September 24th: Hundreds of thousands of people protested the US war in Iraq and the lack of funding of people's needs such as disaster preparedness today. The protests took place on the same day as Hurricane Rita hit the state of Texas, bringing rains and strong winds to homes, oil rigs, and businesses. Indymedia radio stations came together for the monthly Critical Mass Radio Network broadcast. Radio stations conducted interviews about the protests, the war, and the two recent hurricane/evacuation disasters. They switched back and forth, carrying feeds from such locations as Michigan, Portland, New York, and San Francisco.

Some 50,000 people rallied and marched in San Francisco. An Anti-Capitalist Convergence gathered at 16th and Mission and then marched along the sidewalks to Dolores Park, where it joined the main march. There was a rally at Dolores Park, which turned into a 12pm march and arrived at Jefferson Square Park for a 2pm rally. At the park, the windows of a corporate media van were smashed, and "Fuck the Corporate Media" was written on the van. (Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | Video: 1 | 2 | 3 | Audio: 1 | 2 )
At around 4pm approximately 20 people were arrested while trying to cross the street and enter the Love Parade at Civic Center. The group appeared to be Anarchist Action protesters who were coming from the anti-war protest Video

Crowd sizes at protests around the country were larger than expected. 300,000 people surrounded the White House in Washington, DC. (Video) 50,000 people protested in Los Angeles and thousands protested in San Diego, Denver, and Seattle. In California, twice as many people as were expected protested in Salinas, several hundred people rallied in Fresno & Visalia Video, and there was a small protest in Santa Cruz. Elsewhere in the world, up to 100,000 people took to the streets of London ( Photos | Report )

The anti-war movement has grown in the last two months as Cindy Sheehan has gotten national corporate media coverage of her attempt to talk with President Bush about why he went to war. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, polls have shown that for the first time since George Bush invaded Iraq in March of 2003, a majority of people in the United States now call for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from that country.

Breaking news reports as heard on Enemy Combatant Radio or reported to Indybay editors
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