No progressive person alive wants to be associated with G.W. Bush in any way, shape or form. So it is not surprising that one musician after the other has demanded that the Bush campaign stop using their material at rallies. Here's the latest: "John Hall, a former Democratic county legislator in upstate New York, co-wrote "Still the One" and recorded it with his band Orleans in 1976. The cheery pop tune was played at Bush events Thursday and again Friday to open and close a rally for the president in New Hampshire. "I was watching TV, and there all of a sudden was my song, my guitar playing, my voice coming out of the speakers," said the 56-year-old Hall, still a working musician. Hall's lawyers are drafting a formal letter of complaint to the Bush campaign.:

The Register: George Bush has seen off some stiff competition to win Total Film magazine's movie Villain of the Year, the London Evening Standard reports.[In a contest in which 10,000 people voted] Bush was awarded the honour for his role in Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 and in the process eclipsed the contributions of shortlisted Doctor Octopus, Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Gollum and Elle Driver (Kill Bill) to the cause of world villainy. Total Film editor Matt Mueller told the Standard: "It is possible that people have been a little bit tongue in cheek here, but they are also saying that Bush was very scary in Fahrenheit 9/11. He was absolutely terrifying in that film. He looked like a man who had lost control - the famous scene where he sits there in a school, absolutely paralysed, after being told about the twin towers, is just one example."

Arianna Huffington writes: "A paltry 36 percent of 18-to-24 year olds bothered to vote in 2000. That's the bad news. The good news is that all indications point to a radical turnaround in young voter turnout in the coming election â?? a turnaround fueled by a force more powerful than all the electoral hurdles placed in young people's way. Namely, George W. Bush. He has sparked a youthful uprising unseen since Robert Kennedy's tragically shortened run for president. Kennedy's 1968 campaign brought together a powerful coalition of progressive young white voters and disaffected young black voters, united in support of his twin platform of fighting poverty and ending the war in Vietnam. Bush's immoral war in Iraq and poverty-spreading domestic policies have brought those same groups together in an effort to topple him. Bush is the photo negative of Kennedy. The anti-Bobby. "

To sum up world opinion in a nutshell: 'We like Americans but we HATE G.W. Bush." The Guardian reports: "George Bush has squandered a wealth of sympathy around the world towards America since September 11 with public opinion in 10 leading countries - including some of its closest allies - growing more hostile to the United States while he has been in office. According to a survey, voters in eight out of the 10 countries, including Britain, want to see the Democrat challenger, John Kerry, defeat President Bush in next month's US presidential election. The poll, conducted by 10 of the world's leading newspapers, including France's Le Monde, Japan's Asahi Shimbun, Canada's La Presse, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Guardian, also shows that on balance world opinion does not believe that the war in Iraq has made a positive contribution." In short - vote for Bush, and you vote for America to continue to go it alone in Iraq and everywhere else.

Yahoo: "An opinion poll for the Guardian newspaper showed that Kerry would be backed by 50 percent of Britons, against just 22 percent for Bush. Despite the so-called "special relationship" between London and Washington, and Prime Minister Tony Blair's strong backing for Bush, the US leader is a deeply unpopular figure in Britain, the survey said. Of the 1,008 people polled, 60 percent said they did not like the president, a figure that rose to a massive 77 percent for Britons under the age of 25. Respondents suggested that Bush's policies have damaged their opinion of the United States, with 45 percent saying their opinion of the country had worsened over the past three years, against just 15 percent who said it had improved.

Montreal Gazette: "The re-election of George W. Bush as U.S. president would threaten world peace, the first wife of Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger said Wednesday. 'I think President Bush is in my view, if I may say so, the most dangerous man in power today,' Bianca Jagger told reporters after addressing the opening in Montreal of the second global conference against the death penalty. 'There is a threat not only for the people of the United States but if he is elected, I feel it would be a threat for the world and would unfortunately put us in a position where we will be confronting the possibility of a third world war.' Jagger, who is a goodwill ambassador for the Council of Europe, said she appealed in 2000 to the former Texas governor to block the execution of a man who was imprisoned when he was 17-years-old. When he refused, she witnessed the execution along with the man's family and other death penalty opponents."

SFGate: "Why Bush must be beaten,' screamed the headline of Le Nouvel Observateur, a left-leaning French newsweekly. Smaller type above the U.S. president's half profile provided the answer: 'His re-election will be a catastrophe for the world and for America.' That sentiment may have been expressed more bluntly than the opinions of many Europeans, yet it captured the passions on this continent over who will occupy the White House come January. Fredet's article listed numerous reasons why Bush should go: 'unprecedented' American isolationism since 2000; 'unequaled arrogance' in Bush's leadership style; intolerant religious fervor; and the growing millions of Americans without proper health insurance. On a continent with largely free health services, many Europeans cite that last reason as their major dislike for the U.S. system and are often dumbfounded about why Americans do not push politicians for universal health care. "

The Turkish Press reports that Pakistan's president Perez Musharraf has "warned in an address to the UN General Assembly that an "iron curtain" was falling between the Islamic world and the West. "Action has to be taken before an iron curtain finally descends between the West and the Islamic world." Senator Hafiz Hussain, a senior leader of Pakistan's pro-Taliban Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam party, said "The hatred has increased because of the continued anti-Muslim policies by the US leadership. The US wants to grab natural resources of the Muslim world by use of brute power, and the Muslims have become aware of its design." Hussain cited the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US troops at Abu Ghraib. "The Muslims are only reacting. The West justify all their actions in the name of peace, and calls Muslims' reactions terrorism," Hussain said. "What happened in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, is it not terrorism?"

