The above is from SF Indymedia  http://sf.indymedia.org at
 http://sf.indymedia.org/archives/archive_by_id.php?id=1225&category_id=12

Check the pictures - it's unreal - these are the descriptions:

Start of protest and police arriving
 http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/04/1596191.php

Sequence of concussion grenade attacks on peaceful protestors
 http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/04/1596331.php

Weapons and munitions used by police
 http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/04/1596371.php

Injuries 1
 http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/04/1596389.php

Injuries 2
 http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/04/1596415.php

Subsequent protest march on Federal building
 http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/04/1596421.php

AP wire pics and links
 http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/04/1596332.php

---------------

Other Reports:

POLICE USE RUBBER BULLETS ON OAKLAND PROTESTERS

Police open fired Monday morning with rubber bullets at an anti-war protest at the Port of Oakland. Oakland Police said at least 24 people were arrested. Demonstrators targeted the port because at least one company there is handling war supplies.

Besides rubber bullets, tear gas, concussion grenades, police running over people with motorcycles marked the police action. One protester said, "Personally, I took 4 wooden bullets to the left side of my body. One in the lowest rib in my chest, and 2 on my leg, with the last leaving my left knee looking like a grapefruit. The flash grenades were the scariest because they were actual explosions, and they were going off only meters from our heads. Tear gas (not positive that's the kind) was used at one point as well, but seemed to be less effective for them than the wooden bullets. Watching cops run up to a crowd of panicking people, aim at their heads, and fire was a sight I will never forget. I saw a guy who got hit in the face with one of them and he was really bloodied up." In addition to injured protesters, several longshoreman standing nearby were also hit by the rubber bullets and required medical treatment. ``I was standing as far back as I could,'' said longshoremen Kevin Wilson. ``It was very scary. All of that force wasn't necessary.''

Eye witnesses say the protest had been non violent up to the point of the police attack although the cops claim that objects were thrown at them.

Sources: IMC/Bay Area, Oakland Tribune, Guardian

-------------------------

REUTERS:

Rubber Bullets Used on War Protesters in Oakland
Mon Apr 7, 3:32 PM ET
By Elinor Mills Abreu
 http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/
nm/20030407/ts_nm/iraq_protests_usa_dc&cid=564&ncid=1480

OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) - Oakland police fired rubber bullets to disperse about 750 anti-war demonstrators on Monday in what was believed to be the first use of the projectiles against U.S. protesters since the American-led war on Iraq began.

Several people suffered minor injuries and demonstrators complained that police overreacted because protesters had simply blocked access to a firm they claimed was profiting from the war in Iraq when police shot rubber bullets and wooden pellets into the crowd.

One man lifted up his shirt to show a welt about the size of a baseball, and several were hit as they were moving from the scene, as evidenced by large bruises on their backs.

"I have been to many protests over the years, and I have never seen police resort to shooting people because they didn't like where they were standing," said Scott Fleming, 29, a lawyer hit several times in the back.

"They had loaded guns and started charging."

An Oakland police spokeswoman said officers warned before firing. At least a dozen protesters were arrested.

"We gave our dispersal order, we gave them an order, we gave them ample time to disperse," said police spokeswoman Danielle Ashford. "When we give our dispersal order, that's pretty much it. (If) there are safety issues involved, that's when we step in."

The action is believed to be the first police use of anti-crowd munitions against U.S. demonstrators since President Bush (news - web sites) launched an invasion aimed at toppling Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites).

'NOT PROFESSIONAL'

The police action angered many in the crowd, which later dispersed, with some moving to a different part of Oakland.

"This was not professional, to say the least," said Joel Tena, a constituent liaison for Oakland's vice mayor. "I was afraid for the safety of the protesters and concerned that a nonviolent protest had turned violent at the hands of police."

Susan Quinlan was hit with pellets twice in the back. "I never heard any warning to disperse. They pursued us and shot us as we walked away," she said.

Leone Reinbold, a spokeswoman for Direct Action to Stop the War which organized the protest, said she saw a policeman run his motorcycle into one woman and another man get hit with a rubber bullet to the nose.

"We weren't there to confront the police. We set up a peaceful picket line," she said. "The worst injury was to the long, tried-and-true tradition in this country of picketing."

Jerry Drelling, a spokesman for American President Lines, the company that was the object of the protest, said it has some government contracts but declined to provide details. He said no one at the firm had been injured.

"The Oakland police department managed to keep the ingress and egress open so that worked out pretty well," he said. "We're trying to run a business and you want to keep the gates open."

