Tracy;

Blocking the port was a serious mistake! In addition to possible U.S. Military supplies (if any) my company along with many others are dependant upon the port, which already experienced a shut down due to the west coast dock strike and had a severe impact upon our area. Our economy is the worst in the nation and this action is not appreciated.

One woman shot with a rubber bullet had a very bad red mark on her cheek. If the bullet had hit her about 4-6” higher she may have lost her eye. Even some Longshoremen were shot with rubber bullets by the police. If you were on the dock you were fair game!

There is a noticeable difference in how San Francisco and Oakland do things – any things. Oakland may be seven miles from San Francisco but it is in another world. I do not like to drive on the freeway through Oakland and would never consider stopping to "visit", in broad daylight.

Oakland constantly complains about things like drugs, corruption and its high homicide rate. Now they also have high visibility for the world to see how they behave during a “war protest”. I do not use the term “peace protest” as that seems contradictory.

It costs much less to live in Oakland than San Francisco. I wonder why? :)

Tom

>Different matter entirely. These protestors were blocking the ports where companies ship arms and supplies for the U.S. military. I find that deplorable. They were obstructing access to the ports that provide supplies for the U.S. military. Stopping the shipment of supplies could result in dangerous situations for U.S. troops and is hardly peaceful. They could have protested in other locations without interfering with the transfer of goods and still made their point. I don't know if the police action was too extreme as I was not there and I do not know exactly what the demonstrators were doing. In America we have demonstrators all the time protesting something. There is no restriction unless you obstruct business or traffic or endanger the lives of civlians. I haven't seen or heard of any other peace protests that turned violent. I'm sure this situation will be investigated fully as all are in the U.S. It is possible the police were too violent in their efforts to disperse
>the crowd. California is known for demonstrations occasionally turning into riots in the streets I'm afraid.
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>>> While democracy is not difficult, ...
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>>hm... say that to californian "walk for peace" ...