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News :: Protest Activity |
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RNC Protest is Largest Ever |
Current rating: 0 |
by Darrin Drda
Email: d_drda (nospam) hotmail.com (unverified!) |
29 Aug 2004
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Depending on who you ask, the protests in NYC in the run-up to the Republican National Convention have been attended by thousands, tens of thousands, or maybe hundreds of thousands of people. But there seems to be universal agreement that the demonstration is the largest ever against a national political convention. |
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During and after every political demonstration of appreciable size, media outlets rarely agree on the numbers, often submitting vastly different and sometimes conflicting reports on the size of a given gathering. An oft-cited and logical reason for this is the difficulty of obtaining an accurate head count in a massive and moving crowd, although it’s hard to believe that police and intelligence agencies don’t have the ability to make accurate estimates, even if their policy in recent years has been to keep such information to themselves. This leaves the guestimation up to individual reporters and their editors, whose own political leanings often lead them to use numbers that conform to the version of reality they prefer, most often deflating the size of a political event in order to downplay its importance or to marginalize dissent.
Depending on who you ask, the protests in NYC in the run-up to the Republican National Convention have been attended by thousands, tens of thousands, or maybe hundreds of thousands of people. But there seems to be universal agreement that the demonstration is the largest ever against a national political convention.
Below is a series of links to articles about the RNC protests from major media outlets, with differing crowd estimates.
HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS:
Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=6097298
New Zealand Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3587914&thesection=news&thesubsection=world&thesecondsubsection=&reportID=1162625
OVER 200,000:
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45145-2004Aug29.html
OVER 100,000:
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-08-29-convention-protests_x.htm
Boston Herald
http://news.bostonherald.com/election/view.bg?articleid=41932
TENS of THOUSANDS:
CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/08/29/gop.main/index.html
NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/29/politics/campaign/29CND-PORT.html
Voice of America
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=87D0A6D7-3FD9-4437-9931A461E36B9BD1&title=Tens%20of%20Thousands%20Protest%20Republican%20Convention
SF Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/08/29/politics1405EDT0527.DTL
Houston Chronicle
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2767162
Telegraph (UK)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/08/30/wus30.xml&sSheet=/portal/2004/08/30/ixportaltop.html
THOUSANDS
ABC News ("Tens of thousands" in 1st paragraph)
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20040829_1502.html
Miami Herald
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/politics/9531326.htm
Bloomberg
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aFGCbYh2zlBE&refer=us |
This work is in the public domain. |
Comments
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Re: RNC Protest is Largest Ever |
by Robert Dunn
prorobert8 (nospam) hotmail.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
29 Aug 2004
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why wasn't anyone outside of Boston protesting the DNC? Oh, I get it, Republicans are evil and Democrats are saints. Get real. The more you leftists make this election into "Anything but Bush," the more you will help Bush win by a landslide. I see a repeat of 84 Reagan/Mondale with every leftist proclaiming that Reagan was either stupid or the most evil person in the world. Twenty years later, the same goes for Bush. If the Republicans are so stupid, why do they win in election after election. Why do you leftists assume you are speaking for the majority of Americans? Guess what, you don't. You are the pampered elites who think the average American is a stupid hick and you are so enlightened with your snobbery to those dumb religious meat eating, SUV driving, Republican voting hillbillies otherwise known as the American public.
Thanks for guaranteeing us that we will have four more years of a President fighting to preserve our liberties and opportunities. |
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Re: RNC Protest is Largest Ever |
by me
rsd220 (nospam) nyu.edu (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
30 Aug 2004
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Re: last comment.
I would like to quote my highschool economics teacher:
Once the rupublicans hold office you need the democrats to come in and fix things. . .
while there are serious issues concerning our voting system -- you are a dumbass for assuming that the republicans win election after election -- where have you bin?
the power of the people won't stop... get used to it!!! |
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Re: RNC Protest is Largest Ever |
by Thy Hair God
tellyoulies (nospam) yippie.zzn.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
30 Aug 2004
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Robert Dunn is absolutely right. Kerry is much worse than Bush for this country, in the fact that he can put together coherent sentences. This country is doomed if either of those two win. |
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Re: RNC Protest is Largest Ever |
by aepelbaum
aepelbaum (nospam) yahoo.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
30 Aug 2004
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I haven't been in this country during Reagan times, but I don't believe very much in the force of protests and protesters, especially in violent protests. However, the reign of Bush has been organized disaster, organized horror, and besides very unitelligent, and not progressive one. So, I think that Bush and Republicans shall lose this election, IN SPITE OF THIS INTENSIVE PROTESTING MOVEMENT. |
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Re: RNC Protest is Largest Ever |
by aepelbaum
aepelbaum (nospam) yahoo.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
30 Aug 2004
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I am sure that Kerry is not the only alternative for Bush currently but also the very good one. Kerry seems to be intelligent, brave abd compassioned. I am also sure that a lot of people who are behind this protest demonstrations currently would do ANYTHING to prevent Dems ticket victory, hoping to win themselves four years later (I am talking now about Hillary Clinton).
To drive the disorder to the extreme always helps the ruling party to keep power, no matter how terrible the reign of this rulling party was and is.
