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Condoleezza Rice Visits Liverpool!

IMC Liverpool | 30.03.2006 23:00 | Anti-militarism | Repression | Liverpool

Condoleezza Rice - Secretary of State and former National Security Advisor to the Bush Administration - toured Liverpool on the weekend beginning 31st March. She visited LIPA & was serenaded by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Mersey poet Roger McGough was due to compere the concert in her honour, but withdrew his support. Masses of protesters turned out and let Rice know she was not welcome here.

Liverpool Foots the Bill…And People Say Scousers Are Thieving Bastards

Sat 1st April - Maritime Museum visit Rice, Straw and Liverpool's Rich Cultural Heritage

Reports from main demo Liverpool Unites to 'Unwelcome' Terrorist Mastermind Rice| Photos | Photos | Photos | Photos | Photos | No Scouse for Rice video

Reports from LIPA Protest - Friday Lunchtime Protests Against Condi Visit to LIPA
Report & pics from LIPA demo

www.condiwatch.co.uk

On Indymedia: 30 Mar - Protests outside Condi's hotel | Protestors, performers & police get ready for Condi visit
Previously:1 | 2

Other media: Daily Post articles - 4 | 3 | 2 | 1
icliverpool.co.uk online discussion



A resolution passed by the North West TUC Annual conference said Ms Rice had been involved in every stage of the Iraq war in which "thousands of Iraqis have died". The resolution added: "She has their blood on her hands".

Condoleezza was invited by Jack Straw, and visited Liverpool before heading to the Foreign Secretary's constituency in Blackburn, Lancashire.

The website http://www.condiwatch.co.uk detailed several protests including one in Liverpool on the Friday, where protestors marched to the Philharmonic Hall where Condoleezza was the guest of honour at a special performance by the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

There were some hitches to the visit. Some members of the orchestra refused to play for her visit, and poet Roger McGough - who was due to compere the event - withdrew his support following a public outcry. Attempts to pay other celebrities £500 to host the night have also failed, with actress Cathy Tyson turning down the offer.

A member of the Merseyside Stop the War coalition, said:

"I plead with the people of this great city to shun Condoleezza Rice who has been central to these events. We should show our true Scouse heart which is one of love, peace and solidarity."



At the Liverpool city council meeting on 15th March, anti-war campaigners were able to address councillors and the mayor, but the council leaders seemed to think that plugging Liverpool as 'Capital of Culture' was more important than taking a principled stand against the devastating and illegal invasion of Iraq. see Daily Post report for more info

Merseyside Stop the War Coalition said:

"Several Councillors have told already us that they object to and will not participate in any event arranged for Condi. We want to persuade all the Councillors to boycott any civic event in her honour. She helped Bush prepare an illegal war which has costs tens of thousands of lives. She turns the other way when people are tortured in Guantanamo Bay. She redefines the definition of torture apparently being strapped to a board and pushed face first into a barrel of water no longer applies! Please contact your local Councillor to protest".


IMC Liverpool

Comments

Hide the following 9 comments

I do not agree with insulting a successful black politician because of one issue

31.03.2006 15:29

OK so you may not agree with Condolezza Rice's decision to support the Iraq war, but that was only one of the many things in politics she has done. One the whole she is a good person, with few faults. She is also a role model for black people and someone the black community in Britain should be proud of. Very few black people make it to the top even these days so to slag off one of the few successful black politicians in America is in bad taste I would say.

Black Briton


Black Briton, you racist bigot

31.03.2006 18:41

How day you pull the race card like that in such a pathetic way? What on earth has the fact that Rice is black got to do with anything? You suggest that just because she happens to be black we should ignore her huge contribution to making it possible for the US to invade Iraq? Come on, get a grip.

You call yourself a Black Briton, yet you have more in common with the Daily Mail than the majority of people in this country...

In a piece titled 'Symptom of a dangerous divide' the Hate Mail, much like the comments of 'Black Briton' above, said that whatever our feelings about Iraq, "it is a sad day for British diplomacy when the U.S Secretary of State - the third most powerful politician in Washington - is treated with such discourtesy on her visit to these shores."

Like hell it is! On the contrary, it would be a very black day indeed if such evil scum were welcomed with the pomp and ceromony typical of celebrity worshiping sycophants. Thank goodness that some people have the passion and balls to voice their distain in public when these war mongers show their vile faces.

The Hate Mail article, says it is to the credit of the mosque committee in Blackburn that it was perfectly prepared to greet Rice, despite what the paper describes as "profound disagreements over Iraq". It laughingly suggests that the visit could have been "an opportunity for dialogue and perhaps some robust exchanges in private". Like hell, can you really imagine that any Muslim with the remotest ambition of giving Rice the earful that she deserves would have been allowed anywhere near her?

