Bush not Welcome in Chicago-eyewitness report.

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report Friday July 07, 2006 23:07 by Chris Bond - Labour youth/DSA (Socialist international) (pers cap) chrbond at gmail dot com Chicago, Illinois

Over 1000 people took to the streets of chicago today to protest against the visit of the worlds biggest war mongerer U.S. President George W Bush

The demo took place outside the drake hotel on Michigan avenue, where bush was addressing a fundraiser for Judy Baar Topinka the Republican candidate for governer of Illinois. The protest consisted of a broad coalition of anti war protesters, labor activists, LGBT rights campaigners pro choice and immigrant rights groups and included many speakers. The protestors registered their disgust at Bush's appauling record both at home and abroad. A speaker on behalf of the palestinian delegate slammed the bush administration over its support for Israel and criticised the U.S. media for giving excessive coverage to the recent caputure of an israeli solider yet turning a blind eye to the atrocities visited on innocent palestinians by isreal. A trade union activist accused bush of hypocracy over the concept of freedom and democracy he claimed that bush is always using the rhetoric of ''freedom and democracy'' to justify the war in iraq yet the function of democracy is denied at home as the bush administration and their friends in corporate america are preventing both U.S. and iraqi workers from organising in unions. Bush also came under fire for his record on LGBT rights, a speaker accused him of using homophobia for political opportunism. The ''opposition'' in the US were not spared from criticism either, Illinois Governer Rod Blagojevich (D) was slammed for refusing to support gay civil unions as were Both Illinois Senators Richard Durbin (D) and Barack Obama (D). The protest today was a good testiment to the fact that resistance to Bush, war, imperialism and attacks on standards of living are very much alive in the U.S. The struggle is global, the struggle continues.