Nevertheless, I am still sure that Kerry/Edwards victory would happen , in spite of the essential efforts of Clinton wing of Democrats and their supporters, who are doing everything possible and impossible to prevent it ! |
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Re: RNC Protest is Largest Ever |
by NRA4Freedom
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
30 Aug 2004
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I will say, I certainly did enjoy watching the protesters on Cspan! |
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Re: RNC Protest is Largest Ever |
by 5
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
30 Aug 2004
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I have to agree. The march on C-SPAN was quite riveting. Soooo many people, so many issues.
I found it quite sad that the rest of the media didn't cover the march that much. Only C-SPAN and indymedia. Good thing for indymedia. |
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Re: RNC Protest is Largest Ever |
by Darrin
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
31 Aug 2004
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Since writing this, I've heard crowd estimates as high as "over 500,000". |
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Re: RNC Protest is Largest Ever |
by Darrin
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
31 Aug 2004
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By the way, that's 100 times the number of Republican delegates. |
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Re: RNC Protest is Largest Ever |
by ink
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
01 Sep 2004
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for the violent protest opinion: now, i cannot by any means disagree with your personal opinion that violent protests are unfavorable. however, that does not mean they are ineffective and banal. it is only recently, with our weaponized forces and technological surveillance, that protests have lost a lot of their power. yes the power of the people won't stop, and on a greater scale i personally see that as life itself, but in america today, the power of the people is being put in a pen. what is the power, exactly, that is not stopping, when we can walk only from point a to point b, only with a permit, only if they allow your certain group a permit (which very often they dont), only if you are going to be surveilled and potentially prisioned, harassed, raped, and beaten for walking this straight line they allot, only only only. i sound angry. i know the power is in our breaths, the power is in our voices, the power is in our hearts, but if you look historically, violent 'mobs' have done some good. take the boston tea party, speaking of democrats, or can we say, people power, coming in and fixing things. that was another violent mob angry at the tea politics. i suggest you start researching the history of protests, and read a variety of sources, not just the ones espousing what you think sounds true, and i'm not saying you have to change your opinion or personal decision to or not to participate in a violent protest, but i dont think being on a high horse and criticizinng other's efforts (which may actually do some good in 'fixing' things) is a productive stance.
for the bush is unintelligent and more statements: now, he as a person may very well be unintelligent, but the increases in control, however blantant, have succeeded. i dont think it's a question of who is right or wrong or smart or not, but what is happening in this case. our rights are being stripped, surveillance is peaking, and the faith that you have that just because the bush regime is not 'progressive' means it will surely not prevail is just plain blind. there is no reason to have faith in this government. he did not win the first time, african americans were disenfranchised in the south, ballots from the military were forged and taken post their deadlines, along with the whole florida fiasco that was blown up, perhaps to take attention away from the rights infringements and illegality overall of the election process. i dont know where your faith comes from, unless it's your middle school teachers. there is a difference between "wanting" it to work and it actually working. this system does not work. this system is not a democracy. if you're talking about being uneducated, then i suggest you read some books that talk about this subject, there are current arguements about all of this not just from anarkist types but also from harvard professors and the more annointed intellectuals.
the democrats are not going to do anything. kery does not oppose the war. i dont know when you went to high school, but for me it was during the clinton administration, and i dont remember if you recall the fevered rush of "we're goign to war" after he had been caught in the whole monica thing, what was that? oh yes, he gets caught up in that and then he goes and bombs civilians in defenseless countries. i agree iwth dunn, democrats are no saints either. this is dangerous, this is all very dangerous, this blind faith in a non-existant democracy.
after all of that, i'm sorry for the hostile tones. i think faith in the good of people or anything is beautiful, albeit blind, and it's terribly sad that this faith is unfounded. i do want to say that if we want anything to change, we have to stop dividing ourselves. it's not about whether i'm right or you're right, and this election malay is diverting our attention from the people that need us most. we need to help each other, we need to feed each other, we need to work together and join together and stop attacking each other and work on making the changes in our own lives. perhaps you're already doing this, i try to do more of it everyday. i do not disrespect anyone's opinions, and my comment has been somewhat directed towards one other commenter, i know we all have our battles. let's work on the present, not the future, and let's trust ourselves, not someone with money and a title.
the rich make their own rules, democracy being one of them, the democracy being in the pretense that no rules have been made. let's remember what democracy is suppossed to stand for, govenment for hte people, by the people, and fair. the government is none of these things, let's do it on our own. |
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Re: RNC Protest is Largest Ever |
by running dog
bethemedia(at)alliedaccess.net (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
03 Sep 2004
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Here's a link (and the graf) to another NYTimes article basically confirming UFPJ's estimate of a half-million marchers on Sunday, psuedo-backed up by NYPD, for whatever that's worth.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/30/politics/campaign/30protest.html?pagewanted=all
[from the NYT] . . "The protest organizer, United for Peace and Justice, estimated the crowd at 500,000, rivaling a 1982 antinuclear rally in Central Park, and double the number it had predicted. It was, at best, a rough estimate. The Police Department, as is customary, offered no official estimate, but one officer in touch with the police command center at Madison Square Garden agreed that the crowd appeared to be close to a half-million." |
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