- behind them. Soon after, DC police 
appeared and managed to corral against a building wall about 
80 of this group who called themselves the "Revolutionary Anti-Authoritarian 
Bloc." Mass arrests seemed imminent with the police holding 
loads of plastic, "zip-tie" handcuffs and City Transit Authority 
busses parked nearby at the ready for "criminal" mass transit. 
DC Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer said 
the police contingency plan for up to 5,000 arrests involved 
the use of several buses and 180 officers specifically prepared 
for that many cases. All told, about 7,000 officers had been 
deployed from various law enforcement agencies, including US 
Marshals and National Guard troops.

A standoff ensued between the police, spectators, and a groundswell 
of protesters suddenly reinforced by the unexpected arrival 
of a National Organization of Women (NOW) march and a Voter 
Rights march, chanting "Let them go! Let them go!" Hopelessly 
outnumbered, the police eventually complied, freeing the demonstrators 
to continue their protests. 

With protesters now numbering in the 1,500-2,000 range, a massive 
march proceeded to Pennsylvania Ave. Not much later, with the 
reunited Black Bloc at the front, a group of inspired participants 
grabbed a fairly large cart parked in front of a vacant construction 
site.

"What is this?" someone asked.

"It's a battering ram!" another yelled in reply. 

Much to the astonishment of thousands of waiting parade-watchers, 
the construction cart came careening down an overlooking hill, 
crashing through a police checkpoint, only to be stopped from 
going into the parade avenue by a Secret Service car which pulled 
in front of it's path, damaging the federal vehicle in the process. 
The floodgates had been battered open, allowing what from balcony 
seats must have looked like a giant pool of black ink to seep 
into the crowded festivities, followed by a colorful barrage 
of signs proclaiming: "Supreme Coup," "Hail To The Thief," "Not 
Our President" and hundreds more. For all of their elaborate 
preparations, much to their surprise, police and military were 
now confronted with an embarrassingly massive breach of national 
security. 

Shocked Republicans and police watched as, soon after, four 
Black Bloc members scaled the nearby Navy Memorial flagpole 
to the roaring cheers of demonstrators. In little time, the 
Nautical flags were pulled down and replaced by black and red 
anarchist flags, as well as an upside down US flag -- the widely 
recognized symbol of distress. 

Over the next few hours, riot police attempted at least three 
times to rush and disperse those assembled by the monument, 
only to be pushed, fought back, and defeated. Dozens of times, 
without identifying themselves, several undercover police attempted 
to "surprise arrest" demonstrators. Activists responded quickly, 
however, and with little exception, prevented this from happening 
by directly confronting the police, tackling them, fighting 
them, and many times forcibly removing them from the area. 

Meanwhile, the parade had been delayed. When the Bush/Cheney 
motorcade eventually did arrive, the cars abruptly sped by this 
concentrated protest area, forcing the Secret Service chaperones 
to break pace and run full steam to catch up. At this particular 
moment, while food, debris, loud insults, and a sea of hundreds 
of middle fingers were hurled toward the new president, apparently 
several news networks broadcasting live simulcasts, simultaneously 
thought it best to cut to commercial breaks or check in with 
comments from fawning news pundits. 

Most demonstrators in the area soon dispersed afterward, the 
object of their animosity having since passed by in the new 
Cadillac, which featured puncture-proof tires and six-inch-thick 
bulletproof glass.

Of the estimated 350,000 people who came downtown Saturday 
to see the swearing-in ceremony or parade, DC police arrested 
only five, and other law enforcement agencies arrested only 
a handful of others. 

'''Demonstrations nationwide'''

Protests in opposition to what many are characterizing as 
an appointed regime by the US Supreme Court were not limited 
to Washington DC. Thousands of US citizens in over a dozen cities 
such as San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Austin, Tallahassee, 
New York, Montpelier, Santa Fe, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland 
and others protested the inauguration. According to the Independent 
Media Center, thousands of protesters took over part of downtown 
San Fransisco, stopping cable cars. 3,500 demonstrated in Los 
Angeles. Even Paris, France saw thousands of demonstrators against 
the death penalty protest the swearing-in of the new US President. 


All around the country, mock coronations of "King George II" 
were staged. In Seattle, an actor dressed in a Revolutionary 
War costume stole the crown from a shrub and offered it to the 
people. The crowd of 3,000 placed the crown at the head of a 
parade. 

Chicago protesters converged on the city's Federal Building. 
Demonstrators protested at the state capitols in Denver, Colorado 
and Montpelier, Vermont. In Albuquerque, New Mexico local TV 
coverage gave more time to local protests than to the Bush ceremonies.

In Austin, Texas, 500 people gathered on the state capitol 
steps. The election "was stolen and it was stolen in Florida. 
I think there should be a revolution in this country on just 
this issue," said Arthur Joe Sr. of Dallas. 

In Asheville, North Carolina, forty-five indignant people braved 
freezing rain to sing, dance and wave signs, to the obvious 
delight of passing motorists, who responded with honks and thumbs 
up. The protest lasted from ten until two o'clock.

AGR staff contributed to this report.

Additional sources: Independent Media Center, Washington Post, 
IPS, Philadelphia Inquirer 


(c) Copyright 2000 Asheville Global Report.
Reprinting for non-profit purposes is permitted: Please credit the source.
³3minor³31³3newauthor³30³3summary³3*³2tscreate³2980765623³2keepts³2980790333³2id³21108³2host³2dsl081-018-202-sea1.dsl-isp.net³2revision³24³1username³2JimboWales³2name³2text_default³2version³21³2ts³2980790333³2ip³2216.7.146.114³2data³2newauthor³31³3minor³30³3text³3I believe, but will wait for discussion, that this article should
be removed from the wikipedia.  My reason is this:

When you click 'submit', you are agreeing to release the text under the GNU FDL.  But this reprinting disclaimer doesn't give all the freedom that the FDL gives.  Therefore, while it is o.k. for the moment, since this wikipedia doesn't have any 
ads on it, it is not o.k. in the long run, because this wikipedia database is intended to be made available for download under an FDL license. --JimboWales


'''Bush inauguration meets resistance'''

http://www.agrnews.org/issues/106/J20%201.GIF

''Protesters confront police in Washington, DC on Saturday, Jan. 20. ''

By Eamon Martin

'''Washington, DC, Jan. 20- '''As the pomp and circumstance 
of President George W. Bush's inauguration attempted to forcibly 
transcend the domestic instability left in the wake of what 
may be the most contentious election in US history, approximately 
20,000 people gathered in the nation's capital to protest.

