ATLANTA - As President Bush appeared at a Republican fund-raiser in a downtown hotel Thursday, hundreds gathered below to protest his administration's stance on Iraq and other issues. <br>
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Protesters staked out all four intersections around the Atlanta Marriott Marquis beginning about 11:30 a.m., but Atlanta police kept them away from the hotel's back entrance where Bush's motorcade arrived just after noon and departed less than an hour later. <br>
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Police said no one was arrested or cited. <br>
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Several groups were present, including members of the Interfaith Atlanta Coalition for Peace and Justice and the Green Party. <br>
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Ann Mauney of Interfaith Atlanta said, ``We represent millions of Americans who do not support war in Iraq. Bush's policies are going to create more hatred against the United States, and that's going to result in more violence.'' <br>
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A few dozen people held signs asking Bush to intercede with the Chinese government on behalf of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement that once had millions of followers but was banned in 1999 as a threat to communist rule. <br>
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The Sierra Club and Georgia Public Interest Research were also there to protest the environmental positions adopted by Bush and Republican congressional candidate Saxby Chambliss, one of two beneficiaries of the fund-raiser.
