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Thousands of protesters marched through downtown Chicago on Sundayin one of the city's largest demonstrations in years, airinggrievances about war, climate change and a wide range of otherissues as world leaders assembled for a NATO summit. The protest drew together a broad assortment of participants,including peace activists joining with war veterans and people morefocused on economic inequality. The diversity of opinions alsosowed doubts about whether there were too many messages to beeffective. Some of the most enduring images of the event were likely to befrom the end when a small group of demonstrators clashed with aline of police who tried to keep them from the lakeside conventioncentre where U.S. President Barack Obama was hosting the gathering. The protesters tried to move east toward the centre, with somehurling sticks and bottles at police. Officers responded byswinging their batons. The two sides were locked in a standoff fornearly two hours, with police blocking the protesters' path and thecrowd refusing to leave. Some protesters had blood streaming downtheir faces. Authorities were seen making arrests one by one and leadingindividual demonstrators away in handcuffs. Chicago police said Sunday evening that the NATO summit resulted in45 people being arrested. Those numbers seemed certain to rise asnew skirmishes erupted later in the night. 'So many people here' Hundreds of protesters gathered late Sunday night near the ArtInstitute of Chicago as first lady Michelle Obama hosted a dinnerfor spouses of NATO leaders inside. At least 100 Chicago policeofficers in riot gear were also at the scene. 'NATO is used to keep the poor poor and the rich rich' Demonstrator John Schraufnagel Earlier at the protest near the convention center, Esther Westlake,a recent graduate of Northeastern Illinois University, marvelled atthe size of the crowd. She said she had been involved in marchesprotesting the Iraq War in Chicago but never one this big. "It's crazy. There's so many people here," she said. "Having NATOin town is kind of exciting." But she wondered whether the political agendas of the protesterswere too unfocused to get diplomats' attention. "It seems like there's so many messages and people aren't reallysure what they want to get accomplished," Westlake said. "Peoplejust need to figure out what their argument is going to be." Protesters march down Michigan Avenue in Chicago during thisweekend's NATO summit. (Seth Perlman/Associated Press) Some participants called for the dissolution of NATO, the63-year-old military alliance that is holding its 25th formalmeeting in Chicago. It is the first time the summit has been heldin a U.S. city other than Washington. Diplomats at the meeting planned to discuss the war in Afghanistan,European missile defence and other international security matters. "Basically, NATO is used to keep the poor poor and the rich rich,"said John Schraufnagel, who travelled from Minneapolis to Chicagofor the march. Since the end of the Cold War, he said, the alliancehas become "the enforcement arm of the ruling one per cent, of thecapitalist one per cent." The march, while massive, was still smaller than the last majorprotest moment in Chicago, when nearly half a million people filledthe city's downtown in 2006 to protest making it a felony to be anillegal immigrant. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Tattoo Coloring Book , Tattoo Practice Skins, and more. For more , please visit Temporary Tattoo Kits today!
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