[Marxism] [Fwd: [snow-news] O: PMR successfully blocks movement of military equipment at Port of Olympia; 44 photos]

[David McDonald]

 From Mark Jensen


LOCAL NEWS: PMR successfully blocks movement of military equipment at Port
of Olympia

[Olympia PMR activists "who stood or sat in the path of the trucks"
succeeded in stopping movement of war matérial from the Port of Olympia to
Fort Lewis Friday afternoon, the *Olympian* (Olympia, WA) reported Friday
evening.[1]  --  Jeremy Pawlowski attributed the development to "the
Olympia Police Department?s lack of available manpower to move the 40 or
so people who blocked the path of two trucks."  --  Robert Whitlock posted
a set of 44 photographs, many of them of the blockade.[2]  --  The
*Olympian* reported Friday that Olympia Police Commander Tor Bjornstad
estimated the protests had "cost the city [of Olympia] about $10,000" so
far.[3]  --Mark]

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/6811/

1.

SHIPMENTS BLOCKED AT PORT AMID LACK OF POLICE MANPOWER
By Jeremy Pawlowski

Olympian (Olympia, WA)
November 9, 2007

http://www.theolympian.com/570/story/267149.html

[PHOTO
(http://media.theolympian.com/smedia/2007/11/09/16/155-0085140_4.standalone.prod_affiliate.38.jpg)
CAPTION:  Protesters block a military shipment from exiting the Port of
Olympia Friday Nov. 9, 2007. No further convoys were planned for the
evening because police didn't have the resources at the port entrance to
deal with protesters.]

OLYMPIA -- Protesters halted shipments of some military equipment from the
Port of Olympia to Fort Lewis on Friday, the result of the Olympia Police
Department?s lack of available manpower to move the 40 or so people who
blocked the path of two trucks.

The protesters declared victory after port activity ended Friday night
with the unsuccessful attempt to drive out two trucks, one carrying a
Stryker vehicle and the other carrying two cargo containers.

?We?re a little disappointed that we didn?t get some police support, but
we understand that with the resources they expended the other night, they
had problems pulling all the necessary officers together,? Port of Olympia
Commission President Paul Telford said.  ?But they did a great job the
other night.?

He also noted that by the time the protesters stopped the two trucks from
leaving about 4 p.m., the day?s operations at the port were almost
complete anyway.

Two nights earlier, on Wednesday, police clashed with protesters, moving
groups and arresting two people who were attempting to block convoys from
the port.  The protests were organized by Olympia Port Militarization
Resistance in opposition to the use of the port for what members say is an
illegal, immoral war in Iraq.  There were no convoys Thursday.

The problems the protesters are causing at the port ?aren?t winning them
any friends,? Telford said Friday.  Added port spokeswoman Patti Grant,
relaying a comment by port Executive Director Ed Galligan, ?it?s
unfortunate that the protests can?t be peaceful and non-obstructionist.?

For most of the day Friday, trucks were able to leave unimpeded.  Friday?s
standoff started after 3 p.m.

Olympia Police Commander Tor Bjornstad acknowledged the department?s
difficulty in pulling together the resources needed to remove protesters
who stood or sat in the path of the trucks.

?We understand that the port and the military are disappointed about this
evening,? he said.

Bjornstad added that police didn?t anticipate protesters blocking trucks
Friday afternoon.  Police also didn?t anticipate that small children would
be among them, he said.

Two grade-school-aged boys and a toddler were among the people in the path
of the trucks Friday, a development that Bjornstad said was ?quite
disturbing? and ?quite appalling, in my opinion.?  Police want to ensure
the safety of the protesters, should they have to be removed, and police
were not prepared for safely removing children Friday, he said.

?We?re going to have to figure out how to address that issue,? Bjornstad
said.

Protester Anna-Marie Murano said she does not think the presence of the
children posed any problems.

?I grew up in a family where I went with my mother to demonstrate against
the use of nuclear weapons,? she said.  ?War is what kills children, not
bringing them to anti-war demonstrations.?

--For more information and photos, see Saturday's *Olympian*.

2.

PMR OLYMPIA NOVEMBER 2007
By Robert Whitlock

Flickr
November 9, 2007

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rwhitlock/sets/72157603046414382/

I will add more descriptions, more photos, and possibly update some of
these photos with higher resolution versions in the near future.

I will also work on telling the stories, not only behind some of these
photos, but behind the PMR movement and the direct action to blockade the
passage of military cargoes through the Port of Olympia, Washington.

Stay tuned.

Please post links to this set elsewhere, and feel free to use the photos
for noncommercial purposes!

3.

CONTINUING PROTESTS COST CITY
By Jeremy Pawloski

** Police working overtime at Port of Olympia **

Olympian (Olympia, WA)
November 9, 2007

http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/266417.html

OLYMPIA -- The Olympia Police Department's response to protests Tuesday
and Wednesday in opposition to the unloading of military cargo used in
Iraq has cost the city about $10,000, police said.

Olympia Police Commander Tor Bjornstad cautioned that the figure is an
estimate.  It covers what it cost the department, in manpower and
equipment, to respond to protests by Olympia Port Militarization
Resistance at the Port of Olympia, he said.

OlyPMR's protests were meant to draw attention to and halt the military
convoys from the Port of Olympia to Fort Lewis, members said.

"The lion's share" of the cost was incurred Wednesday night, Bjornstad
said.  As the rest of the military equipment that was unloaded by the USNS
Brittin, which was docked at the port Monday through Thursday, is returned
to Fort Lewis in the days to come, "that figure is certainly going to
grow," Bjornstad said.

Wednesday night, the protests took a confrontational turn when about 100
demonstrators sat and stood in front of the convoys as they returned
equipment used by the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade
Combat Team) to Fort Lewis.

Protesters complained of excessive police force used to remove them from
the road as they tried to block a convoy, pointing to bruises and, in one
case, a split lip, some of them suffered when police struck them with
batons.

On Thursday, Bjornstad said that blocking vehicles on a public roadway is
illegal, and anyone doing so is subject to arrest.

"Civil disobedience is not a right; it's a decision," Bjornstad said. 
"The consequence is, you should understand that you're breaking the law
and you're subject to arrest.  All we're trying to do is keep people out
of the streets so the convoys can move by safely."

Thursday night, protesters gathered again at the entrance of the Port of
Olympia, but as of 11:15 p.m., no convoys were leaving the port.

"There's nothing coming or going," Olympia Police Sgt. Ken Carlson said
earlier in the evening.

Protesters gathered in the cold Thursday night said they'd succeeded in
raising awareness about the use of the port for a war they say is immoral
and illegal.





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