Yesterday in Melbourne, Australia a rally was held in interest of peace in relation to the Iraq 'crisis'. This rally was huge, it drew a crowd of 200,000 plus, it took me about 35 minutes to move 200 metres. The streets, 4 lanes roads plus foot paths on either side were filled. I'm not sure about other states in Australia but apperently similar crowds are expected for the rallies being organised. Now, these are larger than usual crowds for any sort of protest. It has been suspected for a while now and i think yesterday and the rallies to come are pretty damn good proof that THE MAJORITY OF AUSTRALIA DOES NOT WANT TO GO TO WAR.

If John Howard goes ahead and drags us into his, Bush's and Blair's war we'll see how much democracy is really worth.


btw:
I also have heard (not sure) that surveys are showing that the majority of americans do not want a war either. I don't know how true this is.

not very true. its not that we want a war. what we would like is for sadam to give up his weapons and leave iraq. he probably wont do that. i heard this morning that with backing of the major members of the un 87% of americans are behind going to war. if we were to go in alone only 37%.

well, the way the UN are handling the situation it doesnt look like there will even be a need for a war. Bush is so obviously desperate for a war. Who cares how long the UN squad take as long as they are able to disarm Iraq? Bush is getting real desperate

February 14, 2003
Poll Shows Most Want War Delay
By PATRICK E. TYLER and JANET ELDER


Even after the administration's aggressive case for going to war soon in Iraq, a majority of Americans favor giving United Nations weapons inspectors more time to complete their work so that any military operation wins the support of the Security Council, the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll shows.

The public supports a war to remove Saddam Hussein. But Americans are split over whether the Bush administration and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell have made a convincing case for going to war right now, even though much of the public is inclined to believe that Iraq and Al Qaeda are connected in terrorism.

The poll found that while the economy still commands the greatest concern among Americans, the prospect of combat in Iraq, fear of terrorism and the North Korean nuclear standoff are stirring additional anxieties.http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/14/politics/14POLL.html?pagewanted=print&position=top

Moderator Edit – reduce length of quoted text

i was there:)

it was HUGE

250 000

it reached from victoria street WELL past the state libary and down latrobe street almost to the station and i have NO idea how far the other way

I was disappointed a bit after marching in DC with what seemed like half a million people, that crowd size was vastly under-reported. But there is no reliable data it seems. I would like to learn more about how crowds can be accurately estimated (satellite/aerial images?) and how these figures could be published with authority. For all the organizing that these events entail, accurate tallies would help validate these expressions of public opinion. Any ideas? Anyone seen an overhead image of a protest we could put under scrutiny?