South Koreans fire water cannons at Bush protesters.
By on Aug 5th, 2008 at 9:59 am
South Koreans fire water cannons at Bush protesters.
As President Bush arrived in Seoul, South Korea, he was greeted with a “volatile reception” from an estimated 20,000 anti-Bush protesters:
Police turned water cannons on them as they tried to move onto the main central downtown boulevard, telling the crowd that the liquid contained markers to tag them so they could be identified later.
“I don’t have anti-U.S. sentiment. I’m just anti-Bush and anti-Lee Myung-bak,” said Uhm Ki-woong, 36, a businessman who was wearing a mask and hat like other demonstrators in an apparent attempt to conceal his identity.
The AP notes “30,000 people gathered in front of Seoul City Hall for an afternoon Christian prayer service supporting Bush’s trip.”
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He has really got to be ready for January 20th, 2009 to get here.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:01 amThere a innumerable problems facing our country in the coming years. The bringing to justice of those responsible for the deaths and injuries to s many people both American and others and the shredding of the Constitution must be included. And it;s the reason that the Republicans are about to go nuclear in this election campaign. Read more. http://www.tagg-lines.com/2008/08/people-vs-george-w-bush-richard-cheney.html
August 5th, 2008 at 10:01 ama businessman who was wearing a mask and hat like other demonstrators in an apparent attempt to conceal his identity.
– - Free speech and the right to assemble are going to be tough for BushCo to ban altogether, but I’m pretty sure sure they’ll try and add a codicil banning this tack, to the Constitution.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:06 amI was going to say, how soon and how vehemently will Bush speak forth on defending the rights of those protesting him to Free-Speech?
August 5th, 2008 at 10:08 am30,000 for a Christian Prayer service? Those are Pope like numbers. It shows the power of Bush family ties to Reverend Moon. Don’t forget nearly the whole Bush clan is in the Presidential Delegation to Beijing. That’s alot of Bush to worship.
And thank heaven, the authorities has the water cannons ready for the mass boot licking, I mean foot washing. What luck, they were in place to drive off those dreaded devil worshippers. Were they Buddhist, Catholics or athiests?
Oh, the glory of the Bush family world tour. Long live King George!
(post applied with large doses of sarcasm)
August 5th, 2008 at 10:09 amAs for free speech in South Korea, where we may have troops for another hundred years:
Police turned water cannons on them as they tried to move onto the main central downtown boulevard, telling the crowd that the liquid contained markers to tag them so they could be identified later.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:11 amNext time maybe they’ll just shoot him out of a cannon…
August 5th, 2008 at 10:15 amWhy has the Moonie issue never bitten the Republicans? Any normal person would be horrified of the political support of a very, very weird religious cult. You would think that the press would have a field day with this.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:16 am20,000 South Koreans?
Would that the American people could be so engaged.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:16 amJMOHR:
The corporate media is owned and run by Republicans. Hence, no discussion of the Moonies. Or anything else that might disrupt the status quo.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:18 amJMOHR Says:
Any normal person would be horrified of the political support of a very, very weird religious cult. You would think that the press would have a field day with this.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:16 am
______
You mean cults like Focus on the Family and Christians United for Israel?
Yeah, I’m sure the “liberal media” will get right on that.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:21 amMoon’s money made him “mainstream”. He owns the UPI and the Washington Times newspaper.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:24 amso, some of the S Korean Christians think the GWB is a true Christian…they are as deluded as some of our Christians (the Pat Robertson-Jerry Falwell Christians)
August 5th, 2008 at 10:24 amThe AP notes “30,000 people gathered in front of Seoul City Hall for an afternoon Christian prayer service supporting Bush’s trip.”
I wonder is this will be spun by the media the same way that Obama speaking before thousands in a foreign land was?
August 5th, 2008 at 10:25 amAir Farce One is on tour…
August 5th, 2008 at 10:29 amAlso from the article, Bush plays Gandhi.
