Help wanted!

I have a problem — two, actually — and I need your help.

It was reported in today’s edition of The Age (Protesters mark anniversary of Iraq war, AFP, March 21, 2010) that:

Thousands of anti-war protesters took to the streets of the US capital on Saturday, on the seventh anniversary of the US-led war in Iraq in a show of frustration widely ignored by the media and public.

As the National Marathon wound down in the city, protesters gathered outside the White House after midday, bearing signs alluding to the high cost of the war both in money and human lives and decrying the use of unmanned aircraft, or drones, to bomb US enemies.

My problem is that I can recall George II celebrating May Day in 2003 by declaring “In the Battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed”. In other words, Liberty Defended / Peace Established / Iraq Freed / War Over / Mission Accomplished.

So.

Why Iraq Veterans Against The War?

My second problem is finding out what happened in Bolton on Caturday. According to the BBC, “More than 1,500 UAF and 2,000 EDL supporters were in Victoria Square and a number of people were injured”. Dozens were arrested, including members of the SWP/UAF leadership. According to one sauce: “Anti-fascist protesters emerged victorious on Saturday after holding Bolton’s central Victoria Square against the racists from the English Defence League. But mainstream national media reports are presenting it as a contest between two violent groups – and blaming the anti-fascists for the violence…”

So.

What was the final score?

    Thank you for serving our country and our cause. May God bless you all, and may God continue to bless America.

About @ndy

I live in Melbourne, Australia. I like anarchy. I don't like nazis. I enjoy eating pizza and drinking beer. I barrack for the greatest football team on Earth: Collingwood Magpies. The 2024 premiership's a cakewalk for the good old Collingwood.
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7 Responses to Help wanted!

  1. Dr. Cam says:

    Approx. 55 UAF arrested VS. approx. 9 EDL arrested. No word on which side got the most scraped knees though. How can we derive a score without all of the FACTS?

  2. Dr. Cam says:

    There is also a picture of a participant in The Age today, and it is VERY unclear which side he is on.

  3. Peaces N' Dreams says:

    Anti-fascists are only around to “gang attack” people and be thugs.

    Both anti-fascists and Skinheads (mostly) are pussys, be it killing two skinheads at a train station in Russia or beating a homeless black man to death in America, it is both retarded and I don’t support it one bit.

    You shouldn’t either.

  4. Robert says:

    Man at pub ‘stabbed by league supporters’

    A MAN was stabbed in the shoulder with a “cut-throat” blade after trying to stop his friend being attacked by alleged supporters of the English Defence League who had earlier been protesting in Bolton.

  5. @ndy says:

    EDL declare victory:

    EDL in Bolton: Another Victory for Freedom
    March 20, 2010

    The English Defence League (EDL) now has two successful peaceful demonstrations, London and Bolton, under its belt. Its new stewarding system has worked well, and relations between EDL members and the police has, overall it would appear, been excellent. There were many friendly conversations between EDL members and the ‘boys in blue’ and good banter. I even witnessed a conversation between an EDL member and a Policeman who had discovered a can of Stella amongst the EDL member’s possessions at Manchester Piccadilly railway station. The Policeman explained that he would have to dispose of the offending alcohol and there was even good banter and understanding between them when he proceeded to pour the offending liquid onto the side of the railway…

    SWP/UAF declare victory:

    EDL racists are forced to back off in Bolton
    Socialist Worker
    March 23, 2010

    — also —

    After Bolton: Where next for anti-fascism?
    Now let’s stop the EDL in Dudley on 3 April

  6. @ndy says:

    More blah from the Morning Star

    Fascism and the ballot box
    Jim Jepps
    March 23, 2010

    The news that leading Unite Against Fascism (UAF) activist Weyman Bennett, along with dozens of other anti-fascists, was arrested [but not, as yet, charged] at the weekend protesting against the far-right English Defence League (EDL) raises even more sharply what the left’s response to this rising threat should be.

    For the first time since the 1970s[?], the far-right has a visible street presence in the form of the EDL. This means the tasks of yesterday are still the same today – ensuring that wherever the far-right goes to create divisions within our communities the left is there to show that its brand of hatred is not welcome.

    Once again this means that the police, who seem to find playing a neutral role in these affairs difficult, are all too often a problem in tackling far-right violence rather than part of the solution.

    However, while the EDL proves there are enough football hooligans and racist goons to form a travelling army of idiocy around the country, the way we deal with it has to be quite different from the more pressing threat of the fascist electoral wing, the BNP.

    While the EDL thrives on confrontation, the BNP rarely gives the left the opportunity for set-piece battles.

    It did not win dozens of councillors and two MEPs through marches and big public meetings that we could picket. It actively avoided them. The fact is that the BNP cannot be beaten at the ballot box through street mobilisations.

    With the election just weeks away, it’s worth looking at how the left should tackle the BNP…

    See also : Manchester UAF. On EDL and BNP: Businessman bankrolls ‘street army’, Nick Lowles.

    The major left-wing alternative to Labour at the next UK election would appear to be TUSC (and also RESPECT).

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