Bush, the first President in more than a century to lose the 
national popular vote, took the oath of office as president 
of the United States, pledging to "unite" the country which 
the November elections showed to be deeply divided, along cultural, 
geographic, and ethnic lines. For a large percentage of the 
US public, the presidency is deeply mired in a crisis of legitimacy 
by numerous allegations of vote fraud, voter disenfranchisement, 
and the controversial Supreme Court decision that halted the 
vote count on a legal technicality. For the many who came to 
demonstrate from as many as forty US states, a Bush/Cheney White 
House represents nothing less than a debasement of democracy, 
a Republican coup d'etat with a suitably incompetent figurehead 
for a puppet regime.

Despite a relentless, cold rain and unprecedented security 
restrictions for demonstrators, widespread feelings of outrage 
and contempt for the incoming administration were literally 
overwhelming for many of those in attendance. The day saw numerous 
marches, assemblies, street theater performances, and confrontations 
between police and protesters that have since drawn concern 
from media analysts, given the dramatic scope of the activities 
and - in many cases - their subsequent, mysterious absence from 
most news reports. Demonstrators were evident on every block 
of the 1.6-mile inaugural parade route, and on some blocks on 
the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue, they outnumbered other 
paradegoers.

The day began early for protesters, who were in the streets 
well before Bush supporters. At 8:30am, a few hundred met at 
12th and G streets NW, then marched to 14th Street and Pennsylvania 
Avenue, to the beat of homemade drums.

A boisterous crowd of more than 1,000 assembled at Dupont 
Circle just before 10 am, chastising Bush for "stealing" the 
election. At 10:30, city crews arrived to cut an effigy of Bush 
from a tree. Speaker Patricia Ireland, president of the National 
Organization for Women, told the crowd: "Let them have the tree. 
We have all of Dupont Circle and we have the whole country. 
They just have the White House." 

Meanwhile, near the Supreme Court, Al Sharpton, Walter E. Fauntroy 
and other civil rights activists were holding a "shadow" inauguration 
and parade, attended by over 2,000 people. Laura Brightman of 
Brooklyn, NY commented, "We were sold out," as others around 
her chanted, "No justice, no peace." 

"And when we tried to get justice [from the Supreme Court] 
we were sold again," said Brightman. "The election was stolen." 


At the Supreme Court building, Rudy Arredondo of Takoma Park, 
Md., put it this way: "Bush is a Supreme Court appointee. In 
my eyes, and in my children's eyes, he will never be a legitimate 
president."

'''Anarchists destroy inaugural checkpoint, hoist flag: media 
blackout '''

http://www.agrnews.org/issues/106/J20%2088.GIF
''Black bloc activists build a barricade in the streets of Washingtoon, DC.''

Notably ignored by the mainstream press, radical activists 
made anarchist history during George W. Bush's inaugural parade 
when one of nine police checkpoints to the celebration was battered 
down and overrun with thousands of protesters. Not long after, 
protesters -- led by the masked, black-clad, anarchist collective 
known as the "Black Bloc" -- seized the Naval Memorial on Pennsylvania 
Ave. and raised anarchist flags up the monument's flagpole. 
Overwhelmed by the security breach, DC police and Secret Service 
appeared confused, powerless, and embarrassed as they tried 
to contain, arrest, or disperse the demonstrators, only to fail 
time and time again when Black Bloc members physically fought 
back and successfully prevented almost any such police retaliation 
from happening.

In the weeks leading up to Bush's inaugural moment, the "historically 
unprecedented" security measures being undertaken by the Republican 
Party in tandem with DC police and the US Secret Service received 
extensive attention in the news media. For the first time ever, 
anyone wishing to attend the inaugural parade was required to 
pass through one of nine police checkpoints, have their bags 
searched, and in some cases be frisked and have protest signs 
confiscated. 

"He stole the vote," said Ethyl Tobch, 79, of New York City. 
"The fact that the people's votes were absolutely stolen plus 
the checkpoints are very frightening. It makes you feel like 
you are in a real dictatorship." 
<p>It was a single egg that landed on the presidential motorcade, 
a brief, maybe blurry tele-view of colorful protest signs along 
the parade route. By most news accounts, the protests were an 
inaugural footnote, not worthy of much comment or attention. 
However, for the thousands of people attending the inaugural 
parade who had gathered near the US Naval Memorial, a dramatic, 
captivating spectacle unfolded before them, for many the likes 
of which had never before been seen. As the well-to-do sat perched, 
waiting anxiously in the expensive bleacher seats and hotel 
balconies overlooking the parade for the arrival of the Bush 
motorcade, parade-goers suddenly found themselves in the midst 
of a giant confrontation between police and protesters. 

It began when a march of nearly 600 Black Bloc demonstrators 
began to make its way towards the parade route, leaving a small 
trail of impromptu blockades -- mainly newspaper distributor 
racks and automobiles -- behind them. Soon after, DC police 
appeared and managed to corral against a building wall about 
80 of this group who called themselves the "Revolutionary Anti-Authoritarian 
Bloc." Mass arrests seemed imminent with the police holding 
loads of plastic, "zip-tie" handcuffs and City Transit Authority 
busses parked nearby at the ready for "criminal" mass transit. 
DC Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer said 
the police contingency plan for up to 5,000 arrests involved 
the use of several buses and 180 officers specifically prepared 
for that many cases. All told, about 7,000 officers had been 
deployed from various law enforcement agencies, including US 
Marshals and National Guard troops.

A standoff ensued between the police, spectators, and a groundswell 
of protesters suddenly reinforced by the unexpected arrival 
of a National Organization of Women (NOW) march and a Voter 
Rights march, chanting "Let them go! Let them go!" Hopelessly 
outnumbered, the police eventually complied, freeing the demonstrators 
to continue their protests. 

With protesters now numbering in the 1,500-2,000 range, a massive 
march proceeded to Pennsylvania Ave. Not much later, with the 
reunited Black Bloc at the front, a group of inspired participants 
grabbed a fairly large cart parked in front of a vacant construction 
site.

"What is this?" someone asked.

"It's a battering ram!" another yelled in reply. 

Much to the astonishment of thousands of waiting parade-watchers, 
the construction cart came careening down an overlooking hill, 
crashing through a police checkpoint, only to be stopped from 
going into the parade avenue by a Secret Service car which pulled 
in front of it's path, damaging the federal vehicle in the process. 
The floodgates had been battered open, allowing what from balcony 
seats must have looked like a giant pool of black ink to seep 
into the crowded festivities, followed by a colorful barrage 
of signs proclaiming: "Supreme Coup," "Hail To The Thief," "Not 
Our President" and hundreds more. For all of their elaborate 
preparations, much to their surprise, police and military were 
now confronted with an embarrassingly massive breach of national 
security. 