Reuters: "Britain's ambassador to Italy has called Bush 'the best recruiting sergeant' for al Qaeda, Italian media reported Monday. The comment, made at a closed-door conference at the weekend, was denounced by one leading Italian newspaper editor, who issued an open letter snubbing the veteran ambassador, Sir Ivor Roberts. Roberts was quoted as telling an annual Anglo-Italian gathering in Tuscany: 'If anyone is ready to celebrate the eventual re-election of Bush, it's al Qaeda.' " Berlusconi media minion Giuliano Ferrara of Il Foglio expressed outrage and called for a boycott of the state dinner for Roberts. But, just as in the US, in Italy, the Berlusconi-controlled media does not represent the majority of Italians (90% oppose the war in Iraq and hate Bush)

Reuters: "The world wants Bush out of the White House, according to a poll released on Thursday. It shows that in 30 of 35 countries, people preferred Democrat candidate John Kerry. Kerry was particularly favored in traditionally strong US allies and beat Bush on average by more than a two-to-one margin, 46% to 20%, the survey by GlobeScan, a global research firm, and the University of Maryland, said. The survey of attitudes around the world contrasts with [blatantly phony] US polls that have shown the American electorate closely divided and that Bush has been gaining momentum since the Republican convention this month." While Bush claims to have made the world safer from terrorists, the world sees Bush as the number one terrorist threat

BBC: " 'Only 1 in 5 want to see Bush re-elected,' said Steven Kull, the director of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes.' IPA and GlobalScan conducted a massive poll of over 34,000 people in 35 nations in July-August. 'Mr Kerry scored best in traditional US allies, such as Canada and Western European countries [funny, Bush keeps bragging that he's 'mended fences' there!]. The highest margin was in Norway [Kerry 74%, Bush 7%]. The strongest negative views about US foreign policy appeared to come from Germany: 83% said their view of the US had got worse. Respondents in all the Latin American countries polled, including Mexico, also went for the Democrat, with the biggest majority - 57% to 14% - in Brazil. Only respondents in the Philippines clearly backed Mr Bush, but there was an almost even divide in India and Thailand." No wonder! All three of these "backers" are major recipients of outsourced US jobs.

Common Dreams: "If the world could cast a vote in the United States presidential election, John Kerry would beat George W. Bush by a landslide, according to a poll released on Wednesday that is described as the largest sample of global opinion on the race." The huge poll of over 34,000 people in 32 nations shows just ONE in FIVE people favoring Bush. Guess which two countries were among the ONLY ones to give Bush a slight lead over Kerry? Thailand and India - the recipients between them of the most US jobs through outsourcing! No wonder they didn't favor Kerry, who plans to keep US jobs at home!

"North Korea on Monday described George Bush as an "imbecile" and a "tyrant" who was worse than Adolf Hitler, and ruled out holding new talks on nuclear weapons with the US. In an unusually strong attack, a No Korean foreign ministry spokesperson said comments by Bush calling No Korea a tyrant during campaigning last week in Wisconsin were "malignant slanders and calumnies". "He is a political imbecile bereft of even elementary morality as a human being and a bad guy," said the spokesperson. The spokesperson blamed Bush for starting wars in Iraq and elsewhere, and said the US was trying to topple the legitimate government of No Korea. "Bush's assumption of office turned a peaceful world into a pandemonium unprecedented in history as it is plagued with a vicious circle of terrorism and war," said the statement. The spokesperson went on to describe Bush as "a tyrant that puts Hitler into the shade" as well as "an idiot, an ignorant, a tyrant and a man-killer."

Why won't ANYONE point out the big fat elephant in the Athens "living room"? Namely, the tens of thousands of empty seats at the Olympics that represent, most likely, a boycott of the games. Despite Bob Costas' jingoistic coverage (the way NBC presents it, there are no other athletes competing or winning but Americans, with a few "furriners" thrown in for effect), Americans are VERY unpopular in Europe right now. In this article it suggests the empty seats are because Greeks are "unfamiliar" with many of the sports. Yet that didn't stop the stadiums from being filled in Seoul or Mexico City, which could more legitimately offer this excuse. But then, the US didn't turn those game sites into military compounds! Time to stop making excuses and deal with our sadly tarnished image and the Bush hatred that is now hurting everyone, including our athletes.

If we were to read about a group of journalists in the early 1930s who failed to show "sufficient" support for a speech by Adolph Hitler, we would, without doubt, hail them as courageous and principled. We would say that they clearly saw the dark road ahead and refused to support Hitler or give him, as rightwingers demand now - and did then - the phony show of support that helped to empower him. The Moonie Times and other rightwing rags don't get it: Being "fair" to something evil means rejecting it. We are not talking six of one, half dozen of another in this election, and the Unity journalists clearly see this. We are talking six of destruction (Bush) and half dozen of hope (Kerry). What the Unity journalists were showing was a rare and courageous display of unified patriotism.

