From the looks of things, there is an amazing protest still going on on the west-side. Hundreds, if not thousands, once again descended on the intersection of Wilshire and Veteran this evening to protest Bush's massacre of the people of Iraq.

Channel 9 showed an amazing image of a flag-burning protest -- the demonstrator had the courage to burn the flag and hold it out to the legions of riot pigs who were occupying the intersection at the time.

Apparently, a large group of the demonstrators eventually decide to march. And while some remained at the Federal Building, many moved south and west -- ending up on Santa Monica Blvd. in West LA near the Nuart Theater (I think they said the cross street is Purdue), where the porkers finally blocked the demonstrators' progress and it seemed from the TV that arrests were about to happen. I hope not. These protesters ROCK! Great job; hope you get out of the jam and can create more disruption.

These are truly heroic people. They shut down Wilshire again tonight; and by the looks of things on TV they suceeded in shutting down Santa Monica Blvd. too!!!

You are heroes!!!!!

I humbly disagree. I - for better or wrose - took part in the demonstration this evening and am ashamed, to say the least. What could have been a peaceful demonstration was taken out of hand. I, along with hundreds of others did succeed in shutting down that area of west L.A. ... but for what? We, or maybe just me, lost focus of why we were there: in defense of all innocent human beings. It not only felt self-serving, but threatening to the police (who weren't acting as rediculous as we would like to think they were), motorists ("our" streets are as much everybody else's, right?), etc. I don't know. I won't deny it; I had a great time. But in retrospect, I feel we failed in promoting peace and human dignity.

The turnout was relatively small, and by the time things got out of hand, it was even smaller. I'm scared of the explosin that is going to take place soon in this city, perhaps tomorrow in Hollywood. Too many people are upset, and tonight showed just how easily mobs can get caught up in excitement and not really think through the consequences of their actions.

i came from there not long ago.... after the long standoff on Santa Monica, near Barrington or Purdue or whatever,.... after that the police finally let them leave and they took the street again, marched up to Ohio and then up Sepulveda where the chants were to "bring down Fox" because Fox tv is right there. then when the protesters were very close to getting all the way back to the federal building, the cops decided to push them back onto the sidewalk and then i heard some shots ring out and the cops just swarmed the crowd and surrounded them. later i was told that the cops lectured them about how everybody has to go home or something. after a while they let them go. a handful of people and a lot of cops were waiting back at Wilshire and Veteran. there were so many cops i decided to get out of there.

i don't know what happened after that. i guess that was around 10:30 or something. i hope everybody is alright. we have to do whatever we can and think as hard as we can to try and make the best decisions we can to build resistance against this tyrannical top-down imperialist military system. we may not be able to stop Shock and Awe tonight, but we have to try. and we have to build this movement to the point where we can stop not just one war but all the cynical wars for power that we can see coming in the future.

please someone else fill us in on what happened after 10:30.

let's all support one another when we need help okay?

So who funds indymedia? Some rich guy pseudo working man like Michael Moore?

I was there tonight. I had just slipped into the Alley before the police closed the gate fully blocking off part of our group on the Santa Monica sidewalk. I waited around until they began marching us back up towards the Federal buliding where we were sent home.

While a few cops were more aggressive than others, I think for the most part they remained pretty civil. However, I was deeply disturbed by the actions of some of my fellow protesters who were yelling at the cops calling them "pigs", "sheep", and "nazis". I disagree with the actions of those protestors. I think some of the cops on duty tonight probably don't want this war as much as we don't want it. I think that there are good cops out there who went into the force for good reasons and we can't expect them to put their jobs and economic security at risk by not following orders. I will admit that some cops were a bit more aggressive and that extra aggression was unwarented and unnecessary, but the majority of them were just following orders and were not violent towards the protestors. I think the LAPD is doing a pretty good job right now as far as how they have dealt with the protestors (considering thier track record)- they aren't perfect but it was good of them to march us back to the Federal Building instead of arresting us.

If what we truly want is peace and to end this war, then we need to stop the hatred and that includes hatred against the police, our fellow americans. At times tonight I had to walk away to a more peaceful area as to not hear the offensive things some of my fellow protestors were yelling at the police because thier aggression towards the police made me feel ashamed to be a part of this group. I think we did an amazing thing this evening and I only hope that the damage done by a few doesn't outweigh the good done by the many. I am sorry for the hatred that was brewing tonight. I hope that in the future we can remember our message is one of non-violence and that it is counter productive not only to act but to speak violence.

peace be with all.