Shocked Republicans and police watched as, soon after, four 
Black Bloc members scaled the nearby Navy Memorial flagpole 
to the roaring cheers of demonstrators. In little time, the 
Nautical flags were pulled down and replaced by black and red 
anarchist flags, as well as an upside down US flag -- the widely 
recognized symbol of distress. 

Over the next few hours, riot police attempted at least three 
times to rush and disperse those assembled by the monument, 
only to be pushed, fought back, and defeated. Dozens of times, 
without identifying themselves, several undercover police attempted 
to "surprise arrest" demonstrators. Activists responded quickly, 
however, and with little exception, prevented this from happening 
by directly confronting the police, tackling them, fighting 
them, and many times forcibly removing them from the area. 

Meanwhile, the parade had been delayed. When the Bush/Cheney 
motorcade eventually did arrive, the cars abruptly sped by this 
concentrated protest area, forcing the Secret Service chaperones 
to break pace and run full steam to catch up. At this particular 
moment, while food, debris, loud insults, and a sea of hundreds 
of middle fingers were hurled toward the new president, apparently 
several news networks broadcasting live simulcasts, simultaneously 
thought it best to cut to commercial breaks or check in with 
comments from fawning news pundits. 

Most demonstrators in the area soon dispersed afterward, the 
object of their animosity having since passed by in the new 
Cadillac, which featured puncture-proof tires and six-inch-thick 
bulletproof glass.

Of the estimated 350,000 people who came downtown Saturday 
to see the swearing-in ceremony or parade, DC police arrested 
only five, and other law enforcement agencies arrested only 
a handful of others. 

'''Demonstrations nationwide'''

Protests in opposition to what many are characterizing as 
an appointed regime by the US Supreme Court were not limited 
to Washington DC. Thousands of US citizens in over a dozen cities 
such as San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Austin, Tallahassee, 
New York, Montpelier, Santa Fe, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland 
and others protested the inauguration. According to the Independent 
Media Center, thousands of protesters took over part of downtown 
San Fransisco, stopping cable cars. 3,500 demonstrated in Los 
Angeles. Even Paris, France saw thousands of demonstrators against 
the death penalty protest the swearing-in of the new US President. 


All around the country, mock coronations of "King George II" 
were staged. In Seattle, an actor dressed in a Revolutionary 
War costume stole the crown from a shrub and offered it to the 
people. The crowd of 3,000 placed the crown at the head of a 
parade. 

Chicago protesters converged on the city's Federal Building. 
Demonstrators protested at the state capitols in Denver, Colorado 
and Montpelier, Vermont. In Albuquerque, New Mexico local TV 
coverage gave more time to local protests than to the Bush ceremonies.

In Austin, Texas, 500 people gathered on the state capitol 
steps. The election "was stolen and it was stolen in Florida. 
I think there should be a revolution in this country on just 
this issue," said Arthur Joe Sr. of Dallas. 

In Asheville, North Carolina, forty-five indignant people braved 
freezing rain to sing, dance and wave signs, to the obvious 
delight of passing motorists, who responded with honks and thumbs 
up. The protest lasted from ten until two o'clock.

AGR staff contributed to this report.

Additional sources: Independent Media Center, Washington Post, 
IPS, Philadelphia Inquirer 


(c) Copyright 2000 Asheville Global Report.
Reprinting for non-profit purposes is permitted: Please credit the source.
³3summary³3I think not...³2tscreate³2980765623³2keepts³2980790422³2id³21025³2host³2office.bomis.com³2revision³25³1username³2JimboWales³2name³2text_default³2version³21³2ts³2980790422³2ip³2216.7.146.114³2data³2text³3I believe, but will wait for discussion, that this article should
be removed from the wikipedia.  My reason is this:

When you click 'submit', you are agreeing to release the text under the GNU FDL.  But this reprinting disclaimer doesn't give all the freedom that the FDL gives.  (For example, you don't have the right to redistribute modified versions, and there is a discrimination against commercial usage -- both restrictions are forbidden under the open source definition.)  

Therefore, while it is o.k. for the moment, since this wikipedia doesn't have any ads on it, it is not o.k. in the long run, because this wikipedia database is intended to be made available for download under an FDL license. --JimboWales


'''Bush inauguration meets resistance'''

http://www.agrnews.org/issues/106/J20%201.GIF

''Protesters confront police in Washington, DC on Saturday, Jan. 20. ''

By Eamon Martin

'''Washington, DC, Jan. 20- '''As the pomp and circumstance 
of President George W. Bush's inauguration attempted to forcibly 
transcend the domestic instability left in the wake of what 
may be the most contentious election in US history, approximately 
20,000 people gathered in the nation's capital to protest.

Bush, the first President in more than a century to lose the 
national popular vote, took the oath of office as president 
of the United States, pledging to "unite" the country which 
the November elections showed to be deeply divided, along cultural, 
geographic, and ethnic lines. For a large percentage of the 
US public, the presidency is deeply mired in a crisis of legitimacy 
by numerous allegations of vote fraud, voter disenfranchisement, 
and the controversial Supreme Court decision that halted the 
vote count on a legal technicality. For the many who came to 
demonstrate from as many as forty US states, a Bush/Cheney White 
House represents nothing less than a debasement of democracy, 
a Republican coup d'etat with a suitably incompetent figurehead 
for a puppet regime.

Despite a relentless, cold rain and unprecedented security 
restrictions for demonstrators, widespread feelings of outrage 
and contempt for the incoming administration were literally 
overwhelming for many of those in attendance. The day saw numerous 
marches, assemblies, street theater performances, and confrontations 
between police and protesters that have since drawn concern 
from media analysts, given the dramatic scope of the activities 
and - in many cases - their subsequent, mysterious absence from 
most news reports. Demonstrators were evident on every block 
of the 1.6-mile inaugural parade route, and on some blocks on 
the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue, they outnumbered other 
paradegoers.

The day began early for protesters, who were in the streets 
well before Bush supporters. At 8:30am, a few hundred met at 
12th and G streets NW, then marched to 14th Street and Pennsylvania 
Avenue, to the beat of homemade drums.

A boisterous crowd of more than 1,000 assembled at Dupont 
Circle just before 10 am, chastising Bush for "stealing" the 
election. At 10:30, city crews arrived to cut an effigy of Bush 
from a tree. Speaker Patricia Ireland, president of the National 
Organization for Women, told the crowd: "Let them have the tree. 
We have all of Dupont Circle and we have the whole country. 
They just have the White House." 

