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George W. Bush, who left office with one of the lowest popularity ratings in U.S. history, will officially kick off his unofficial post-presidential image rehabilitation tour with a speech in Calgary on Tuesday.
But some protesters who plan to be on hand at the city’s convention centre say “Dubya” doesn’t deserve a soapbox — he should be in handcuffs.
When Mr. Bush steps up to the podium at a closely controlled private event, he’ll face 1,500 friendly faces brought in by organizers and the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. Tickets reportedly sold for $400 each and were made available exclusively by invitation.
Those invitations say Mr. Bush will share his thoughts “on eight momentous years in the Oval Office.” The former president will also speak about “the challenges facing the world in the 21st century.”
Protesters promise to be out in full force.
It’s a war criminal being invited to Canada by a municipal representative body, to come and have a chat,” said Toby Pollett, who argues Mr. Bush should be arrested at the border over the alleged torture of prisoners in U.S. military camps.
It’s ludicrous, really, when you look at it.”
What I find amusing of this escapade is when 50 Cents was banned from performing in Toronto because of his violent lyrics and his celebration of the “gangsta” culture 2 or 3 years ago. And here we have a preson who freely admits that war in Iraq war was wrong. A war in which 100,000’s are dead, a war in which 4,000 US citizens have been killed, a war that encouraged torture and “any means necessary” to extract information….and what do the yahoos in Calgary do? They invite this potential mass murderer for a speech!! No protest from the government about the presence of a mass murderer in this case.
Desi In Toronto 