That intersection is where the bank bailouts originated, after all.

Well maybe that's the reason you're poor, troll2 - you're a psychopath who isn't very bright. Not exactly the sort of person who can get by in an unstructured environment.

Now run along, dear - the library is going to close soon, and there's other people who need to get online.

Putting local longshoremen out of work for a few hours is going to help reform Wall Street...exactly how? I don't get it.

Ugh.

Port of Seattle salaries:

http://www.thenewstribune.com/soundinfo/…

They lobbed horses at us! With horse catapults!

I'm sorry but I can't help but think:

"Galahad, Lancelot and I will wait until night fall. Then we'll leap out of the Occupy Horse Sculpture and catch the cops by surprise. Not only by surprise, but TOTALLY unarmed."

"WHO leaps out?"

"Galahad, Lancelot and I... "

BOING-YOING-OING!

"JESUS CHRISSST!"

As a currently serving veteran and a VA employee, I would like to ask Mr. Karnes what benefits he believes are being cut? I know of none and there is talk of RAISING the budget for spending other than war.

I guess it wasn't dark enough before the 3pm shift change[1] to break into the port facility[2] and steal stuff for the barricade?

 

1. Which was the putative target of the Action, and the reason for scheduling it around that time.

2. Which was supposedly off the table— all of the Occupy announcements beforehand stated that this was to be a low-risk-of-arrest Action, with no property damage or breaking into port facilities.

too bad the police wont treat Corzine and MF Global like this...they literally just stole billions to cover their side trades. No charges will be filed by the SEC or Justice Dept. Small fine maybe, and then another CEO job.

@11, I suspect if Jon Corzine gathered everyone at MF Global together to block an intersection at rush hour they, too, might face the misdemeanor-wielding wrath of the Seattle Police Department. Unless...are you suggesting to escape the recurring threat of misdemeanor charges Occupy should shift its focus from baiting police to swindling investors? That is very creative of you.

Turns out the unions stopped work at Terminals 5 and 18. We got rank-and-file confirmation. And visual confirmation.

The Port spokesperson is full of shit.

Occupy Seattle gained a new ally tonight but you had to be there. If you weren't, you'll see... ;)

@17

The Commish said no shifts were cancelled. That could be entirely consistent with dockworkers cooling their heels for an hour or two while you staged your community-theater production of Les Miserables.

I'm wondering how this Sean Karnes joined the Coast Guard when he was 10.

The troll figured out how to Google! They really do grow up fast, don't they?

(Or is the part in the Lifetime Movie that is apparently the troll's life, where I am supposed to feel a chill up my spine? "Oh my God. the troll figured out my real name and that I have furniture! ")

Chez Vel-DuRay is "treating" me fine, dear - as any well-regulated Christian home should. I'd ask you over, but two of the dogs are a little aggressive and the retirees on the block don't like strangers coming around. Since they tend to be heavily armed and somewhat heavy drinkers, It makes spontaneous gracious entertaining problematic, which is why I always say call first.

There were 8 gangs of longshore that did not report to work due to our action,don't believe the pr bs from the port. The truck drivers association supported our action in writing and by honking their horns during the afternoon. They are fighting to be treated as employees of SSA which is majority owned by goldman sacks/sucks. Now they are "independent contractors" ie the company gets away with paying no benefits, healthcare or employee taxes. A huge swindle.
Longshore up and down the coast honored the community picketline. As usual the press got the facts wrong on the action due to port lies. 5 gangs were not sent to work in Oakland, Portland had no work so they were sent home without pay, Longview went home with pay due to "health and safety" concerns.
Doug Barnes / Occupy the Port

Heavily-armed and heavy drinkers? Shit, Cat, those are my kind of people. Tell them I'll be right over.

@21, ILWU (not the port) said Longview was sent home with half a day's pay. I'm sure the rank and file won't miss any lost paycome the holidays. It's sure to be worth it to them, having their paychecks used for your purposes. And SSA is not at all "majority owned by Goldman", though you folks love to repeat it cause somebody said it at GA one time. A local family has majority ownership and control, the same family that founded the company. A fund made up of a bunch of subscribing ordinary institutional investors (such as union pensions) owns a minority share of SSA, and the fund is administered by Goldman Sachs.

the port is lying. you want proof?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrEXHngc-…

oh, not enough? need more?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYzg5deOL…

i was there. traffic was stopped at terminal 18 and did not resume until terminal was called closed by the authority. no deliveries or pick ups were made after we barricaded until i left at 11 pm. traffic at terminal 5 was stopped until we received confirmation that the shift was cancelled by port authority. i don't know what happened at 3 am this morning, but yesterday WE SHUT THOSE TERMINALS DOWN. port authorities and main stream media can lie all they want, but the truth remains the truth.