To see Bush's appearance before the Urban League replayed on the corporate media, you'd think the audience was eating it up, so selective were the sound bytes. But Wayne Washington reports the actual scene: "One day after warmly greeting John F. Kerry, audience members met Bush with tepid applause and sat impassively as the applause lines in his modified stump speech fell flat. Many sat with their arms crossed, staring straight ahead or shaking their heads...An awkward quiet had settled over the hotel ballroom when the Republican president, who got less than 10% t of the black vote in 2000, stirred things up by telling the audience he wanted them to support his reelection, a request that drew looks of incredulity and murmurs of surprise." The worst part was when Bush descended into snickering and smirking as he cracked anti-Dem jokes. You could feel the cringes of embarrassment ripple through the room!

"Winding up her summer tour across Europe, Bonnie Raitt drew thunderous applause at the Stockholm Jazz Festival for dedicating a classic to George Bush. "We're gonna sing this for George Bush because he's out of here, people!" Raitt crowed Tuesday night before she launched into the opening licks of "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)," a cover that was featured on her 1979 album, "The Glow." Raitt's comments resulted in a round of applause and even whistles from among the estimated 3,000 concertgoers at the Swedish capital's annual jazz event held on the banks of the downtown Skeppsholmen island." You go, girl!'

BBC: "Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's party has lost a significant number of seats in an upper house election, early results suggest. Media projections show his Liberal Democrat Party will win 49 of the 121 seats at stake, failing to reach its modest target of 51. Mr Koizumi has dismissed any talk of resigning, but the result has weakened him, the BBC Tokyo correspondent says." Although this BBC report fails to mention it (BBC, as you know became toothless after the infamous Lord Hutton whitewash that blamed Tony Blair's crimes on the BBC for doing its job), Koisumi has become increasingly unpopular in large part because of his backing of Bush and the Iraq war. Japan has been the scene of major anti-war demonstrations in the past year.

In Turkey, the security measures to protect Bush were so extreme that some described it as a "ring of steel" or a "traveling penitentiary." AP Reports: "Tens of thousands of Turks chanting anti-Bush slogans demonstrated against the president's visit to their country on Sunday and a NATO summit. Bush is unpopular in Turkey, where the overwhelming majority of the public opposed the Iraq war. As the president arrived in Turkey Saturday, supporters of Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi said they kidnapped three Turkish workers in Iraq, Arab TV station al-Jazeera reported. The group has threatened to behead the hostages, an al-Jazeera employee told The Associated Press."

Cox News: "Bush's visit to Ireland will last a mere 18 hours. But those opposed to the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq say it will trigger a torrent of protests there and elsewhere as Bush tries to rally European leaders' support. 'We don't want Bush using Ireland to promote his re-election campaign,' said activist Kieran O'Sullivan. 'We want to do what we can to keep him from being elected again.' One group, the Irish Peace and Neutrality Alliance...believes the policies of Bush and Osama bin Laden are 'dragging Ireland and the rest of the world through the gates of Hell.' 'What is really key for us is that we get large numbers to turn out -- no matter where they have to stand -- to protest Bush and his policies of war and of suspending civil liberties,' O'Sullivan said. But many say that even large protests aren't likely to make much of an impact...on the American people." Thanks to Bush, Americans are now viewed as indifferent or belligerent.

AP: "MORRISSEY, outspoken lead singer of 80s rockers The Smiths, has sparked an internet storm with reported comments about US President George W Bush. The Manchester Evening News said today it had received a record number of hits after reporting on its Web site that Morrissey, 45, had interrupted a Dublin concert on Saturday with news of Ronald Reagan's death, adding that he wished Mr Bush had died instead. You watch - Ashcroft will have Morrissey investigated and shipped to Guantanamo for "questioning!" Of course, Limbaugh, Coulter, Savage and the other knuckledragging losers can actively CALL for violence against liberals without so much as a raised eyebrow from the Justice Dept.

Reporters from nearly every major European newspaper agree: Bush's continual comparison between Iraq and WWII is neither appropriate nor welcome and will not win him anything but more contempt (if that's possible). Advice from Claire Trean in France's "La Monde": "Disagreement over Iraq will cast a shadow over all the meetings during the month of June... Wisdom should inspire George Bush to keep as low a profile as possible this Sunday in Normandy." From Spain's El Mundo: "Bush arrives in Europe today with the thorny mission of re-establishing fragile links with his continental allies, promoting his plans for the "Greater Middle East" and building a fictitious bridge between the World War II and the "war against terror" in Iraq. " This article presents snippets from papers in over half a dozen countries.

Bloomberg: "Bush's visit to Rome today may disrupt transportation as 10,000 police and soldiers guard against terrorist attacks and patrol protests against the occupation of Iraq. There will be no flights to and from Rome's Ciampino airport for two days because of the visit by Bush, who arrived early today in the Italian capital. Rome is his first stop in Europe before traveling to France to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the World War II landings in Normandy, the start of the liberation of France from the Nazi occupation. Some businesses in central Rome are closing for the day." Yep, that's our 'leader' - spreading fear and disruption everywhere he goes.

