Burning American Flags in Brazil
As President Bush received a warm welcome from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in the capitol city of Brasilia today, not everyone was happy about the visit.
Small demonstrations were held here and there with the obligatory burning of American flags. According to Reuters…
There were small demonstrations against Bush in Brasilia but he will also enjoy Brazilian hospitality at a barbecue thrown by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the presidential retreat Granja do Torto.
And…
As Bush’s motorcade drove to the ranch, it passed a group of about 100 demonstrators who burned the American flag and chanted "Invader! Tyrant! Exploiter of the poor!"
In Brasilia, demonstrators invaded a McDonalds and burned American flags in the street (as usual). According to some news reports, the McDonald’s protesters were also waving the Palestinian flag and the Syrian flag. As it turns out, the McDonalds protesters were from the "Arab" community in Brazil. And they apparently haven’t tried the Double Quarter Pounder with cheese because according to Reuters, "about 30 protesters occupied a McDonalds fast food restaurant and began serving up traditional Brazilian food as bewildered staff looked on."
There’s nothing, in and of itself, remarkable about anti-U.S. protests in South America. They’ve burnt more American flags in the last three decades than you can shake a stick at. The interesting thing is that, at least in the case of the McDonalds, the protest was not conducted by Brazilian natives but by pro-Palestinian and pro-Syrian members of the "Arab" community.
It is a consistent theme wherever you go in the world today - the anti-Iraq-war crowd and the Bush-haters (usually one in the same) are blatant supporters of terrorist and authoritarian regimes - mostly middle-eastern - that do not appreciate the U.S. interfering with their nefarious goals.