"At least one officer was injured" in the process of deploying explosives and chemical weapons against civilians exercising their Constitutional right to free assembly.

Boo fucking hoo.

The first Occupy action to potentially have an immediate, serious impact on commerce merits swift and violent police reprisal. No more pretense of the cops just being there to keep order, I guess.

My God, I wish I'd been there. Sounds like great fun.

@1

Your tag is at least entirely accurate. Too bad what you write is a pure fantasy.

This really isn't all that difficult.

You have a first amendment right to peacably assemble. You do not have a first amendment right to block streets, trespass on and steal from private property to block those streets, assault police officers or otherwise act like hooligans.

See, what the Occupy Childrens Crusade seems to have forgotten is that we're a representative democracy. Don't like the way your politician is voting? Vote for a different politician. But one of your options isn't to abrogate the rights of others to public spaces or to get home in the evening after doing what Occupy trash refuse to do- working.

@3
You're like the pope giving birth control advice. You don't approve of the ends, so quit pretending to judicially evaluate the means. That "Occupy trash" is Americans trying to defend the homeless, the poor, the guaranteed Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, and also you. Who are you defending?

@5: They are't trying to defend anyone. Their goals are mostly limited to avoiding eviction from whatever scrap of land they're currently occupying. While I broadly agree with the sentiment and complaints of OWS, it is my opinion that Occupy Seattle has gone entirely off the rails. They have done absolutely everything wrong: no solid or even measurable goals, they use every opportunity they can to piss off and embarrass the rest of the 99%, they exploit the hell out of the generosity of others (see the hard lesson that SCCC President Paul Killpatrick learned), and generally act like a bunch of jackasses, going so far as to shout down their own town hall meeting. And now they've decided to stop attempting legal, peaceful assembly altogether and start blocking roads and throwing stuff at cops.

If Occupy Seattle wants to be taken seriously, they need to force out the hooligans that have exploited the farcical egalitarianism of the General Assembly to take control over the group. Because as it stands right now, the best thing that could happen in Seattle for Occupy Wall Street is for Occupy Seattle to dissolve entirely.

There goes Occupy Seattle again, winning hearts and minds with their exemplary behavior.

Is there any evidence at all that the explosions were "stun grenades" deployed by the police, rather than M-80s set off by the more militant sort of protesters?

Just because something goes "bang" doesn't mean the pigs are tossing grenades around.

In brighter news, no one wants Sarah Palin's new reality show....

No thanks!

@6
You're right in line with the Mormon magazine The Outlook published Jan 5, 1901

The name originated from a magistrate's misunderstanding a policeman's reply to his inquiry what a certain prisoner was: "He's of Hooley's gang, your worship." "A Hooligan" said the magistrate, and the name stuck. The " Hooligan" is a young fellow of a dare devil type, who lets off his steam after doing a good day's work. According to the letterwriter above quoted, he belongs to some gang, and prowls about at night with his mates, the terror of lonely wayfarers and women. These were the fellows who made London a pandemonium the night after the volunteers' return from Africa. Dr. Parker, of the City Temple, and others are demanding the application of the old fashioned scourge known in the navy as "the cat " to these young brutes, as the most effective way of suppressing their beastliness. It is to be noted that the Hooligan is not a child of the slums, but lives in tolerably respectable quarters, and has gone, through the Board (i. e., common) schools.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_o%27_ni…

45 minutes from Georgetown to alki. Living in the city has it's fun.

Just got back from the Seahawks game and hey, we won the game, and even if we lost, more people will probably pay attention to that than they would Occupy Seattle. Yes, a few jackasses blocked a street for a few minutes, nobody cares, majority of the citizens dont even support this bullshit.

Occupy Seattle did nothing positive today, they just stirred up a shit storm with the cops like they always do and always will. They can think of no other way to protest than to block traffic.

Its like giving PETA free press when ever they have a bug up their ass about anything, please stop reporting about their bullshit until they actually do something thats worth reporting on.

@10: Because I used the word "hooligan?" Really? That's what your whole counter-point rests on?

While motives and goals of today's action seem less than obvious, tactically speaking 500 protestors isn't really enough to be militant. With those numbers you are gonna get stomped. Think Tahrir Square numbers: you need the support of thousands before you can push back the cops.

Think with your heads, Occupy Seattle, not your rage!

@13 Really.

Beddiped @6 & @10

You ignorant douche bag, you have a guaranteed right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Please note: That's not the same thing as a guarantee to the life you want, the liberty you want without respect to other's rights, and a warranty of happiness as end product.

Instead of bitching and moaning that your betters are exploiting you -- take a moment to consider that it's quite possible that you're quite possibly the next round of evidence that Darwin was genius. While we wait for natural selection to reap its grim toll on you, pick up your panties and get a fucking job.

Eleven arrests to be part of a world headline stating "The West Coast of the US Was Shut Down" seems pretty minimal. That said, throwing anything at cops is stupid. Gandhi up, pups.