At a separate demonstration, San Francisco police detained about 20 protesters blocking the Federal Building. Several people also briefly blocked one of the city's main highways.

Anti-war activists in the San Francisco area said they were resuming protest actions on Monday after a period of relative quiet in a city famous for its history of dissent. Police arrested more than 2,000 people in San Francisco in the first two days of the war.

Also on Monday, New York police arrested two or three dozen people who blocked the entrance to the Manhattan building of the Carlyle Group, a firm with a stake in the defense industry.

--
PS it's worth cheching out the hundreds of AP anti-war demo pics from the last few days:
 http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=news_photos&p=protest+war


-----------------------------

Police Violence Shocks Activists, Others at Port of Oakland Protest
by Dana Hull
 http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15565

What Do You Think?
Tell Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown:
 officeofthemayor@oaklandnet.com
Or call: 510-238-3141

An anti-war demonstration at the Port of Oakland turned violent this morning when Oakland Police opened fire with wooden dowels, ``sting balls,'' concussion grendades, tear gas and other non-lethal weapons when protesters at the gates of two shipping lines refused an order to disperse.

Scores of protesters ran from a line of police or tried to hide behind nearby big rigs. At least a dozen demonstrators and nine longshoremen who were standing nearby were injured.

``Our guys were standing in one area waiting to go to work, and then the police started firing on the longshoremen,'' said Henry Graham, the president of ILWU Local 10. ``Some were hit in the chest with rubber bullets, and seven of our guys went to the hospital. I don't want to imply that the police deliberately did this, but it doesn't make sense.''

There have been so many anti-war demonstrations in the Bay Area in recent months that they have almost become routine, and most have been peaceful. Monday's events mark the first time that local police have used projectiles to disperse crowds, and many demonstrators said they were stunned that the projectiles were fired at such close range.

``I was just marching in a big circle and the police lowered their guns at us,'' said Scott Fleming, 29, who took off his shirt to reveal four large red and swollen welts on his back. ``I turned to run and I started getting hit with wooden bullets. They just kept shooting at us, and I kept running. I'm a lawyer, and I'm seriously considering filing charges.''

The early morning mayhem came as a shock to veteran activists and Oakland leaders alike. Oakland was one of the first cities in the region to pass a resolution condeming the U.S.-led war with Iraq, and the City Council has a progressive reputation. Some well known public officials even turned out to participate in the early morning protest.

``I got hit a few times with rubber bullets,'' said Dan Siegel, an attorney and member of the Oakland School Board. Siegel pulled a sting ball out of the pocket of his business suit and said he was outraged that the police fired on a peaceful protest. ``The police totally overreacted. It's over the top. They were reckless, and I also saw an officer on a motorcycle run over a woman's foot.''

The port protest was one of several anti-war demonstrations held Monday in the Bay Area. Several people were arrested at the Concord Naval Weapons Station, and seven were arrested after they temporarily blocked an off-ramp from Interstate 280 in San Francisco. Other demonstrators walked in a circle in front of the federal building in San Francisco, drumming wooden spoons together as federal employees arrived for work.

The action at the Port was the largest. Hundreds of demonstrators met near dawn Monday at the terminals of Neptune Orient Lines Ltd.'s APL unit and Stevedoring Services of America, shipping companies that activists say are profiting from the war.

In late March, Stevedoring Services of America won a $4.8 million contract from the U.S. government to manage the Iraqi port Umm Qasr and ensure that urgent food assistance and materials flow smoothly through the seaport. Critics are screaming foul over the process, which excluded any foreign companies from bidding on the lucrative contracts.

The demonstrations at the port were planned with the quiet support of the ILWU, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

Many rank-and-file members of ILWU Local 10 oppose the war with Iraq, and the local has its own Anti-War Action Committee.

Police fired into the crowd after some protesters failed to clear the street in front of the terminals.

``At that point, we fired non-lethal munitions,'' said Danielle Ashford, an officer with the Oakland Police Department. ``There were a few agitators in the crowd. The majority of them were peaceful.''

But others said they never saw any evidence of ``agitators'' and urged any witnesses to come to Tuesday's City Council meeting.

``I was there from 5 a.m. on, and the only violence that I saw was from the police,'' said Joel Tena, the constituent liason for Vice Mayor Nancy Nadel. ``What happened today was very surprising. It seemed the police were operating under the assumption that they were not going to let any kind of protest happen.''