Meanwhile, near the Supreme Court, Al Sharpton, Walter E. Fauntroy 
and other civil rights activists were holding a "shadow" inauguration 
and parade, attended by over 2,000 people. Laura Brightman of 
Brooklyn, NY commented, "We were sold out," as others around 
her chanted, "No justice, no peace." 

"And when we tried to get justice [from the Supreme Court] 
we were sold again," said Brightman. "The election was stolen." 


At the Supreme Court building, Rudy Arredondo of Takoma Park, 
Md., put it this way: "Bush is a Supreme Court appointee. In 
my eyes, and in my children's eyes, he will never be a legitimate 
president."

'''Anarchists destroy inaugural checkpoint, hoist flag: media 
blackout '''

http://www.agrnews.org/issues/106/J20%2088.GIF
''Black bloc activists build a barricade in the streets of Washingtoon, DC.''

Notably ignored by the mainstream press, radical activists 
made anarchist history during George W. Bush's inaugural parade 
when one of nine police checkpoints to the celebration was battered 
down and overrun with thousands of protesters. Not long after, 
protesters -- led by the masked, black-clad, anarchist collective 
known as the "Black Bloc" -- seized the Naval Memorial on Pennsylvania 
Ave. and raised anarchist flags up the monument's flagpole. 
Overwhelmed by the security breach, DC police and Secret Service 
appeared confused, powerless, and embarrassed as they tried 
to contain, arrest, or disperse the demonstrators, only to fail 
time and time again when Black Bloc members physically fought 
back and successfully prevented almost any such police retaliation 
from happening.

In the weeks leading up to Bush's inaugural moment, the "historically 
unprecedented" security measures being undertaken by the Republican 
Party in tandem with DC police and the US Secret Service received 
extensive attention in the news media. For the first time ever, 
anyone wishing to attend the inaugural parade was required to 
pass through one of nine police checkpoints, have their bags 
searched, and in some cases be frisked and have protest signs 
confiscated. 

"He stole the vote," said Ethyl Tobch, 79, of New York City. 
"The fact that the people's votes were absolutely stolen plus 
the checkpoints are very frightening. It makes you feel like 
you are in a real dictatorship." 
<p>It was a single egg that landed on the presidential motorcade, 
a brief, maybe blurry tele-view of colorful protest signs along 
the parade route. By most news accounts, the protests were an 
inaugural footnote, not worthy of much comment or attention. 
However, for the thousands of people attending the inaugural 
parade who had gathered near the US Naval Memorial, a dramatic, 
captivating spectacle unfolded before them, for many the likes 
of which had never before been seen. As the well-to-do sat perched, 
waiting anxiously in the expensive bleacher seats and hotel 
balconies overlooking the parade for the arrival of the Bush 
motorcade, parade-goers suddenly found themselves in the midst 
of a giant confrontation between police and protesters. 

It began when a march of nearly 600 Black Bloc demonstrators 
began to make its way towards the parade route, leaving a small 
trail of impromptu blockades -- mainly newspaper distributor 
racks and automobiles -- behind them. Soon after, DC police 
appeared and managed to corral against a building wall about 
80 of this group who called themselves the "Revolutionary Anti-Authoritarian 
Bloc." Mass arrests seemed imminent with the police holding 
loads of plastic, "zip-tie" handcuffs and City Transit Authority 
busses parked nearby at the ready for "criminal" mass transit. 
DC Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer said 
the police contingency plan for up to 5,000 arrests involved 
the use of several buses and 180 officers specifically prepared 
for that many cases. All told, about 7,000 officers had been 
deployed from various law enforcement agencies, including US 
Marshals and National Guard troops.

A standoff ensued between the police, spectators, and a groundswell 
of protesters suddenly reinforced by the unexpected arrival 
of a National Organization of Women (NOW) march and a Voter 
Rights march, chanting "Let them go! Let them go!" Hopelessly 
outnumbered, the police eventually complied, freeing the demonstrators 
to continue their protests. 

With protesters now numbering in the 1,500-2,000 range, a massive 
march proceeded to Pennsylvania Ave. Not much later, with the 
reunited Black Bloc at the front, a group of inspired participants 
grabbed a fairly large cart parked in front of a vacant construction 
site.

"What is this?" someone asked.

"It's a battering ram!" another yelled in reply. 

Much to the astonishment of thousands of waiting parade-watchers, 
the construction cart came careening down an overlooking hill, 
crashing through a police checkpoint, only to be stopped from 
going into the parade avenue by a Secret Service car which pulled 
in front of it's path, damaging the federal vehicle in the process. 
The floodgates had been battered open, allowing what from balcony 
seats must have looked like a giant pool of black ink to seep 
into the crowded festivities, followed by a colorful barrage 
of signs proclaiming: "Supreme Coup," "Hail To The Thief," "Not 
Our President" and hundreds more. For all of their elaborate 
preparations, much to their surprise, police and military were 
now confronted with an embarrassingly massive breach of national 
security. 

Shocked Republicans and police watched as, soon after, four 
Black Bloc members scaled the nearby Navy Memorial flagpole 
to the roaring cheers of demonstrators. In little time, the 
Nautical flags were pulled down and replaced by black and red 
anarchist flags, as well as an upside down US flag -- the widely 
recognized symbol of distress. 

Over the next few hours, riot police attempted at least three 
times to rush and disperse those assembled by the monument, 
only to be pushed, fought back, and defeated. Dozens of times, 
without identifying themselves, several undercover police attempted 
to "surprise arrest" demonstrators. Activists responded quickly, 
however, and with little exception, prevented this from happening 
by directly confronting the police, tackling them, fighting 
them, and many times forcibly removing them from the area. 

Meanwhile, the parade had been delayed. When the Bush/Cheney 
motorcade eventually did arrive, the cars abruptly sped by this 
concentrated protest area, forcing the Secret Service chaperones 
to break pace and run full steam to catch up. At this particular 
moment, while food, debris, loud insults, and a sea of hundreds 
of middle fingers were hurled toward the new president, apparently 
several news networks broadcasting live simulcasts, simultaneously 
thought it best to cut to commercial breaks or check in with 
comments from fawning news pundits. 

Most demonstrators in the area soon dispersed afterward, the 
object of their animosity having since passed by in the new 
Cadillac, which featured puncture-proof tires and six-inch-thick 
bulletproof glass.

Of the estimated 350,000 people who came downtown Saturday 
to see the swearing-in ceremony or parade, DC police arrested 
only five, and other law enforcement agencies arrested only 
a handful of others. 