The Mail says that the mosque cancelled its invitation, "under pressure from anti-war protesters who refuse to meet a woman they say has 'blood on her hands'". Personally I doubt that is the full story. The prospect of having Rice visit the Mosque must have deeply angered a great majority of the Muslim community in the area and if the committee really did extend an invite there would have been deep devisions.

One comment on the Daily Mail website said, "So I say full marks to Muslims who have stuck by their beliefs by not meeting up with Rice. Pity a few more don't do the same. After all it was Blair and Bush that didn't want to talk to the Tyrant of Iraq to try and find a peaceful solution to the Iraq war.",

Incrediably the Mail claims that protest over Rice's visit has, "allowed the conduct of British foreign policy to be diminished by the rank discourtesy of a self-regarding minority". Hold on! British foreign policy has been diminished by it's policy of siding with the imperialist military interventions of the US government, not because of 'rank discourtesy' by THE MAJORITY of the population who opposed the invasion and subsequent occupation. Self regarding? That coming from the Daily Mail, a right wing tabloid hate rage not fit to wipe your arse on.

Revising history for the benefit of it's readers, the Mail tells us that it's opposition to the war has not changed and that they, "believe it a tragic folly". However, they reveal their true nature by brown nosing up to, "the representative of our greatest ally, a nation that stood with us in two World Wars" and putting down the protesters. Unable to avoid letting their shallow mask slip further, they go on to claim that the 'militancy' of the protesters, "has to be seen in the context of an obsession with multiculturalism - encouraged in schools, promoted by politicians and regarded as de rigeur by the BBC - that teaches members of all ethnic minorities that their rights are equal if not superior to the rights of the host community."

So, Black Brition, you a Daily Mail reader by any chance, it seems that you would fit in well despite your colour.

Disgusted


One issue

31.03.2006 19:14

If anyone attacks Ms Rice because she is black or uses that fact against her that isn't acceptable. However her loyal support of mass murder in order to gain oil/power must not be dismissed as "one issue".
To say we can't criticise someone's crimes against humanity and the planet because they also happen to be black is a terrifying degre of censorship which I am not prepared to accept.
Most tyrants and the lackeys of tyrants have many good points; should we say Hitler was a good guy because he was vegetarian or Stalin was a good role model if he loved his mum?
Please think your arguments through.

Mark


Black Pride Before Murders

31.03.2006 20:01

Yea lets all forget all the bombing,shooting,mass murder upon a hell of alot of innocent individuals because Connie Rice is black!

To Mark-Adolf Hitler was a modern vegetarian who ate,"squab(pigeon),fish eggs,ham,liver",like so many existing vegetarians who eat fish,then proclaim their vegetarianness.

Steve


Vegetarianism - Black Pride Before Murders

02.04.2006 21:13

Those people are not vegetarian if they eat meat or fish!!!

>To Mark-Adolf Hitler was a modern vegetarian who ate,"squab(pigeon),fish eggs,ham,liver",like so many existing >vegetarians who eat fish,then proclaim their vegetarianness.

Brian B


Hitler as a vegetarian

02.04.2006 23:14

To call Hitler a vegetarian is like calling a 40 a day chain-smoker a non smoker simply because his doctor has said he should quit. Hitler ate meat but was advised by his doctor to quit as a possible cure for long term digestion problems. Needless to say, Hitler did not quit meat but even if he had, WHO THE FUCK CARES!!!??

tired


CONDI A ROLE MODEL!? NOT IN THE UNITED STATES, THANK GOODNESS!!

03.04.2006 14:30

Black Briton [someone pretending to be black]: "She is also a role model for black people"


In fact, she is an *embarrassment* to 99.9% of black people in the U.S. (except to the 0.1% of black conservatives) -- and to most blacks in Britain -- and in Brixton -- too.

I would explicitly tell you what she is sometimes called in the Africa American community, but I don't know if UK Indymedia would let it get posted (but it starts out with "Condoleeza the [rhymes with leeeza]).

I am African American and, indeed, I came to the UK Indymedia website to look for and check out the wonderful photos of the protests against Condi.

So, as far as protesting Condi: TALLYHO!!

JA -- African American, San Francisco, USA


Liverpool Indymedia = Best Kollective Ever

06.04.2006 21:23

I think that a big round of applause should be given to those IM volunteers in Liverpool who have made such a great feature and did such brilliant prep work. They are super and it is brilliant to see so many people post their photos and reports. They are small but perfectly formed, if over busy. Lets hope this can give Liverpool IM the boost it needs to get regualar stories. People of Liverpool, look how good IM can be when used well. Use it. Its beautiful.

ps fav picture g and m holding banner in defiance. least fav... viedo with over long shot of jfg s face... i am trying to forget what it looks like.

the big whoop


Yet more photographs!

04.05.2006 10:59

Just found loads more photographs of the day at  http://www.hopestreet.info/

Wat Zon