Glasgow was pretty amazing. Estimates varied from 30,000 protesters to 97,000. Considering the number I saw with my own eyes in St Vincent street (straight, hilly street with amazing views of the crowds), I’d say 80,000 is perfectly possible, if not more.
This was everyday people taking to the streets to make their opinions heard. It is clear that the vast majority are against this war (90% of Scots, I believe), but Blair refuses to listen. How can he build democracy in Iraq if he cannot practice it within his on country?
London looked just amazing- any reports from there or anywhere else?
Yep - London was buzzing yesterday, with attendance figures pitched between 750,000 by the Metropolitan Police and 2 million by the organisers.
The speakers were, in the main, powerful and presented convincing arguments against war. But perhaps the most stirring thing about the day was the diversity of the demonstrators - so-called demo ‘virgins’ alongside hardened protest veterans, young people, old people, people of all religious persuasions, people of no religious persuasion…there were no boundaries yesterday. An amazing display of the resolve of the nation. It remains to be seen how the hawks will react.
Tony Blair’s speech yesterday smacked of desperation - he made the less than convincing case that killing thousands of innocent people is actually the moral thing to do. Apparently, he acquired a most unusual understanding of moral philosophy at Fetes College and Oxford. If Blair genuinely believed this nonsense, he would have packed Euan off to Sandhurst instead of a posh flat in Bristol last October.