Bush had better steer clear of Ireland - they aren't too happy about seeing his obnoxious mug in Italy either, where riots are feared should he show up. A poll by Ireland online shows that the freedom-loving Irish would prefer Bush stayed on his side of the Atlantic. IOL: "Two out of three people living in the East Constituency say they do not support next monthâ??s visit by US President George W. Bush to Ireland. A poll published today, shows that less than one in five people surveyed are in favour if the visit. This latest Irish Examiner/Prime Time poll...indicates widespread opposition among the public to the US occupation of Iraq, with 67% of those polled claiming they are not in favour of President Bush arriving in Ireland for a meeting with EU leaders."

Erich Marquardt writes: "By intensifying negative attitudes toward the United States, the Bush administration risks damaging U.S. interests. While presently the countries of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are supportive of U.S. interests, it is not clear, in light of the brewing hatred toward the United States, how long these governments will be able to hold onto power. Already Saudi Arabia is witnessing the costs involved in its present support of the U.S.; it has been the victim of a whole slew of attacks in recent months, attacks quite unprecedented in its modern history. Similar attacks, but to a lesser degree, have taken place in Turkey... If current U.S. policies persist, the number of individuals who are willing to turn their hatred into violence against either the United States or the countries it supports may increase to such a degree that it will destabilize the many Middle Eastern governments that support U.S. interests."

Reuters: "[Egyptian President Hosni] Mubarak, who visited the United States last week, told French newspaper Le Monde that Washington's actions had caused despair, frustration and a sense of injustice in the Arab world. 'Today there is hatred of the Americans like never before in the region,' he said in an interview given during a stay in France, where he met President Jacques Chirac Monday. He blamed the hostility partly on U.S. support for Israel. 'At the start some considered the Americans were helping them [through attempting to mediate a peace plan]. There was no hatred of the Americans. After what has happened in Iraq, there is unprecedented hatred and the Americans know it,' Mubarak said. 'People have a feeling of injustice. What's more, they see (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon acting as he pleases, without the Americans saying anything. He assassinates people who don't have the planes and helicopters that he has.'"

Tehran Times: "The Students' Movement of Islamic Assemblies issued a statement calling for the complete withdrawal of the occupation forces from Iraq, and trial proceedings for the war crimes of George W. Bush. The movement is asking international communities...to lobby the world community and present the obvious case for the need this trial. 'A year has passed since the illegal occupation of Iraq and the occupiers' excuses to attack the country are still unsubstantiated,' the statement read, adding the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein was supported by the U.S. when it slaughtered Iraqis and waged war against Iran and Kuwait. The statement further said that Bush and Paul Bremer, the U.S. appointed Iraqi administrator, continue to tread the path of Saddam, slaughtering innocent people and crushing the independence of the nation. In addition, the occupiers' ineptitude has brought about more hunger, disease, and insecurity for the Iraqi nation."

Right when the US desperately needs improved relations with Arab leaders to promote its own interest regarding OPEC and Iraq, Bush makes a decision that seems DESIGNED to kick the hornet's nest. Reports the Independent: "Furious officials of the Arab League joined forces yesterday with Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian Authority President, in an attack on George Bush for backing Ariel Sharon's demands in the accord the two men reached in Washington on Wednesday. Hesham Youssef, the spokesman for the league's secretary general, declared: 'The United States has adopted Israel's position. We expect the United States to play honest broker. We accused it before of being unbalanced. Now we can't even say that. We are in a very difficult situation, which is unprecedented. This is a fundamental milestone in the Arab-Israeli conflict.' "

"Newsmaking allegations, White House rebuttals and a ready audience for anti-Bush books have helped make Richard A. Clarke's 'Against All Enemies' a big best seller, publishing officials say. 'Against All Enemies,' released Monday, had an announced first printing of 300,000 copies and an additional 100,000 already have been ordered... 'It's blowing out at our stores,' says Bob Wietrak, a vice president of merchandising at Barnes & Noble, Inc. 'There has been phenomenal publicity. The book has been talked about on every talk show and every news show you can think of. Also, he's an authority. He was there.'... Wietrak says the White House criticisms have only helped the book. 'Against All Enemies' was ranked No. 1 on Amazon.com's list of best sellers as of Tuesday afternoon and has raised sales for other works attacking Bush, including Kevin Phillips' 'American Dynasty' and Ron Suskind's 'The Price of Loyalty.'" Get your copy now at Democrats.com! (www.democrats.com/books)

The Sydney Morning Herald: "It is all symptomatic of rising anger and tension among the old and valued friends at the insistence of Bush - who may well be judged by history to have been the ventriloquist's doll for the ideologues around him - that his very necessary war on terrorism did not need to be swamped by war and its uncertain aftermath in Iraq. In Iraq and elsewhere, they have turned the Bush doctrine on its head. Just as Bush went after the terrorists and those who harboured them, and threatened those who would not support him, the terrorist attacks in Iraq and beyond have been against those who have helped Bush. The US in Iraq is still demonstrating what it cannot do, not what it can do. The US is so entrenched in Iraq that it is hard to see it being able to devote its full resources to fighting terrorism any time soon."