'''Demonstrations nationwide'''

Protests in opposition to what many are characterizing as 
an appointed regime by the US Supreme Court were not limited 
to Washington DC. Thousands of US citizens in over a dozen cities 
such as San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Austin, Tallahassee, 
New York, Montpelier, Santa Fe, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland 
and others protested the inauguration. According to the Independent 
Media Center, thousands of protesters took over part of downtown 
San Fransisco, stopping cable cars. 3,500 demonstrated in Los 
Angeles. Even Paris, France saw thousands of demonstrators against 
the death penalty protest the swearing-in of the new US President. 


All around the country, mock coronations of "King George II" 
were staged. In Seattle, an actor dressed in a Revolutionary 
War costume stole the crown from a shrub and offered it to the 
people. The crowd of 3,000 placed the crown at the head of a 
parade. 

Chicago protesters converged on the city's Federal Building. 
Demonstrators protested at the state capitols in Denver, Colorado 
and Montpelier, Vermont. In Albuquerque, New Mexico local TV 
coverage gave more time to local protests than to the Bush ceremonies.

In Austin, Texas, 500 people gathered on the state capitol 
steps. The election "was stolen and it was stolen in Florida. 
I think there should be a revolution in this country on just 
this issue," said Arthur Joe Sr. of Dallas. 

In Asheville, North Carolina, forty-five indignant people braved 
freezing rain to sing, dance and wave signs, to the obvious 
delight of passing motorists, who responded with honks and thumbs 
up. The protest lasted from ten until two o'clock.

AGR staff contributed to this report.

Additional sources: Independent Media Center, Washington Post, 
IPS, Philadelphia Inquirer 


(c) Copyright 2000 Asheville Global Report.
Reprinting for non-profit purposes is permitted: Please credit the source.
³3minor³30³3newauthor³30³3summary³3*³2tscreate³2980765623³2keepts³2980792764³2id³21025³2host³2office.bomis.com³2revision³26³1username³2BryceHarrington³2name³2text_default³2version³21³2ts³2980792764³2ip³264.81.18.202³2data³2newauthor³31³3minor³30³3text³3I believe, but will wait for discussion, that this article should
be removed from the wikipedia.  My reason is this:

When you click 'submit', you are agreeing to release the text under the GNU FDL.  But this reprinting disclaimer doesn't give all the freedom that the FDL gives.  (For example, you don't have the right to redistribute modified versions, and there is a discrimination against commercial usage -- both restrictions are forbidden under the open source definition.)  

Therefore, while it is o.k. for the moment, since this wikipedia doesn't have any ads on it, it is not o.k. in the long run, because this wikipedia database is intended to be made available for download under an FDL license. --JimboWales

''Agreed.  As well, it has a journalistic-bent to it, and so needs to be rewritten into more of an encyclopedic bent.  But I felt the information is important and of current interest.  And since the protests were not covered by traditional media, and thus likely won't show up in mainstream encyclopedias and histories, I wanted to be sure we had *something* relatively detailed on it.  -- BryceHarrington''

----

'''Bush inauguration meets resistance'''

http://www.agrnews.org/issues/106/J20%201.GIF

''Protesters confront police in Washington, DC on Saturday, Jan. 20. ''

By Eamon Martin

'''Washington, DC, Jan. 20- '''As the pomp and circumstance 
of President George W. Bush's inauguration attempted to forcibly 
transcend the domestic instability left in the wake of what 
may be the most contentious election in US history, approximately 
20,000 people gathered in the nation's capital to protest.

Bush, the first President in more than a century to lose the 
national popular vote, took the oath of office as president 
of the United States, pledging to "unite" the country which 
the November elections showed to be deeply divided, along cultural, 
geographic, and ethnic lines. For a large percentage of the 
US public, the presidency is deeply mired in a crisis of legitimacy 
by numerous allegations of vote fraud, voter disenfranchisement, 
and the controversial Supreme Court decision that halted the 
vote count on a legal technicality. For the many who came to 
demonstrate from as many as forty US states, a Bush/Cheney White 
House represents nothing less than a debasement of democracy, 
a Republican coup d'etat with a suitably incompetent figurehead 
for a puppet regime.

Despite a relentless, cold rain and unprecedented security 
restrictions for demonstrators, widespread feelings of outrage 
and contempt for the incoming administration were literally 
overwhelming for many of those in attendance. The day saw numerous 
marches, assemblies, street theater performances, and confrontations 
between police and protesters that have since drawn concern 
from media analysts, given the dramatic scope of the activities 
and - in many cases - their subsequent, mysterious absence from 
most news reports. Demonstrators were evident on every block 
of the 1.6-mile inaugural parade route, and on some blocks on 
the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue, they outnumbered other 
paradegoers.

The day began early for protesters, who were in the streets 
well before Bush supporters. At 8:30am, a few hundred met at 
12th and G streets NW, then marched to 14th Street and Pennsylvania 
Avenue, to the beat of homemade drums.

A boisterous crowd of more than 1,000 assembled at Dupont 
Circle just before 10 am, chastising Bush for "stealing" the 
election. At 10:30, city crews arrived to cut an effigy of Bush 
from a tree. Speaker Patricia Ireland, president of the National 
Organization for Women, told the crowd: "Let them have the tree. 
We have all of Dupont Circle and we have the whole country. 
They just have the White House." 

Meanwhile, near the Supreme Court, Al Sharpton, Walter E. Fauntroy 
and other civil rights activists were holding a "shadow" inauguration 
and parade, attended by over 2,000 people. Laura Brightman of 
Brooklyn, NY commented, "We were sold out," as others around 
her chanted, "No justice, no peace." 

"And when we tried to get justice [from the Supreme Court] 
we were sold again," said Brightman. "The election was stolen." 


At the Supreme Court building, Rudy Arredondo of Takoma Park, 
Md., put it this way: "Bush is a Supreme Court appointee. In 
my eyes, and in my children's eyes, he will never be a legitimate 
president."

'''Anarchists destroy inaugural checkpoint, hoist flag: media 
blackout '''

http://www.agrnews.org/issues/106/J20%2088.GIF
''Black bloc activists build a barricade in the streets of Washingtoon, DC.''

Notably ignored by the mainstream press, radical activists 
made anarchist history during George W. Bush's inaugural parade 
when one of nine police checkpoints to the celebration was battered 
down and overrun with thousands of protesters. Not long after, 
protesters -- led by the masked, black-clad, anarchist collective 
known as the "Black Bloc" -- seized the Naval Memorial on Pennsylvania 
Ave. and raised anarchist flags up the monument's flagpole. 
Overwhelmed by the security breach, DC police and Secret Service 
appeared confused, powerless, and embarrassed as they tried 
to contain, arrest, or disperse the demonstrators, only to fail 
time and time again when Black Bloc members physically fought 
back and successfully prevented almost any such police retaliation 
from happening.