“They’re hypersensitive to a potential terrorist attack,” Bush said in the article for Tuesday’s editions of the paper. “And my hope is, of course, that as they have their security in place, that they’re mindful of the spirit of the Games, and that if there is a provocation, they handle it in a responsible way without violence.”
Air Farce One, indeed, Zimzone.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:31 am30,000 Christians are probably all the Christians in South Korea. It’s not a terribly Christian place.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:33 amThe Bush family ties to Moon:
In the mid-1990s former United States President George H. W. Bush accepted millions of dollars from Moon’s Women’s Federation for World Peace to speak on Moon’s behalf around the world, a fact[57] that Moon and the Unification Church have widely publicised, particularly in efforts to improve the image of the Unification Church outside the US. While discussing one of Bush’s trips (a 1995 tour of Japan), Bo Hi Pak said:
“Then George and Barbara Bush went to Fukuoka, the capital of Kyushu. The people of Kyushu were flabbergasted at Father and Mother’s power to tell a U.S. president what to do and plan his schedule. Incredible. This completely changed the attitude of the Japanese government and media toward the Unification community.” [58]
In June 2006 the Houston Chronicle reported that in 2004 Moon’s Washington Times Foundation gave $1 million to the Greater Houston Community Foundation, which made donations to the George Bush Presidential Library.[59]
August 5th, 2008 at 10:35 amMoon money also saved Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University years ago.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:36 amIt use to cost the american tax payer’s $6,900.00 per hour to shuttle bush’s ass all over in air force one…Don’t know the figure now, my guess twice that amount…To bad we don’t have a patriot pilot that would shuttle him to a foreign country when the game’s are done so he could be arrested and tried for war crime’s….Oh well some day’s I just need to have a good dream….Blessings
August 5th, 2008 at 10:39 amPolice turned water cannons on them as they tried to move onto the main central downtown boulevard, telling the crowd that the liquid contained markers to tag them so they could be identified later.
Since when did South Korea become a communist nation?
“I don’t have anti-U.S. sentiment. I’m just anti-Bush…,” said Uhm Ki-woong
You and me both, Mr.Ki-woong. You and me both.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:42 amMoon’s Washington Times paper helped Bush & Co,:
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2006/122706.html
August 5th, 2008 at 10:50 am20,000 protesters.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:51 amSharp contrast to Obama’s trip last week.
Just saying…
Theis,
August 5th, 2008 at 11:05 amThat certainly looks like a cow on those posters. And what does the Korean word “OUT” translate to in English?
Bush referenced the code word in his remarks about freedom in China (WaPo):
Bush also grappled with how to gauge openness and freedom in China today. “I mean, this is a closed society in many ways,” he said. “The Internet provides interesting opportunities for people to express themselves. Sometimes it’s open, sometimes the filters are there. I’ve talked to the evangelicals who go there who feel like the underground church movement has gotten a few steps forward, a step-and-a-half back. It’s really hard to tell.”
August 5th, 2008 at 11:12 amWaltTheMan Says:
Themis,
That certainly looks like a cow on those posters.
And what does the Korean word “OUT” translate to in English?
____________
Walt, this is one of your finer moments…
It bears repeating…
August 5th, 2008 at 11:16 amThemis Says:
Sorry for my 3,000 over-estimate. Police say that there were only 1,500, and the issue was U.S. beef imports.
It all depends on whether you want to believe the police or the media.
One thing for sure, the police have a strong reason to minimize protest numbers.
August 5th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Shrub is on his dictator tutorial tour.
August 5th, 2008 at 11:30 amSigh.. only another 167 days to go. Can’t get here fast enough for all of us, including Dubya. He has to be feeling pressure from all the unraveling evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors.
For a bit more on the Unification Church, likely responsible for the 30,000 turnout in support of Bush:
http://www.cesnur.org/2004/waco_kim.htm
August 5th, 2008 at 11:48 amPolice turned water cannons on them as they tried to move onto the main central downtown boulevard, telling the crowd that the liquid contained markers to tag them so they could be identified later.