Kerry reports that foreign leaders while unable to publicly offer him their support have told him, "You've got to beat this guy, we need a new policy." "Hostility towards a second Bush term is generally assumed to be widespread throughout the world," reports the Guardian. "On issues from the Kyoto agreement and the international criminal court to antipathy towards the UN, President Bush has alienated countries Washington would normally classify as allies. Distress over Mr Bush's foreign policy is not confined to the world beyond the US. According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll yesterday, 57% of Americans want their next president to steer the country away from the course set by the current leader. Asked how much support Mr Bush had worldwide, Dana Allin, senior fellow for transatlantic affairs at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, said: 'Not a lot.'"

"It is hard to overstate the contempt with which Bush is viewed in some circles in Europe," reports Business Day. "He is regularly portrayed as irrationally belligerent, disdainful of allies, in thrall to special interests and rather stupid. French President Jacques Chirac knows relations with Washington will not really improve until there is a new administration in the White House. Meantime, Bush's chumminess with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder last week seemed rather strained. Even Britain's Tony Blair is aware it would be easier for him if Bush were removed by the US electorate before Blair's own voters punish him for being too close. They may hope a demonstration of the US's functioning democracy will counter the simplistic anti-Americanism prevalent in Europe. While it may not have functioned perfectly in 2000, it now has a chance to rectify the error."

Maureen Farrell writes: "On Feb. 26 (the day [Howard] Stern's program was suspended in half a dozen Clear Channel markets), he not only said that the Bush administration doesn't know what it is doing in Iraq, but within a ten minute span pointed out that: Al Gore won the election. Bush did not fulfill his duty in the National Guard. George W. will never admit that Poppy Bush pulled strings to get him into the Guard and keep him out of Vietnam... While callers to the show repeatedly expressed dismay that Stern was taken off the air in certain cities, one fan expressed the overall mood by saying that the new FCC/Clear Channel tactics are reminiscent of Nazi book burnings... The following day, Stern was even more forceful. 'Get rid of George W. Bush,' he said, adding that Bush is 'dangerous' and has a 'religious agenda.' By Monday, March 1, Stern was circumspect. 'There's a real good argument to be made that I stopped backing Bush and that's when I got kicked off Clear Channel,' he said."

AP: "In Arizona, Judy Donovan says she feels desperate for a new president. In Tennessee, Robert Wilson says he finds the president revolting. In Washington state, Maria Yurasek says she'd vote for a dog if it could beat Bush. I've never seen anything like it," says Ted Jelen, a political science professor at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. "There are people who just really, really hate this person." "I've never seen a Democratic Party more unified and more focused, and the anger helps do just that," said GOP pollster Frank Luntz. "The intensity level is just so high. They're using four-letter words to describe him." Other Repugs are less rational. John McAdams made the asinine statement that "liberals" only hate Bush because he is a Christian, a conservative and from Texas"! Wrong -- most people hate Bush because of his POLICIES and ACTIONS! It was the rightwingers' hatred of Clinton that was largely personal, due to the Rightwing Propaganda Machine's use of identity politics.

From the American Prospect, via Cursor.org: "A reporter describes a scene at the Daytona 500: Then Bush's motorcade drove by. One middle finger went up in the crowd, then another, and soon they were everywhere."

"To all those who say that Senator Edward Kennedy's behavior was rude and disrespectful last week during the State of the Union address, I say he has every right to act this way Bush worked closely with Kennedy to create the No Child Left Behind Act only to betray him and not fund the bill, making it impossible for schools in many states to comply. He also has blocked Kennedy and other Democrats from negotiations for a health care bill and an energy bill. Bush has in the past year tried to make Americans believe Democrats who did not support his war in Iraq were unpatriotic and has said they were playing politics when in reality it was he who was playing politics, creating a false pretext for war, a war that has cost billions of dollars and more than 500 American lives... I for one don't blame Ted Kennedy for being a bit pessimistic this year." From a Boston Globe letter.

Protestors outnumbered supporters by a huge majority according to eyewitnesses in Atlanta when Bush showed up to cop a photo op by laying a wreath on Martin Luther King's grave. The Atlanta Constitution described the claque of Bush supporters as a "tiny and silent minority." Meanwhile, no one else was fooled by Bush's cynical PR stunt. "It's all politics," said Seaborn Johnson, a local barber. "It's an election year, isn't it? Bush has always opposed everything Dr. King did, so he's just applying for votes, that's all he's doing." Willie Tom Franklin was less kindly in his assessment: "I think he takes us black people as a joke." RL White, pres. of the local NAACP chapter observed that since the start of his administration, Bush has not once agreed to meet with civil rights leaders.

While the British Media tries to spin an illusion of popular support for Bush, the UK Indymedia shows the real mood there. Witness the nationwide protests --with nearly one million Brits participating: mass student walkouts, mock trials, effigy burning and the toppling of statues. And the protesters are not "fringe folk" -- but a wide cross section of people.

"Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, launched a stinging attack on Resident George Bush last night, denouncing him as the 'greatest threat to life on this planet that we've most probably ever seen'. His provocatively timed comments, on the eve of Mr Bush's arrival in London tonight, threaten to create severe embarrassment for the Prime Minister. They also come with talks under way on whether to re-admit Mr Livingstone to the Labour Party before his five-year exile ends... Mr Livingstone recalled a visit at Easter to California, where he was denounced for an attack he had made on what he called 'the most corrupt and racist American administration in over 80 years'. He said: 'Some US journalist came up to me and said: 'How can you say this about President Bush?' Well, I think what I said then was quite mild. I actually think that Bush is the greatest threat to life on this planet that we've most probably ever seen. The policies he is initiating will doom us to extinction.'"

"The police are set to make a dramatic U-turn and allow more than 100,000 anti-Bush protesters to march past Downing Street and Parliament this week, in a major concession to avoid violent clashes with hardline activists. The Metropolitan police last week banned Thursday's Stop the War Coalition (SWC) march from Whitehall, partly because of security fears that al Qaeda terrorists could use the march as cover for an attack and partly because of demands for tight security by the White House. But as popular support for the march escalated last week, leading the organisers to double the numbers expected, they warned police that the ban could provoke uncontrolled protests and clashes with hardline activists."

Bush and Blair have an astounding lack of awareness and sensitivity to the moods, needs, and demands of the people they allegedly represent. (Queen Elizabeth, who will lavish photo ops and free bed and board on Bush, is obviously just as out of touch.) A poll this week in the UK shows that more than 9 out of 10 Brits do NOT want Bush in the UK. Feelings are running so high that the London police were forced to allow a massive anti-Bush protest or face possible violence. How can these people stay in office? Is corporate money really THAT powerful?

Bush assumes he'll just turn on the phony "country boy" charm this week and brush off the outrage and contempt a growing number of Brits feel about the Bush-Blair war. But he's in for a shock. "Bush will be accused this week of lying about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction in a face-to-face meeting with the families of British soldiers killed in the war, "The Independent revealed. Widow Lianne Seymour said: "Bush has been suggesting that he's going to put our minds at rest. He suggests our husbands' lives weren't lost in vain. However, I'm going to challenge him on it. You can't just do something wrong and hope you find a good reason for it later." Tony Maddison, whose lost his stepson during a battle near Basra, said: "I'm beginning to feel Mr Blair has been a puppet, so I'm looking forward to meeting Bush, to ask: 'What are you doing to our Prime Minister? Look what he's doing to our country." Don't think phony charm will do it this time, G.W.

Rupert Cornwell "Imagine the shock [in the US], when [Americans] see surging crowds, burning flags and (unless police step into ban it) a giant effigy of the Great Leader being toppled, a la Saddam, in Trafalgar Square. It is not only Bush the Chicken-hawk warmonger and promoter-in-chief of the great illusion about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction who they will be denouncing. It is also Bush the ignorant, self-righteous Christian warrior, Bush the smirking executioner and Bush the believer in one law for America and another for everyone else. And, of course, Bush the 'Toxic Texan', an image made flesh by the 'ghost ships' bearing down on Hartlepool, whose US-produced contaminants will find a last resting place on Britain's unpolluted isle. No man is ever quite as extreme as his caricature. But Bush comes closer than most, and not only Britons cannot abide him."

Mark Gisleson writes, "Because liberals are now finally starting to fight back, [NYT columnist Nicholas] Kristoff is buying into the Right's new meme that it's all 'Bush hating.' Well it's not. It's also Cheney hating, Rumsfeld hating, Wolfowitz hating, Rice hating, DeLay hating etc., etc. This is not tit for tat, a retaliation for Clinton. F**k Bill Clinton. This is about a senseless, vicious war, a braindead tax policy, and an astonishingly manipulative and churlish administration that plays by its own rules... In any event, 'hate' is entirely the wrong word. Revulsion, contempt, disgust, loathing, disapproval, enmity and repugnance are all much closer in nuance to the actual rejection Bush's clowns are experiencing. Kristoff falls into the bifurcated trap of 'he said, she said.' There are two sides to this issue only in the sense of one side having illegally seized the reins of power, and the other, vastly larger side, objecting to the subsequent goings on." You GO, Mark!

Michael Kinsley suffers from Parkinson's Disease, which might be cured through stem cell research. "If stem cell research is morally questionable, the procedures used in fertility clinics are worse. You cannot logically outlaw the one and praise the other. And surely logical coherence is a measure of moral sincerity. If he's got both his facts and his logic wrong - and he has - Bush's alleged moral anguish on this subject is ... insulting to the people (including me) whose lives could be saved or redeemed by the medical breakthroughs Bush's stem cell policy is preventing. This is not a policy disagreement. Or rather, it is not only a policy disagreement. If the president is not a complete moron - and he probably is not - he is a hardened cynic, staging moral anguish he does not feel, pandering to people he cannot possibly agree with and sacrificing the future of many American citizens for short-term political advantage. Is that a good enough reason to dislike him personally?"

