Thread: BRAZIL POLICE BATTLE BUSH PROTESTERS

Brazil Police Battle Bush Protesters


Brazilian Policemen beat a protester during a march against U.S. President George W. Bush in Sao Paulo, Thursday, March 8, 2007. Bush will visit Brazil March 8-9.


By STAN LEHMAN

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Police clashed Thursday with Brazilians protesting a visit by President Bush and his push for an ethanol energy alliance, while dozens of students in Colombia showed their opposition by lobbing rocks and explosives at authorities.

Violence in Sao Paulo took place several hours before Bush arrived in South America's largest city on the first stop of his five-nation Latin America tour.

More than 6,000 students, environmentalists and left-leaning Brazilians held a largely peaceful march through the financial heart of Brazil before police fired tear gas at protesters and beat them with batons. Hundreds fled and ducked into businesses to avoid the chaos, some of them bloodied.


Authorities did not immediately report any injuries, but Brazilian media said at least six people were hurt and news photographs showed injured people being carried away.

Protesters said scuffles broke out when some radical demonstrators provoked officers and threw sticks at them _ but said police overreacted. A police officer who declined to give his name in keeping with department policy confirmed that extremists appeared to cause the confrontations.

After the clash, the protest continued peacefully but with far fewer people. The marchers waved communist flags and railed against Bush, the war in Iraq and the ethanol proposal. Almost all had departed by sundown and streets were calm several hours later when Bush arrived in Sao Paulo.

In the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre, more than 500 people yelled "Get Out, Imperialist!" as they marched to a Citigroup Inc. bank branch and burned an effigy of Bush. Protesters also targeted the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro, splattering it with bright red paint meant to signify blood.

In Colombia, about 200 masked students at Bogota's National University clashed with 300 anti-riot police carrying shields and helmets, spray-painting anti-U.S. slogans on walls and shouting "Out Bush!"

Police fired water cannons and tear gas, and the students hurled back rocks, fireworks, a few Molotov cocktails and dozens of "potato bombs" _ small explosives made of gunpowder wrapped in foil. There were no immediate reports of injuries or arrests.

The Colombian demonstrators called for the scuttling of a U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement signed in November and currently stalled in U.S. Congress, and accused Washington of meddling in the South American nation's internal affairs by sending some $700 million a year in mostly military aid.

Colombia is beefing up security in the capital for Bush's visit Sunday, the first by a sitting U.S. president since Ronald Reagan in 1982. About 21,000 security agents will patrol the capital.

Meanwhile, Colombia's police chief said authorities have foiled leftist rebel plans for terrorist acts to disrupt Bush's visit, but offered no details.

Asked about the protests, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Bush "enjoys traveling to thriving democracies where freedom of speech and expression are the law of the land. He has a positive agenda here that we believe the people of Brazil and the rest of the Americas will benefit from."

Some protesters in Brazil carried stalks of sugarcane _ which is used to make ethanol _ and a banner reading: "For every liter of ethanol produced, 4 liters of fresh water are consumed, monoculture is destroying the nation's greatest asset."

"Bush and the United States go to war to control oil reserves, and now Bush and his pals are trying to control the production of ethanol in Brazil. And that has to be stopped," said Suzanne Pereira dos Santos of Brazil's Landless Workers Movement.

Activists from the environmental group Greenpeace warned that increased ethanol production could lead to further clearing of the Amazon rain forest as well as cause social unrest, since most sugarcane-ethanol operations are run by wealthy families or corporations that reap most of the benefits while the poor are left to cut the cane with machetes.

Bush has spoken approvingly of Brazil's ethanol program, which powers eight out of every 10 new cars. The proposed accord is meant to help turn ethanol into an internationally traded commodity and to promote sugarcane-based ethanol production in Central America and the Caribbean.

Brazil is mounting what has been described as its biggest security effort ever in Sao Paulo. About 4,000 agents _ including Brazilian troops and FBI and U.S. Secret Service officers _ will be on hand during Bush's almost 24-hour visit.