and for those of you with questions about what a port blockade accomplishes, do a little research. social change is generally achieved when the powers that be get hit in their pocket books. port blockades have been used historically to achieve impact when normal channels of protest have been thwarted or ignored. apartheid, for example, finally became a big issue when west coast longshoremen refused to unload ships containing cargo from south africa.

don't think for a minute that my idea of a fun activity is to stand in the friggin port of seattle in 35 degree weather and get pepper sprayed. it's not. but this country is broken, and our politicians don't seem to want or can not seem to address the issues and deal with them. that leaves it to us, the citizens of this great country, to FORCE the government to respond. without peaceful action nothing is going to get better, in fact with 400,000 troops returning home, massive state budget cuts going into effect, and unemployment benefit extensions being terminated at the end of this month, next year is going to make this one look like the golden days. when congress starts doing their job of responding to the needs of the people and not those of their campaign donors, perhaps we won't have to camp and protest and blockade.

and for those of you with questions about what a port blockade accomplishes, do a little research. social change is generally achieved when the powers that be get hit in their pocket books. port blockades have been used historically to achieve impact when normal channels of protest have been thwarted or ignored. apartheid, for example, finally became a big issue when west coast longshoremen refused to unload ships containing cargo from south africa.

don't think for a minute that my idea of a fun activity is to stand in the friggin port of seattle in 35 degree weather and get pepper sprayed. it's not. but this country is broken, and our politicians don't seem to want or can not seem to address the issues and deal with them. that leaves it to us, the citizens of this great country, to FORCE the government to respond. without peaceful action nothing is going to get better, in fact with 400,000 troops returning home, massive state budget cuts going into effect, and unemployment benefit extensions being terminated at the end of this month, next year is going to make this one look like the golden days. when congress starts doing their job of responding to the needs of the people and not those of their campaign donors, perhaps we won't have to camp and protest and blockade.

5280 dear, I think they would love you. Just make sure you approach them the first time with your hands clearly visible. The skittish one says he has a machine gun.

And really, they are lovely people. Good old-fashioned south Seattle types. We've gone through many a cases of Vitamin R out in the alley....

@26

There is a difference between a symbolic protest and actually disrupting business.

You were not engaged in the kind of Action last night that you describe in your comment.

By all means, yes, let's keep the conversation rolling, let's keep the headlines coming, let's keep economic inequality on the evening news.

But let's not pretend consumers are going to be staring at empty store shelves after five hours of street theater in front of 15% of the operational port terminals on one coast of the US. OK?

Go ahead and protest, please! But stop being such a self-aggrandizing dick about it.

There seems to be a bloc of commentors (albeit, unorganized) who take the occupy movement as some sort of personal affront, and are going to criticize and denigrate the active occupiers no matter what. I can't pretend to understand these folks. Here's what I do understand: The movers/shakers/decision makers of our country have no intention of reforming what we used to call "the system," but they are going to become even more militant about holding on to their power - witness "indefinite detention." So, as long as they remain intransigent, I say the active occupiers (bless 'em all) should remain a pain in the ass. (But, my shattered crystal ball says it's going to get uglier and uglier out there.)

@29

Counterpoint: There seems to be a bloc of commenters (albeit unorganized) who take any criticism of the occupy movement as some sort of personal affront.

There are two kinds of people in the world...

@31, That's true, though I try not to take it personally. There are more than two kinds of people in the world, thank God for that.

Hey it's me Sean Karnes I also work for the VA. There are plenty of cuts proposed to Veterans benefits.Google it. Also the G.I. Bill 2.0 has already had changes which effect those receiving it including myself. I didn't join the Coast Guard when I was ten. My friend who was the one who said I was retired prefers to refer to me that way rather than saying I was forced out of the service after 8 years for being gay after being outed by my boss under DADT. Which by the way effects my ability to collect the medical benefits I need. I was in the process of medical separation at the time and that was taken away from me because I'm gay. So yeah I'm just a little pissed off.

I don't believe you actually are a coast guard veteran forced out of the service for being gay.

I can assure you that I am served from 2002-2010 went to bootcamp in Cape May was stationed on the USCGC Mellon, MSST 91101/Seattle, Coast Guard Station Rio Vista, and ended my time at Station Seattle. I would have no reason to lie about getting forced out for being gay. Its messed my life up pretty bad.Why would anyone lie about that?

Did folks see this excellent open letter from port truckers? http://cleanandsafeports.org/blog/2011/1…

And here's an interview with the president of the longshore workers' union in Longview:
http://kboo.fm/node/32576

I was proud to help shut down the port of Longview yesterday. This is about standing up for a fair livelihood, dignity, and a voice on the job.