Copyright 2003 San Jose Mercury News
Monday, April 7, 2003 by the San Jose Mercury News
 http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews

 http://www.actagainstwar.org

And this is American democracy? What has happened to the pillars of freedom of speech? freedom of assembly? without the threat of injury or terror? It truly is disgusting. If the American government wants respect for their war against terrorism and their style of democracy this ain't the way! I suggest they start with protecting their own citizens and ensuring their deomcratic rights

Just a thought this... What if a reporter from Al Jazeera had been covering that demo?

 http://english.aljazeera.net/

US police use force to suppress protests

United States police used extraordinary force to suppress protests against the invasion of Iraq on Monday, firing rubber bullets, concussion grenades and arresting many

At least nine protestors and bystanders were injured, and some 30 were arrested in Oakland, when police fired non lethal ammunition, including concussion grenades, beanbags, rubber and wooden bullets, without warning, several witnesses said.

As many as 750 protestors blocked the docks of American President Lines, a shipping company they alleged had already been awarded a post war contract by the US government.

Oakland police, who continued to fire into a smaller crowd after hundreds dispersed, said they provided ample warning for protestors to vacate the area.

"The city of Oakland will not tolerate attacks, which jeopardize the safety of our citizens, businesses, police officers and law-abiding protesters," police said in a statement.

But protestors, city officials and port workers at the scene said the demonstration was entirely peaceful. Deputy Oakland mayor Nancy Nadel said one of her aides at the scene witnessed no provocation by the picketers.

"The protest was totally peaceful," said Steve Stallone of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union who was at the scene.

"The police suddenly gave a two-minute warning for demonstrators to disperse and then began firing objects and grenades into the crowd.”

"It was terrifying and as far as I could see there was absolutely no reason for them to resort to justice as protesters did move away from the gate when they were told to," he said.

Demonstrator Scott Fleming, who was hit by police projectiles five times, said the officers "showed no interest in arresting people. They just wanted to shoot people, to hurt people," he claimed.

Several others were badly bruised, including one man who lifted his shirt to reveal a baseball-sized welt.

In San Francisco, 18 protestors were taken into custody after a demonstration at the Federal Building there. Police arrested more than 2000 people in San Francisco in the first two days of the now 21 day old US-led war.

Several dozen were also arrested and charged with disorderly conduct in New York on Monday, outside the office of the multi-billion dollar Carlyle Group.

“Carlyle gets fat on the war,” chanted protestors in front of the 5th Avenue building of the firm that has ties to the defence industry.

"We want to draw the links between the war and some of the big

corporations that are set to profit from it," said Patrick Reinsborough of Direct Action to Stop the War.

"Behind this military crisis in Iraq is a deeper democracy crisis here in the United States. This war is being driven by corporations with undue influence over the government and its actions in Iraq," he said. --- Al Jazeera with agency inputs

 http://english.aljazeera.net/topics/article.asp?cu_no=1&item_no=2103&version=1&template_id=277&parent_id=258

I'd just like to remind all readers that Sussex police used pepper spray on people sitting in the road last Halloween at an anti-war demo...

this is the liberty that Bush and the northamerican govrnment offer! A freedom where nobody can speak, and not hear the voice of millions of people that say NO WAR, OUT IMPERIALIST OF ALL THE WORLD!!!

We know that not is all the people of USA, but the hate for the represion and the gifst of blood and death is big. we know that your love this country, but we hate USA (Hey, no the people of USA) because USA hate us, that simple.

You, the councies people of northamerica have to say this, in Colombia and in all south america the hate against USA is bigger all day, and that is not fair, because Bush don't is USA, USA is her people, and her people should win.

We continue fight for the National Liberation, together whit Chávez and Fidel. Because oter future is necesary, for that we fight.

A hugh aand a kiss to all the people that protest. Thousand hugs and kisses to the fighters aginst the Irak war.

NO MORE WAR
FREEDOM IN ALL THE WORLD
OUT IMPERIALIST OF COLOMBIA, VENEZUELA, LATINAMERICA AND ALL THE WORLD.

ANARCHY!!!!

WE FIGHT TO WIN!!!

CdP

don't just spout crap mate - go and look at the picture references - this is in fact a reuters photo - go search the ap photo newswire and you'll find it with a bunch of other pictures from oakland - either impact wounds, or cops firing the guns.

this lass was unfortunate enought to get hit at close range, most of the other wounds depicted in the pictures happened at further distances - check out the state of the dockworkers - not pretty.

anyway power to the people - they stuck together.

links to reuters ap pictures:

 http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/04/1596332.php

To bbs.fuckedcompany.com:
IT'S OK TO USE YOUR OWN NAME MR RUMSFELD.

Get a job and kill two birds with one stone, fuckfaces!