NATO protesters occupy Chicago streets

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NATO protesters occupy Chicago streets

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Thousands of NATO protesters took to the streets of Chicago calling for an end to costly wars.

19 May,2012 07:37 am

Thousands of NATO protesters took to the streets of Chicago Friday chanting tax the rich and calling for an end to costly wars so governments can focus on providing social services.The protesters blocked traffic in the heart of Chicagos financial district as the citys highways were being shut down for the first motorcades bearing leaders of 50 countries gathering for a NATO summit on Sunday and Monday.Whose streets? Our streets hundreds of protesters chanted as they marched past police mounted on horses and bicycles, while onlookers took pictures from the sidewalks and through the windows of shops and offices.Fears that the protests could turn violent have put the city on edge, with some downtown businesses even telling office workers to ditch their suits and ties and dress down to avoid being hassled or targeted on the streets.Police and protest organizers have vowed that there will be no repeat of the trouble that erupted at G20 summits in London and Toronto or the riots that scarred Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.The decision to move the G8 summit -- set for Friday and Saturday -- from Chicago to the presidential retreat of Camp David outside Washington is expected to lessen the intensity of demonstrations in President Barack Obamas adopted hometown.So far its been very peaceful, Officer John Mirabelli of the Chicago Police Department said.Just 14 people have been arrested in a week of street protests and nearly all were for acts of civil disobedience. One person who assaulted a police officer and another who acted disorderly were arrested on Friday.The impromptu -- and unsanctioned -- marches were a mostly cheerful and disorganized affair, though some bandana-clad marchers chanted obscenities about the police and used sticks to drum on lamp posts.They began after groups of protesters left a formal rally in which hundreds of nurses wearing Robin Hood hats and red t-shirts demanding an economy for the 99 percent pushed for a tax on financial transactions such as stock trades.NATO is here, the time is riiiight for dancing in the streets, the nurses sang as the boisterous crowd broke out into a choreographed dance routine.Therell be teachers teaching and nurses healing -- dancing in the streets... its time to tax Wall StreetSharon Tobin, a nurse from San Francisco, laughed and shouted lets do that again when the song came to an end.Craig Nisbet, 27, came down with a group of friends from Toronto to spend the weekend protesting and ended up sleeping on the street Thursday night.He laughed and hugged people as he wandered through the crowd holding a signs saying NATO NO WAY TO.The money thats spent on militarization and war these days compared to social services, health care and education is so wrong, said Nisbet, who is originally from Glasgow.NATO are basically the military enforcers of G8 policy and the G8 is one of the most undemocratic systems there is.Chris Phillips said he was heartened to see so many different groups standing together to end imperialism, to end globalization and stop the destruction of third world nations for corporate profit.That has to end immediately and thats why were here, he said.