Graffiti reading "Get Out, Bush! Assassin!" appeared on walls near locations in Brazil where Bush will drive past on his tour, which also includes stops in Uruguay, Guatemala and Mexico.

However, there were no visible signs of protesters along Bush's motorcade route in the nearly hourlong drive from Sao Paulo's airport to his hotel.

In Mexico, which Bush is scheduled to visit Tuesday, about two dozen demonstrators gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy in the capital chanting slogans against the U.S. project to construct border fences and Bush's visit.

Carmelo Ramirez Reyes showed up in a devil's mask, carrying a placard reading "My name is George Bush, killer of Mexicans."

Associated Press writers Tales Azzoni in Sao Paulo, Mark Stevenson in Mexico City and Toby Muse in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report.

A service of the Associated Press(AP)
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/03 ... odq3o0.txt

http://oglobo.globo.com

PHOTOS OF BRAZIL RIOTS

THE GOOD,


http://oglobo.globo.com/mundo/fotogaler ... efault.asp


THE BAD,


http://oglobo.globo.com/sp/fotogaleria/ ... efault.asp


AND THE UGLY


http://oglobo.globo.com/mundo/fotogaler ... efault.asp

From: minnie
To: Skip
Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 10:10 pm
Subject: Brazil protesters
Would you like to see more ? maybe you can copy, I can't

http://oglobo.globo.com

scroll down to the left in dark red 2nd paragragh and click it will open a screen with 20 different photos which America will never see

minnie

Thanks Minnie,

I had to join the site, and filling out the application in Portugues was tough.
It was not possible to copy the pictures because they are in a player, so here are the links for the three albums.

They are worth a look.



R/ Skip

Contgratulations, for several times I tried to copy some article (and they have good ones about immigration) but they have on their site
something that opens a screen and is written "if you want you can email but you are not allowed to copy" so I cannot copy.
And this is a right wing newspaper...
I'm happy Alipac has data that no other has.

Originally Posted by minnie

Contgratulations, for several times I tried to copy some article (and they have good ones about immigration) but they have on their site
something that opens a screen and is written "if you want you can email but you are not allowed to copy" so I cannot copy.
And this is a right wing newspaper...
I'm happy Alipac has data that no other has.

Instead of right click to copy
Highlight with leftclick then try: > toolbar > edit > copy

This usually works on text where you get the message " Sorry we do not allow right click"

Originally Posted by Skip

Originally Posted by minnie

Contgratulations, for several times I tried to copy some article (and they have good ones about immigration) but they have on their site
something that opens a screen and is written "if you want you can email but you are not allowed to copy" so I cannot copy.
And this is a right wing newspaper...
I'm happy Alipac has data that no other has.

Instead of right click to copy
Highlight with leftclick then try: > toolbar > edit > copy

This usually works on text where you get the message " Sorry we do not allow right click"

Hmmm that does not work here either

http://oglobo.globo.com

This is the 2nd chapter in Uruguay


In Montevedeo, 2nd stop of one week through Latin America USA president has a reception of six thousand demonstrators armed with sticks and stones.

(1st red pharagraph)Veja imagens (see images)

I haven't been able to keep up with the news the past couple of days. Are these protests getting worse or dying down? I went to CNN and did not see anything a few minutes ago.

Minnie, it sounds like a lot of protesters in Uruguay.

With computers I don't get along , and I don't know why they don't work with me.
Sory I find , you post

Originally Posted by LegalUSCitizen

I haven't been to keep up with the news the past couple of days. Are these protests getting worse or dying down? I went to CNN and did not see anything a few minutes ago.

Minnie, it sounds like a lot of protesters in Uruguay.

The ones Skip posted already were in S.Paulo, the ones in Uruguay I'm telling him where are the pictures so he can post.

These pictures he posted already you are not going to see here in US, in any media.