Apparently freedom of expression is just as lacking in South Korea as it is here.
http://progressiveworldreview.com
August 5th, 2008 at 11:54 amBarak Obama should travel to South Korea the day Bush leaves, just so we can see the contrast.
August 5th, 2008 at 12:23 pmThey aimed at the wrong target! ;-}
August 5th, 2008 at 12:30 pmBloomberg reported on one group rallying in support of President Bush. It’s called the New Right National Union.
Wikipedia has this to say:
In South Korea, New Right movement is a Korean version of neoconservatism politics. In South Korea, political parties never tried to show their real political point of view, especially Grand National Party, most popular conservatism party. But New Right movement groups show their political view very positively.
Some famous politicians showed their commonness with the New Right groups, as an instance, Park Geun-hye(former leader of GNP) agreed with New Right’s ‘Alternative Korean History Textbook’ in a symposium.
Maybe these folks can help rewrite history for the SMU Bush library.
August 5th, 2008 at 12:43 pmOne might expect a “freedom loving” American leader to visit its “mature democratic” counterpart without thousands of security forces. Bloomberg reported
An additional 7,000 police officers and special forces will guard the hotel where Bush and his wife are staying, the National Police Agency said.
August 5th, 2008 at 12:53 pmWhile mcchimpy blast Sen. Obama popularity his mentor chimpy is getting raves reviews from South Korea. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I can’t wait to see the response Sen. Obama receives from South Korea.
all the world know what low-life the repugs are.
mcchimpy should visit SK afterall he was defending them way back when. Let’s see some current file footage of flowers and chocolates he should receive from the good he inspired (finally.) That would be some powerful stuff. he can show the difference between his policies vs. chimpy’s policies.
I’m so fu)king smark.
August 5th, 2008 at 1:16 pmDan Flynn is on C-SPAN talking about the liberal icon, Jim Jones and The People’s Church. How ironic, as conservatives have Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the self appointed Second Messiah.
August 5th, 2008 at 2:49 pmHow come dont see 20,000 spirted and passionate Americans on the streets of Washington demonstrate against the monster Bush?
August 5th, 2008 at 2:59 pmSome observations from an American living here in South Korea.
August 5th, 2008 at 11:01 pm1. Protests are a fairly regular occurrence here. They had a lot to do with Korea achieving democracy just 20 years ago.
2. There have been almost constant protests here since the whole “mad cow protests” began a few months ago. Many Koreans look at these protests as a front for the political left here to push forth an agenda undermining the newly elected conservative president.
3. Many also believe these protests have overshadowed more realistic and serious problems such as North Korean human rights violations, worker’s rights, and withdrawal of Korean troops from the Middle East, to name a few.
4. The mad cow protests have cost the country an estimated $6 billion in losses (according to S. Korean gov’t statistics reported in a newspaper here a couple weeks ago and I can’t be bothered to look up now) due to worker losses, direct costs of protests, and loss of foreign investor confidence among other reasons. This at a time when the country is having other economic difficulties.
5. Hiding face and head is status quo at protests as any public recognition of a protester could bring about damage to their family’s reputation. Even those accused of crimes here are covered and their identities are hidden until convicted.
6. In these past months during the protests the conscripted riot police have suffered about 4 times as many injuries as protesters (about 500 to about 100). Recently, water cannons have started to be used to disperse protesters who have attacked police and damaged barricades.
7. The country has a very diverse religious representation which many Koreans are quite proud of. Of the 50,000,000 people maybe 25% are Christian.
8. During the past protests Christian groups have had a calming effect on the protests, acting as a peaceful buffer between protesters and police. In past years, churches have also played an important role in political activism, acting as a forum for free speech when this was not available in mainstream society.
9. #21 DrxJ. Koreans use their family names first, so person Uhm Mi-Kang should be referred to as Mr. Uhm.
Anyway, politics are often a lively affair here and I do think it is a good thing to see people get so involved AND I hope that the democratic process remains peaceful.