From Orcinus: "Bush apologist Howard Kurtz -- who never met a GOP talking point he didn't mind repeating -- opines on 'Bush hatred' in his latest WaPo column... As I've pointed out previously, there is simply no truth to the claim that 'the press was filled with stories about Clinton-haters.' The only serious appearance of the subject in major mainstream media was the 1994 Time story on 'Clintonophobia.' As Sadly No discovered in a Lexis/Nexis search (I posted about it here), there were a total of 18 stories in American newspapers between 1992 and 2000 that mentioned 'Clinton hatred.' In contrast, a veritable cottage industry has sprung up around writing about 'Bush hatred.' A quick Google search reveals 1,980 hits - the vast majority of them from conservative pundits and bloggers holding forth on the depredations of irrational liberals."

Australian Prime Minister John "Howard said as he introduced Bush to Parliament: 'We have a divided view in this nation' on Iraq. That was reinforced when 41 opposition-party lawmakers signed a letter criticizing Bush's war decision, saying no clear and present danger existed. Thousands of demonstrators banged drums and shouted outside the Parliament building while a separate group of protesters jostled with security officials outside the U.S. embassy compound where Bush stayed overnight. During Bush's speech, two Green Party senators jumped to their feet and shouted war protests at Bush. They were ordered removed from the chamber but sat and refused to leave. One of them, Sen. Bob Brown, shouted 'we are not a sheriff,' a reference to Bush's recent description of Howard. 'I love free speech,' Bush said to laughter. Several other lawmakers wore white arm bands to protest the Iraq war but remained silent."

"As U.S. Resident Bush prepares to go to Australia, critics are bent on showing him that not everyone in a country that Washington considers among its firmest allies today is a fan of U.S. foreign policy. 'It is good Bush is coming so that we can get out there and show him that we don't like the way he is trying to run the world,' Simon Turner, a young protester who joined Sunday's anti-U.S. rallies here, said in an interview... A large protest is planned by peace activists at the Sydney Town Hall on Wednesday evening and busloads of protesters are expected to descend on the capitol on Thursday morning. Police are busy erecting barricades to keep them at least a kilometre away from the visiting resident - or as one analyst put it 'beyond rocket-launched grenade distance'. A number of opposition members of parliament have said that they would make some form of symbolic protest in parliament against the war of and occupation of Iraq."

"Plans for the Queen and George W Bush to make a triumphant procession along the Mall during the resident's state visit next month have been abandoned because of fears of anti-war protests. The decision, taken by Downing Street after consultations with Buckingham Palace, the White House and Scotland Yard, has disappointed the resident and his senior aides. The procession is traditionally the public high point of a state visit... 'We are liaising with the White House and they have made no attempt to hide their disappointment. They saw it, obviously, as a great photo opportunity.' Resident Bush's trip is the first full state visit of an American p/resident since the Queen came to the throne 52 years ago. He will travel by helicopter to avoid protesters who line road routes. Other proposed events have also been curtailed or cancelled, and he will not address Parliament because of fears of a boycott by MPs."

Ignore the silly excuses rightwingers like Charles Krauthammer and David Brooks give for why so many people are angry about what Bush is doing. Michael Kinsley lays out the facts: Bush didn't win the presidential election, and now he acts as if he has a God-given right to rule. And, he lies - he lies very successfully because facts don't matter to him. And, he's been doing some awful things, like getting us into an illegal war and countenancing the betrayal of a CIA agent. So we're angry because we have good reason to be angry. It's understandable, isn't it? Except maybe to people who are as ideologically extreme and incapable of nuanced thought as Bush is.

Ted Rall writes, "Bush bashers hate Bush for his personal hypocrisy-the draft-dodger who went AWOL during Vietnam yet sent other young men to die in Afghanistan and Iraq , the philandering cocaine addict who dares to call gays immoral-as well as for his attacks on peace and prosperity. But even that doesn't explain why we hate him so much. Bush is guilty of a single irredeemable act so heinous and anti-American that Nixon's corruption and Reagan's intellectual inferiority pale by comparison... Bush stole the presidency. The United States enjoyed two centuries of uninterrupted democracy before George W. Bush came along. The Brits burned the White House, civil war slaughtered millions and depressions brought economic chaos, yet presidential elections always took place on schedule and the winners always took office. Bush ended all that, suing to stop a ballot count that subsequent newspaper recounts proved he had lost." Click on "5" to recommend this story.

Molly Ivins writes, "Among the more amusing cluckings from the right lately is their appalled discovery that quite a few Americans actually think George W. Bush is a terrible president. Robert Novak is quoted as saying in all his 44 years of covering politics, he has never seen anything like the detestation of Bush. Charles Krauthammer managed to write an entire essay on the topic of 'Bush haters' in Time magazine, as though he had never before come across such a phenomenon. Oh, I stretch memory way back, so far back, all the way back to -- our last president. Almost lost in the mists of time though it is, I not only remember eight years of relentless attacks from Clinton-haters, I also notice they haven't let up yet. Clinton-haters accused the man of murder, rape, drug-running, sexual harassment, financial chicanery and official misconduct, and his wife of even worse."

