Also at another location a large sign reading “IMPEACH” was raised and clearly seen on a live TV broadcast of the parade. The response from the crowd was mostly positive with a few exceptions.

Some peace signs were flashed from riders on parade floats and most parade goers expressed agreement with the peace activists. Harassment of the activists by police authorities however eventually forced the sign bearers to move. There are no reports of any arrests.

Uploaded are two screen grabs from the TV broadcast

That was too cool.

I LIKE IT.

IMPEACH BUSH AND CHENEY NOW

GREAT WORK ! Indeed the face of Empire is shown.

STOP WARS

To clarify one point in this: we are "anti-war" activists , we are also "justice" activists, "envronmental" activists, "alternative energy" activists, "healthcare for all" activists, "caring for all" activists . . . . well you get the idea . . . . the bush lead "corporate empire" is the single greatest enemy to the people, to the planet, to a durable future . . . . but you knew that . . . .

Ironic how Saddam got put on trial while Bush stands by and watches from across the globe. Except for the hanging part, I think it's Bush's turn to face a judge. A real judge this time. But skip the hanging, I'd rather not see that.

wtf does the rose parade have to do with impeaching bush? Can't you get your own publicity without leaching off of some one else's celebration? if you wish to impeach bush go to DC, but the truth is you don't have what it takes to go beyond the county line to take the man out of office.

I am sorry I could not participate but I am so glad someone was there to throw a wrench in it! Good work! Too bad those hate-mongering hypo-Christians were there.

This whole Stormtrooper thing reminds me of that old war footage of Nazis goosestepping through Europe
or the KKK marching through Washington DC in white robes.

Why not have the Star Wars Rebels marching through the parade instead (with the cute little Ewoks alongside them for the kids)?

Why are the "Imperial" troops of the oppression marching to APPLAUSE?


Was this some kind of political statement by George Lucas?

Get a grip, it is a movie. A movie people like that has stood the test of time. And, I might be wrong, but didnt the Stormtroopers get defeated?

Go back to the grassy knoll and look for the second shooter.

"This whole Stormtrooper thing reminds me of that old war footage of Nazis goosestepping through Europe
or the KKK marching through Washington DC in white robes.

Why not have the Star Wars Rebels marching through the parade instead (with the cute little Ewoks alongside them for the kids)?

Why are the "Imperial" troops of the oppression marching to APPLAUSE?


Was this some kind of political statement by George Lucas?"

Well put!!

There's a lot of political content in Star Wars. It's about wars, empires, rebellions, religion, and technology.

http://www.progressiveu.org/320_star_wars_III

http://belladonna.org/Karen/politicsofstarwars.html

Lucas is against the war, at least since 2005.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/05/16/cannes.starwars/

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2005-05-15-cannes-lucas_x.htm

"This was written during the Vietnam War and Nixon era, when the issue was how a democracy turns itself over to a dictator — not how a dictator takes over a democracy," he said.

...

Pushed further on the current Internet chat about the war in Sith being akin to the current Iraqi war, Lucas said, "When I wrote this, Iraq didn't exist. We were just funding Saddam Hussein and giving him weapons of mass destruction."

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And finally, someone who disagrees:

http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1116345691.shtml

Quote:
America is not an empire, and to believe otherwise is to show an ignorance of what a true empire is. Empires don't war with states, occupy them, and then set them free - as the US has done with Japan, Germany, Panama, and soon, Iraq. Empires like the Japanese "Great East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" enslave people and ship their resources back home - as Russia did when it disassembled complete factories in Eastern Europe, placed them on rail cars, and sent them back to Stalingrad. America is not even sliding towards that; it's going the other way by sending its wealth abroad in exchange for goods and services resulting in a massive debt owed to the rest of the world. Rome didn't buy chariots from Thracia in exchange for IOUs.

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I think Dean protests a little too much. Empires change with the times, and the mixed, post-industrial economy produces a different kind of empire. The character of the American Empire is that it's neoliberal. The wealth, technology, and warmaking capacity is used to impose neoliberal forms of government on other countries. Japan is a good example: permanent one-party, neoliberal "democracy." Mexico is another ally: since the 80s, single-party "democracy" dominated by neoliberals, and they signed on to NAFTA. The UK, our main European ally, has gone neoliberal too, from Thatcher to Blair, and represent American Empire interests in Europe. Canada is still socialist, but they did sign on to NAFTA -- therefore, they are in the sphere.

For a while, the American Empire hasn't had to ship anything back to the center, because the continent, after it had been taken away from Native American, bought from France, and won in a war from Spain, was rich with natural resources. We have, however, run low on oil. That's why we're in Iraq: to get the oil, to try and influence OPEC.

The goal of that, and the other expansions, is to have American companies (or multinational companies sympathetic to the Empire) own part of the foreign economy through foreign direct investment. FDI is used to acquire resources, and more recently, especially for the US, cheap labor. It's also done to expand markets for products from the Empire, like cel phones, movies, hamburgers, gourmet coffee, and small nuclear missiles. (See Wikipedia entry on Foreign Direct Investment.)

Also, as a response to Dean points out: all this trade is carried out in dollars. Global ownership is done in dollars, and that is to the benefit of the American Empire, because it encourages our creditors (aka, China, Japan) to maintain a stable dollar (otherwise, their investments would collapse).

(Dean also implies that Lucas came from a hard life and is a limo liberal. Hardly. He was from Marin, an affluent area north of San Francisco, and his politics are centrist. He uses a lot of racial imagery similar to 1930's and 1940's films, which many people of color find offensive. They're dehumanizing portrayals right out of the British Empire's cast of dark-skinned savages, orientals, and semitics.)

Go to 1:38 to see the impeach sign.