In the weeks leading up to Bush's inaugural moment, the "historically 
unprecedented" security measures being undertaken by the Republican 
Party in tandem with DC police and the US Secret Service received 
extensive attention in the news media. For the first time ever, 
anyone wishing to attend the inaugural parade was required to 
pass through one of nine police checkpoints, have their bags 
searched, and in some cases be frisked and have protest signs 
confiscated. 

"He stole the vote," said Ethyl Tobch, 79, of New York City. 
"The fact that the people's votes were absolutely stolen plus 
the checkpoints are very frightening. It makes you feel like 
you are in a real dictatorship." 
<p>It was a single egg that landed on the presidential motorcade, 
a brief, maybe blurry tele-view of colorful protest signs along 
the parade route. By most news accounts, the protests were an 
inaugural footnote, not worthy of much comment or attention. 
However, for the thousands of people attending the inaugural 
parade who had gathered near the US Naval Memorial, a dramatic, 
captivating spectacle unfolded before them, for many the likes 
of which had never before been seen. As the well-to-do sat perched, 
waiting anxiously in the expensive bleacher seats and hotel 
balconies overlooking the parade for the arrival of the Bush 
motorcade, parade-goers suddenly found themselves in the midst 
of a giant confrontation between police and protesters. 

It began when a march of nearly 600 Black Bloc demonstrators 
began to make its way towards the parade route, leaving a small 
trail of impromptu blockades -- mainly newspaper distributor 
racks and automobiles -- behind them. Soon after, DC police 
appeared and managed to corral against a building wall about 
80 of this group who called themselves the "Revolutionary Anti-Authoritarian 
Bloc." Mass arrests seemed imminent with the police holding 
loads of plastic, "zip-tie" handcuffs and City Transit Authority 
busses parked nearby at the ready for "criminal" mass transit. 
DC Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer said 
the police contingency plan for up to 5,000 arrests involved 
the use of several buses and 180 officers specifically prepared 
for that many cases. All told, about 7,000 officers had been 
deployed from various law enforcement agencies, including US 
Marshals and National Guard troops.

A standoff ensued between the police, spectators, and a groundswell 
of protesters suddenly reinforced by the unexpected arrival 
of a National Organization of Women (NOW) march and a Voter 
Rights march, chanting "Let them go! Let them go!" Hopelessly 
outnumbered, the police eventually complied, freeing the demonstrators 
to continue their protests. 

With protesters now numbering in the 1,500-2,000 range, a massive 
march proceeded to Pennsylvania Ave. Not much later, with the 
reunited Black Bloc at the front, a group of inspired participants 
grabbed a fairly large cart parked in front of a vacant construction 
site.

"What is this?" someone asked.

"It's a battering ram!" another yelled in reply. 

Much to the astonishment of thousands of waiting parade-watchers, 
the construction cart came careening down an overlooking hill, 
crashing through a police checkpoint, only to be stopped from 
going into the parade avenue by a Secret Service car which pulled 
in front of it's path, damaging the federal vehicle in the process. 
The floodgates had been battered open, allowing what from balcony 
seats must have looked like a giant pool of black ink to seep 
into the crowded festivities, followed by a colorful barrage 
of signs proclaiming: "Supreme Coup," "Hail To The Thief," "Not 
Our President" and hundreds more. For all of their elaborate 
preparations, much to their surprise, police and military were 
now confronted with an embarrassingly massive breach of national 
security. 

Shocked Republicans and police watched as, soon after, four 
Black Bloc members scaled the nearby Navy Memorial flagpole 
to the roaring cheers of demonstrators. In little time, the 
Nautical flags were pulled down and replaced by black and red 
anarchist flags, as well as an upside down US flag -- the widely 
recognized symbol of distress. 

Over the next few hours, riot police attempted at least three 
times to rush and disperse those assembled by the monument, 
only to be pushed, fought back, and defeated. Dozens of times, 
without identifying themselves, several undercover police attempted 
to "surprise arrest" demonstrators. Activists responded quickly, 
however, and with little exception, prevented this from happening 
by directly confronting the police, tackling them, fighting 
them, and many times forcibly removing them from the area. 

Meanwhile, the parade had been delayed. When the Bush/Cheney 
motorcade eventually did arrive, the cars abruptly sped by this 
concentrated protest area, forcing the Secret Service chaperones 
to break pace and run full steam to catch up. At this particular 
moment, while food, debris, loud insults, and a sea of hundreds 
of middle fingers were hurled toward the new president, apparently 
several news networks broadcasting live simulcasts, simultaneously 
thought it best to cut to commercial breaks or check in with 
comments from fawning news pundits. 

Most demonstrators in the area soon dispersed afterward, the 
object of their animosity having since passed by in the new 
Cadillac, which featured puncture-proof tires and six-inch-thick 
bulletproof glass.

Of the estimated 350,000 people who came downtown Saturday 
to see the swearing-in ceremony or parade, DC police arrested 
only five, and other law enforcement agencies arrested only 
a handful of others. 

'''Demonstrations nationwide'''

Protests in opposition to what many are characterizing as 
an appointed regime by the US Supreme Court were not limited 
to Washington DC. Thousands of US citizens in over a dozen cities 
such as San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Austin, Tallahassee, 
New York, Montpelier, Santa Fe, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland 
and others protested the inauguration. According to the Independent 
Media Center, thousands of protesters took over part of downtown 
San Fransisco, stopping cable cars. 3,500 demonstrated in Los 
Angeles. Even Paris, France saw thousands of demonstrators against 
the death penalty protest the swearing-in of the new US President. 


All around the country, mock coronations of "King George II" 
were staged. In Seattle, an actor dressed in a Revolutionary 
War costume stole the crown from a shrub and offered it to the 
people. The crowd of 3,000 placed the crown at the head of a 
parade. 

Chicago protesters converged on the city's Federal Building. 
Demonstrators protested at the state capitols in Denver, Colorado 
and Montpelier, Vermont. In Albuquerque, New Mexico local TV 
coverage gave more time to local protests than to the Bush ceremonies.

In Austin, Texas, 500 people gathered on the state capitol 
steps. The election "was stolen and it was stolen in Florida. 
I think there should be a revolution in this country on just 
this issue," said Arthur Joe Sr. of Dallas. 