The Daily Kos writes, "Dem candidate Ben Chandler's anti-Bush campaign continues to enjoy great success in Bush-friendly Kentucky. The latest from Survey USA: (July numbers in parenthesis) Fletcher (R) 45 (48), Chandler (D) 45 (43), Other 7 (6), Undecided 3 ... Chandler isn't necessarily a progressive Democrat. He's of the southern variety. But his victory will mean more to Dem chances in 2004 than any other this off-year cycle. If Chandler can ride his aggressiveness to electoral victory, he will show Democrats nationwide that it pays to run against Bush. Chandler can discredit the notion that Bush-lite campaigning is the safest route to electoral victory. And he would remind Democrats that running like a Democrat is not inherently bad. People want choices, and given the choice between a Republican and Republican-lite, people will go with the real Republican every day of the week. (The real lesson of 2002.)"

Rall writes: "As George W. Bush's aristocorporate junta runs roughshod over hard-earned freedoms, as his lunatic-right Administration loots $10 trillion from the national treasury, as his armies invade sovereign nations without cause, as he threatens war against imagined enemies while allowing real ones to build nuclear weapons, those charged with standing against these perversions of American values remain appallingly, inexplicably silent. We have become a nation of cowards, and I am ashamed."

Ash Pulcifer writes for YellowTimes.org: "In December of 2002, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press released a study titled, 'What the World Thinks in 2002.' The study, containing poll results from 27 countries around the world, examines how the global community perceives the United States. The results of this study were shocking, as it showed that positive attitudes toward the United States had plummeted since the election of the Bush administration... After this poll was released, the Bush administration launched a propaganda campaign to convince peoples typically leery of the U.S. that the United States is a positive force for world order. Unfortunately for the United States, this propaganda effort has so far failed. A follow-up Pew Research Center poll, released June 3rd, shows that attitudes toward the United States have worsened, mostly due to the invasion of Iraq."

AP reports: "A new survey says residents of some predominantly Muslim countries think highly of Osama bin Laden and give low marks to the United States. The Pew Global Attitudes Project poll also found that British Prime Minister Tony Blair and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan instill more confidence than [Mr.] Bush in non-Muslim countries. Even in the United States, Blair comes out ahead of Bush... At the same time, majorities in seven of the eight predominantly Muslim countries surveyed said they think their nation will be attacked by the United States. In Indonesia, Nigeria and Pakistan, more than 70 percent of those questioned had this concern. 'Something that I never thought I'd see and something that is of great concern to me is that people now fear American power,' said former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who chaired the survey project."

"Sean Penn has issued a damning indictment of... Bush, the Iraq war, and the American media - in the shape of whole page advertisement in [the] New York Times. In a long and reflective essay, the film actor warns that the US flag is in danger of becoming 'a haunting banner of murder, greed, and treason against our principles'. Penn visited Baghdad before the war and was vilified in the US for doing so. In the ad, he pours scorn on the motives for the war, which he suggests is now mainly benefiting US business.... In the essay, Penn mocks Resident Bush's recent landing, dressed as a fighter pilot, on an aircraft carrier off California. 'He seemed quite pleased with this, his military service,' writes Penn. 'He likes it better now than when he was a member of the Texas national guard, when in 1972 he simply failed to show up for duty for over a year in wartime. 'I certainly wouldn't want to remind him that, were he Awol in a time of war, that would amount to treasonous desertion."

Read Sean Penn's full-page in the New York Times!

"London Mayor Ken Livingstone has launched an astonishing attack on US Resident George W Bush, calling him 'corrupt'. The mayor said: 'I think George Bush is the most corrupt American president since Harding in the Twenties. 'He is not the legitimate president.' He later added: 'This really is a completely unsupportable government and I look forward to it being overthrown as much as I looked forward to Saddam Hussein being overthrown'... And in a statement, officials from the US embassy in London, said: 'Mayor Livingstone's opinions about the United States are a matter of complete indifference to the American embassy, the American government and the American people.'" Hey Busheviks, speak for yourselves! Livingston's words resonate with many of us -- except we say impeach Bush -- or vote him out of office!

"According to the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, in their 'What the World Thinks in 2002' poll, resentment toward the United States grew tremendously between 1999/2000 and 2002. In 19 of the 27 countries polled, attitudes toward the United States fell. In Muslim majority countries, America's image plummeted. All across Latin and South America, views toward the United States eroded in these last two years. The largest change was in Argentina, where many Argentineans blame U.S. dominated financial institutions for their current economic demise. In 1999/2000, 50 percent of Argentineans had a favorable view of the United States, compared to just 34 percent now, a drop of 16 percent. Germany, whose population used to have a 78 percent approval rating of the United States, has seen a 17 percent drop in positive attitudes toward the United States. Even Great Britain, one of America's staunchest allies, saw an 8 percent drop in favorable attitudes toward the United States."

Jeremy Mayer writes for the American Prospect: "George W. Bush is under an international quarantine. It is not security concerns that prevent him from going overseas, nor is it the unseemly appearance of leaving the White House while our troops fight along the Euphrates. Rather, Bush can't leave America because his policies are intensely unpopular in almost every country on earth."