"This is no ordinary day," said Jason Mark, a San Francisco activist.
"America is different today: We've just launched an unprovoked, unjust war."
One protester died after tumbling from the Golden Gate Bridge. Authorities
were investigating the death as a possible suicide. San Francisco had some
of the largest anti-war activity, hobbling the morning and evening rush
hours. Thousands in roving bands temporarily took control of some downtown
streets and closed several exits from the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
Smaller splinter groups broke windows, heaved debris into streets and
occasionally scuffled with police. Some protesters hurled rocks at trains,
briefly halting service at a station in nearby Oakland.
"We went from what I would call legal protests to absolute anarchy,"
Assistant Police Chief Alex Fagan said.
"America is different today: We've just launched an unprovoked, unjust
war." - US peace activist
Police wearing helmets and carrying batons made at least 1,025 arrests.
"We don't want to alienate people. I hope people realise that political
murder merits action that inconveniences them," said protester Quinn
Miller, who took the day off from his job for a banking company.
Several thousand marchers snarled afternoon rush-hour traffic along
Chicago's main arteries, repeatedly breaking through lines of police on
horseback or in riot gear.
"I supported the first Gulf War. I think this is going to send a message,"
demonstrator Bill Quigley said. "I think a broad-based protest against the
war is the way to go."
In Washington, dozens of activists temporarily shut down inbound lanes of a
Potomac River crossing, holding up the morning rush hour. Outside the White
House, about 50 stood in chilly rain and shouted, "No blood for oil!"
Anti-war activists in Philadelphia blocked entrances to the downtown
federal building, forcing police to detour motorists away from the area.
Police arrested 107 protesters.
In New York, about 350 people rallied at Union Square under a steady
drizzle. About a dozen students lay down in black garbage bags. "We're
expressing how the Iraqis are being killed for no reason," said Rachel
Klepner, 14, who left class at Beacon High School for the protest.
http://theage.com.au/articles/2003/03/21/1047749924648.html