In Asheville, North Carolina, forty-five indignant people braved 
freezing rain to sing, dance and wave signs, to the obvious 
delight of passing motorists, who responded with honks and thumbs 
up. The protest lasted from ten until two o'clock.

AGR staff contributed to this report.

Additional sources: Independent Media Center, Washington Post, 
IPS, Philadelphia Inquirer 


(c) Copyright 2000 Asheville Global Report.
Reprinting for non-profit purposes is permitted: Please credit the source.
³3summary³3*³2tscreate³2980765623³2keepts³2980885965³2id³21108³2host³2dsl081-018-202-sea1.dsl-isp.net³2revision³27³1username³2³2name³2text_default³2version³21³2ts³2980885965³2ip³2204.210.18.104³2data³2text³3I believe, but will wait for discussion, that this article should
be removed from the wikipedia.  My reason is this:

When you click 'submit', you are agreeing to release the text under the GNU FDL.  But this reprinting disclaimer doesn't give all the freedom that the FDL gives.  (For example, you don't have the right to redistribute modified versions, and there is a discrimination against commercial usage -- both restrictions are forbidden under the open source definition.)  

Therefore, while it is o.k. for the moment, since this wikipedia doesn't have any ads on it, it is not o.k. in the long run, because this wikipedia database is intended to be made available for download under an FDL license. --JimboWales

''Agreed.  As well, it has a journalistic-bent to it, and so needs to be rewritten into more of an encyclopedic bent.  But I felt the information is important and of current interest.  And since the protests were not covered by traditional media, and thus likely won't show up in mainstream encyclopedias and histories, I wanted to be sure we had *something* relatively detailed on it.  -- BryceHarrington''

I have read alternative perspectives on the protests, which pointed out that they were primarily composed of people paid to protest by various special interest groups.  I suppose that point of view should be noted, as well.  -- JimboWales

----

'''Bush inauguration meets resistance'''

http://www.agrnews.org/issues/106/J20%201.GIF

''Protesters confront police in Washington, DC on Saturday, Jan. 20. ''

By Eamon Martin

'''Washington, DC, Jan. 20- '''As the pomp and circumstance 
of President George W. Bush's inauguration attempted to forcibly 
transcend the domestic instability left in the wake of what 
may be the most contentious election in US history, approximately 
20,000 people gathered in the nation's capital to protest.

Bush, the first President in more than a century to lose the 
national popular vote, took the oath of office as president 
of the United States, pledging to "unite" the country which 
the November elections showed to be deeply divided, along cultural, 
geographic, and ethnic lines. For a large percentage of the 
US public, the presidency is deeply mired in a crisis of legitimacy 
by numerous allegations of vote fraud, voter disenfranchisement, 
and the controversial Supreme Court decision that halted the 
vote count on a legal technicality. For the many who came to 
demonstrate from as many as forty US states, a Bush/Cheney White 
House represents nothing less than a debasement of democracy, 
a Republican coup d'etat with a suitably incompetent figurehead 
for a puppet regime.

Despite a relentless, cold rain and unprecedented security 
restrictions for demonstrators, widespread feelings of outrage 
and contempt for the incoming administration were literally 
overwhelming for many of those in attendance. The day saw numerous 
marches, assemblies, street theater performances, and confrontations 
between police and protesters that have since drawn concern 
from media analysts, given the dramatic scope of the activities 
and - in many cases - their subsequent, mysterious absence from 
most news reports. Demonstrators were evident on every block 
of the 1.6-mile inaugural parade route, and on some blocks on 
the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue, they outnumbered other 
paradegoers.

The day began early for protesters, who were in the streets 
well before Bush supporters. At 8:30am, a few hundred met at 
12th and G streets NW, then marched to 14th Street and Pennsylvania 
Avenue, to the beat of homemade drums.

A boisterous crowd of more than 1,000 assembled at Dupont 
Circle just before 10 am, chastising Bush for "stealing" the 
election. At 10:30, city crews arrived to cut an effigy of Bush 
from a tree. Speaker Patricia Ireland, president of the National 
Organization for Women, told the crowd: "Let them have the tree. 
We have all of Dupont Circle and we have the whole country. 
They just have the White House." 

Meanwhile, near the Supreme Court, Al Sharpton, Walter E. Fauntroy 
and other civil rights activists were holding a "shadow" inauguration 
and parade, attended by over 2,000 people. Laura Brightman of 
Brooklyn, NY commented, "We were sold out," as others around 
her chanted, "No justice, no peace." 

"And when we tried to get justice [from the Supreme Court] 
we were sold again," said Brightman. "The election was stolen." 


At the Supreme Court building, Rudy Arredondo of Takoma Park, 
Md., put it this way: "Bush is a Supreme Court appointee. In 
my eyes, and in my children's eyes, he will never be a legitimate 
president."

'''Anarchists destroy inaugural checkpoint, hoist flag: media 
blackout '''

http://www.agrnews.org/issues/106/J20%2088.GIF
''Black bloc activists build a barricade in the streets of Washingtoon, DC.''

Notably ignored by the mainstream press, radical activists 
made anarchist history during George W. Bush's inaugural parade 
when one of nine police checkpoints to the celebration was battered 
down and overrun with thousands of protesters. Not long after, 
protesters -- led by the masked, black-clad, anarchist collective 
known as the "Black Bloc" -- seized the Naval Memorial on Pennsylvania 
Ave. and raised anarchist flags up the monument's flagpole. 
Overwhelmed by the security breach, DC police and Secret Service 
appeared confused, powerless, and embarrassed as they tried 
to contain, arrest, or disperse the demonstrators, only to fail 
time and time again when Black Bloc members physically fought 
back and successfully prevented almost any such police retaliation 
from happening.

In the weeks leading up to Bush's inaugural moment, the "historically 
unprecedented" security measures being undertaken by the Republican 
Party in tandem with DC police and the US Secret Service received 
extensive attention in the news media. For the first time ever, 
anyone wishing to attend the inaugural parade was required to 
pass through one of nine police checkpoints, have their bags 
searched, and in some cases be frisked and have protest signs 
confiscated. 

"He stole the vote," said Ethyl Tobch, 79, of New York City. 
"The fact that the people's votes were absolutely stolen plus 
the checkpoints are very frightening. It makes you feel like 
you are in a real dictatorship." 
<p>It was a single egg that landed on the presidential motorcade, 
a brief, maybe blurry tele-view of colorful protest signs along 
the parade route. By most news accounts, the protests were an 
inaugural footnote, not worthy of much comment or attention. 
However, for the thousands of people attending the inaugural 
parade who had gathered near the US Naval Memorial, a dramatic, 
captivating spectacle unfolded before them, for many the likes 
of which had never before been seen. As the well-to-do sat perched, 
waiting anxiously in the expensive bleacher seats and hotel 
balconies overlooking the parade for the arrival of the Bush 
motorcade, parade-goers suddenly found themselves in the midst 
of a giant confrontation between police and protesters. 