"A long commute is a small price to pay for economic liberty." I think that's Woodrow Wilson.

You can ask the longshore rank-and-file how long they worked tonight. ;)

Meanwhile, a car slammed into a protester tonight. He was okay but the car was deliberate.

Goddamn, Sb, how many times now have you patted yourself on the back for noticing my handle? And you really do think you're clever for it every time, don't you?

Amazing.

For what it's worth, I get a warm fuzzy feeling every time something I post registers sufficiently on your befuddled old brain to make you rant at me.

@15: Good lord, your idiocy is worse than I thought.

I just came up with a slogan for sane people:
"We are the 98%."

@Zok. You got betters? Real Americans don't.
The right to Life includes the right to Health, a safe work environment, and a safe natural environment.
The right to Liberty includes freedom from legal systems designed as economic subjugation.
Recognition of those would make me, and others perhaps, big "H" Happy.

Your definition of job has nothing to do with my definition of vocation. Does it make you big "H" Happy to imagine me with my panties dropped? At least we agree that Darwin was a genius. Next round's on me.

@21: You don't have to disagree with that to think that Occupy Seattle is a bunch of clowns.

OWS having valid ideals does not immediately give Occupy Seattle any level of credibility.

If 500 people gathered on a Monday night in December for the rights of their fellow Americans are clowns, then, as Bono sang from the one inch railing of a second balcony in Kansas, 1983, Send In The Clowns.

It would be interesting to see more follow up on the cost to the workers of this event.The stuff like truckers blocked from picking up their cars to drive home after a long day is one thing. What I wonder is how the Seattle pay loss compared to Longview, where the union says their laborers lost just half a day's pay today. Heading into the holidays that should be a welcome cut in their next paycheck. In Seattle the affected businesses were a diverse bunch, some union, some no. I wonder if there will be some reporting effort put into the pocketbook impact on the workers, who are not just rhetorical figures here. Reporting that goes beyond just spokespeople saying this or that, I mean.

I don't think it will be a huge figure, since the event here was pretty small potatoes, but as a measure of the economic impact of even something this small, a lot of people would find it interesting.

I wonder how much money the RNC has given the various occupy movements across the country at this point.

@bedipped Unfortunately for you this country is a Democracy and elections matter. But don't worry you are soooooo fucking smart! You should go on Jeopardy!

@25 You've got to fight, for your right, to paaarrrrrrttttyyy!

@23: What, specifically, was OS trying to accomplish by shutting down the port? What did they actually accomplish?

OS people seem to love talking about their ideals, but immediately clam up when it comes to setting and achieving goals that advance their cause. Seriously, give me an initiative to sign or something. Make a goal of getting the state income tax back on the ballot, or something.

http://occupyseattle.org/goals
"Protect public transit"
"Protect the environment"
"Prosecute war criminals"
"Universal education"
"Publicly-funded elections"
"End corporate control of Supreme Court"

All of these are great topics for discussion. But when it comes to forming and working towards actual goals, OS is uninterested. They're busy trying to fight eviction, after all.

I'm in political agreement with OWS on almost all of the gripes that they have with the system as it exists. If you want to effect change, you need at least some portion of the 98% on your side.

@28 Sorry dude you are a poser. The man has his foot on your neck and you don't have the balls to stand up and fight. Shipping is a huge contributor to global warming and if we can even block a few trucks from leaving the port we have saved the planet a little bit. Get off your ass and block traffic so we can get us some universal education (even though we actually have that, maybe you don't have kids but K-12 education is free dude). Doceb you need to fight for your right TO BLOCK TRAFFIC! Fuck the man, fuck the police and fuck, well fuck it all man!!!!!!!!!!

Saving the planet. Oh is that what was. I saw burning flares and smoke bombs, hundreds of cars idling, paint bags being thrown, garbage strewn about, etc. Good job saving the planet!

Dear OWS, when you throw things at police you discredit those of us who want to increase taxes for higher income earners. Please don't throw things at police.

thankyou

That guy with the Guy Fawkes mask? I'd like to see his brains smeared on the pavement.

@35 You are a jackass.

The roadblock actually didn't extend across the road, that is a plain fabrication. I was there WATCHING while Occupiers waved port workers through an opening of the barricade. The only time traffic was prevented from leaving the Port was when POLICE created a barrier to the traffic with their bikes (which confused every fucking body, what was the point of that?)

IN FACT, the trucker who was trapped behind the police line opened his window, expressed support, and was telling people that he couldn't afford to live off his salary.

@29: there is an audible whooshing noise over the heads of follow-up comments. Nice work.

I have since reviewed the photos and realized Eli is right, however it's worth saying that the protesters only blocked the exiting traffic flow because the police were attempting to use the exit as a means to get a truck IN and break the blockade.

My account:

http://oneangryqueer.blogspot.com/2011/1…
http://oneangryqueer.blogspot.com/2011/1…

Sorry Eli.