Canadian Protests Fizzle Out

Misinformation spread by right wing media
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Transcribed Below...(audio)
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
November 30, 2004

The President of the United States, George W. Bush, is in Canada, went to Ottawa today "in an attempt to mend fences." It's his first-ever state visit to Canada and of course the leftists up there were all excited, my friends, about protests. There are going to be massive protests there greeting the president, going to cause him all kinds of problems! However, it never happened.

"Hopes for early mass protests in the streets of Ottawa on the eve of today's visit by President Bush fizzled out as journalists outnumbered demonstrators." Well, how can they say the journalists are not the protesters? They're of the same mind.

"A loose coalition of groups opposed to just about everything Bush supports had promised two demonstrations hours before Bush was due to land in Ottawa aboard Air Force One. The first demonstration of Palestinians and sympathizers of the Palestinian cause opposed to Washington's support of Israel attracted less than forty demonstrators, according to a quick head count by journalists.

"The protest attracted 39 demonstrators, 42 journalists and television crew members, and three cops. A second ostensibly larger demonstration scheduled for the midst of the evening rush hour was called by a group calling itself Students Against Bush, but nobody showed up at that. Further protests, however, were expected today. Efforts to contact protest organizers were unsuccessful with the phone numbers listed by organizers remaining unanswered." Try the phone book. Maybe these protest groups are listed in the phone book?

We actually have an audio sound bite of an on-the-scene report. This is News World International TV reporting on Bush's visit to Canada. What you have here is the anchor Don Newman who says to a reporter, Susan Bonner,

"Depending on how these meetings go, it will perhaps be the demonstrations that get most of the coverage. Our colleague Susan Bonner is over on Parliament Hill."

Then he adds this:

NEWMAN: Susan, you are standing where there is going to be a candlelight vigil at five o'clock in the evening, but at the moment, it looks like you're kind of a lonely Canadian sanding up there on Parliament Hill. What's happening over there?

BONNER: Well, I'm standing here. What you can't see, Don, is -- are all the police officers and security forces who are out around here in great number. There is a small number of protesters behind me. That's accounting for the music you hear in the background. There will be protesters gathering here throughout the day. There is a protest that is picking up some steam now a few blocks away at Ottawa city hall. And those protesters will make their way here eventually. At some point this afternoon they plan, before the candlelight vigil, they plan to -- to topple a papier-mâché statue of President Bush, and that, of course, will be reminiscent of the Saddam Hussein statue that came down when American soldiers made their way into Baghdad.

RUSH: That's funny, because the only problem was that no protesters showed up. Thirty-nine at one and zip, zero, nada at another, and I think it was the candlelight vigil which attracted no candles, no light, no vigil, and no people, and here they all were all excited about this giant protest that was slated to greet George W. Bush.

Now that the election is over, the passions up there somewhat cool. But I mentioned this yesterday, I think there's a huge myth out there about how hated we are, even in Canada, and how hated Bush is. I think it's largely a media myth. So much in the media these days is an absolute myth.

I mean, is it a protest if nobody shows up? Can you have a protest if no protesters show up? They still talk about it as a protest that fizzled.

There was no protest.