It began when a march of nearly 600 Black Bloc demonstrators 
began to make its way towards the parade route, leaving a small 
trail of impromptu blockades -- mainly newspaper distributor 
racks and automobiles -- behind them. Soon after, DC police 
appeared and managed to corral against a building wall about 
80 of this group who called themselves the "Revolutionary Anti-Authoritarian 
Bloc." Mass arrests seemed imminent with the police holding 
loads of plastic, "zip-tie" handcuffs and City Transit Authority 
busses parked nearby at the ready for "criminal" mass transit. 
DC Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer said 
the police contingency plan for up to 5,000 arrests involved 
the use of several buses and 180 officers specifically prepared 
for that many cases. All told, about 7,000 officers had been 
deployed from various law enforcement agencies, including US 
Marshals and National Guard troops.

A standoff ensued between the police, spectators, and a groundswell 
of protesters suddenly reinforced by the unexpected arrival 
of a National Organization of Women (NOW) march and a Voter 
Rights march, chanting "Let them go! Let them go!" Hopelessly 
outnumbered, the police eventually complied, freeing the demonstrators 
to continue their protests. 

With protesters now numbering in the 1,500-2,000 range, a massive 
march proceeded to Pennsylvania Ave. Not much later, with the 
reunited Black Bloc at the front, a group of inspired participants 
grabbed a fairly large cart parked in front of a vacant construction 
site.

"What is this?" someone asked.

"It's a battering ram!" another yelled in reply. 

Much to the astonishment of thousands of waiting parade-watchers, 
the construction cart came careening down an overlooking hill, 
crashing through a police checkpoint, only to be stopped from 
going into the parade avenue by a Secret Service car which pulled 
in front of it's path, damaging the federal vehicle in the process. 
The floodgates had been battered open, allowing what from balcony 
seats must have looked like a giant pool of black ink to seep 
into the crowded festivities, followed by a colorful barrage 
of signs proclaiming: "Supreme Coup," "Hail To The Thief," "Not 
Our President" and hundreds more. For all of their elaborate 
preparations, much to their surprise, police and military were 
now confronted with an embarrassingly massive breach of national 
security. 

Shocked Republicans and police watched as, soon after, four 
Black Bloc members scaled the nearby Navy Memorial flagpole 
to the roaring cheers of demonstrators. In little time, the 
Nautical flags were pulled down and replaced by black and red 
anarchist flags, as well as an upside down US flag -- the widely 
recognized symbol of distress. 

Over the next few hours, riot police attempted at least three 
times to rush and disperse those assembled by the monument, 
only to be pushed, fought back, and defeated. Dozens of times, 
without identifying themselves, several undercover police attempted 
to "surprise arrest" demonstrators. Activists responded quickly, 
however, and with little exception, prevented this from happening 
by directly confronting the police, tackling them, fighting 
them, and many times forcibly removing them from the area. 

Meanwhile, the parade had been delayed. When the Bush/Cheney 
motorcade eventually did arrive, the cars abruptly sped by this 
concentrated protest area, forcing the Secret Service chaperones 
to break pace and run full steam to catch up. At this particular 
moment, while food, debris, loud insults, and a sea of hundreds 
of middle fingers were hurled toward the new president, apparently 
several news networks broadcasting live simulcasts, simultaneously 
thought it best to cut to commercial breaks or check in with 
comments from fawning news pundits. 

Most demonstrators in the area soon dispersed afterward, the 
object of their animosity having since passed by in the new 
Cadillac, which featured puncture-proof tires and six-inch-thick 
bulletproof glass.

Of the estimated 350,000 people who came downtown Saturday 
to see the swearing-in ceremony or parade, DC police arrested 
only five, and other law enforcement agencies arrested only 
a handful of others. 

'''Demonstrations nationwide'''

Protests in opposition to what many are characterizing as 
an appointed regime by the US Supreme Court were not limited 
to Washington DC. Thousands of US citizens in over a dozen cities 
such as San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Austin, Tallahassee, 
New York, Montpelier, Santa Fe, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland 
and others protested the inauguration. According to the Independent 
Media Center, thousands of protesters took over part of downtown 
San Fransisco, stopping cable cars. 3,500 demonstrated in Los 
Angeles. Even Paris, France saw thousands of demonstrators against 
the death penalty protest the swearing-in of the new US President. 


All around the country, mock coronations of "King George II" 
were staged. In Seattle, an actor dressed in a Revolutionary 
War costume stole the crown from a shrub and offered it to the 
people. The crowd of 3,000 placed the crown at the head of a 
parade. 

Chicago protesters converged on the city's Federal Building. 
Demonstrators protested at the state capitols in Denver, Colorado 
and Montpelier, Vermont. In Albuquerque, New Mexico local TV 
coverage gave more time to local protests than to the Bush ceremonies.

In Austin, Texas, 500 people gathered on the state capitol 
steps. The election "was stolen and it was stolen in Florida. 
I think there should be a revolution in this country on just 
this issue," said Arthur Joe Sr. of Dallas. 

In Asheville, North Carolina, forty-five indignant people braved 
freezing rain to sing, dance and wave signs, to the obvious 
delight of passing motorists, who responded with honks and thumbs 
up. The protest lasted from ten until two o'clock.

AGR staff contributed to this report.

Additional sources: Independent Media Center, Washington Post, 
IPS, Philadelphia Inquirer 


(c) Copyright 2000 Asheville Global Report.
Reprinting for non-profit purposes is permitted: Please credit the source.
³3minor³30³3newauthor³31³3summary³3*³2tscreate³2980765623³2keepts³2980888319³2id³2111³2host³2dt012n68.san.rr.com³2revision³28³1username³2BryceHarrington³2name³2text_default³2version³21³2ts³2980888319³2ip³263.85.63.20³2data³2newauthor³31³3minor³30³3text³3I believe, but will wait for discussion, that this article should
be removed from the wikipedia.

I have read alternative perspectives on the protests, which pointed out that they were primarily composed of people paid to protest by various special interest groups.  I suppose that point of view should be noted, as well.  -- JimboWales

(Article about protests deleted)
³3summary³3Article about protests deleted³2tscreate³2980765623³2keepts³2980895061³2id³21108³2host³2gkca-public.discoverbrokerage.com³2revision³29