Wednesday 2 November 2011

US protest shuts down port



OCCUPY protesters in the USA declared victory after thousands of demonstrators shut down evening operations at one of the nation's busiest shipping ports late Wednesday.

Reports USA Today: "The nearly 5-hour protest at the Port of Oakland, the nation's fifth-busiest shipping port, was intended to highlight a daylong "general strike" in the city, which prompted solidarity rallies in New York, Los Angeles and other cities across the nation.

"Police estimated that a crowd of about 3,000 had gathered at the port at the height of the demonstration around dusk. Some had marched from the city's downtown, while others had been bused to the port.

"Port spokesman Isaac Kos-Read said evening operations had been 'effectively shut down'.

"The Occupy Oakland protest was the largest in a series of rallies in several cities as the Occupy Wall Street movement that began Sept. 17 tried to grab national attention.

"A group of about 300 protesters, many of them men wearing black, some covering their faces with bandanas and some carrying wooden sticks, smashed windows of a Wells Fargo bank branch while chanting 'Banks got bailed out. We got sold out'.

"The protesters spray-painted an expletive on the exterior wall of the bank and blocked the front door of a branch of Citibank, forcing customers to use a rear door. 'We want to see justice for the criminals on Wall Street,' said Caroline Pincus, 53, of San Francisco."