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Yo, just a quick note about tonight (Friday's) Westwood protest. I haven't seen the video coverage yet, but this ended up being a standoff, just like the last two days--only we took it out a mile or two from the Fed'l Building.

One person got roughed up and arrested, one person at least got bruises from an idiot with a baton--but she walked right back up, and told them the respect you can have for a human being doing a job quickly goes away when that person acts the wrong way.

We were a small group, but got plenty of support.The spirit was great; the support from cars on the roads we walked was overwhelming.

In the end, we are still alive. Many far away have died.

I'll post more soon.

This is to fill in the blanks and also to provide a big picture for the beautiful act of defiance which happened this evening, Friday Feb. 21st in Westwood. I was there from start to finish and can compare it to previous days. It basically went over safely. Also I have some constructive criticism to offer. But this was a memorable action on a tragic day, performed by a small crowd with ample support from motorists and passersby.

This event was not so much pre-meditated as it seemed to be a logical extension of the last two days' actions, and an emergency action in response to the start of "shock and awe"--the intentional shell-shocking of a nation--while the perpetrators leave no outlet for expression here at home.

The thought that people were now dying by our government's hands was at the forefront of people's minds, and support from cars driving by was unprecedented in its volume and sustained all afternoon. The speakers leading the crowd in chants and die-ins emphasized that we were living in a moment in which countless innocent lives were being lost. This sentiment was not lost on anyone.

The big picture:
The start:
The crowd at the Westwood Federal building grew throughout the day, peaking at several hundred people. A vast majority then ponder civ. dis., but opt for a march.

The march/standoff:
The march goes over to Sepulveda then zig-zags to Santa Monica. The initial police response was unusually restrained, to the point of being reasonable. The more the march advanced, the more it became evident that the hundreds of 'storm trooper'-like LAPD in riot gear were not being deployed immediately. Still the crowd maintained its composure, maintained its unity and purpose. Bypassing police lines to reach Santa Monica Blvd, we really came into busy streets. We took to the sidewalks by choice. At about Butler, the leading end took to the street. Perhaps the police line was already there. At about this point, the police did what they've been doing all week, forcing a stand-off with protesters, trying to divide the group and isolate members. This is the same scenario which had played out on two previous days, only now we were not on Wilshire Blvd. The rest is the reality we all know so well: non-violent protesters maintaining their purpose in mind. High morale despite the double-whammy of injustice abroad and repression in our streets. Chanting and singing, while receiving support from across police lines from supporting contingents, and also from bystanders. (Meanwhile masses of more riot police stream in and out, configuring and reconfiguring themselves--like anybody's paying attention.)

The walk back/intimidation tacticsby the LAPD:
After a standoff of a half-hour maybe, the police announced arrests would be made unless people evacuated up Butler. People from both sides of the police lines joined again and resumed chanting. Spirits soared then. The prescribed route was defined by officers on parked motorbikes blocking off streets. On Ohio, a double line of cops on foot which had been pursuing behind the group picked up the pace, and closed the gap to the group. Like something out of a B-movie, they then ran up to stragglers, yelling threatening things ("go! move! run! you'd better run!"). One straggler was caught in their net, where it was dark and there was no camera; was brutalized and detained (please confirm ur/his safety please); the groups notices the event too late to act. The group starts chanting "whose streets? our streets!", groups up more tightly and slows down. Upon arriving at the sidewalk along the front of the Federal Building, the group is held up again, encircled by cops on motorbikes and on foot. I believe this forced march and forced cool-off serves the police for wearing the violence off a crowd. This crowd didn't have any violence in it.

Finale:
Back at the corner in front of the Federal Building, there is some hot food served courtesy of Food not Bombs. People settle down, chat, and string out to their rides. The handful that remain find a new series of horns to greet them as soon as Wilshire Blvd. is reopened to traffic.

The play-by-play:
The setup:
The afternoon passes as a string of deafening horns saluting the protesters on the corner. Protesters pass out black armbands, and console each other on 'the act' being committed, the start of crimes measurable in lives. The spontaneous marching around cross-walks blossomed into mid-intersection die-ins, to the cheers and honks of many (if not all) motorists. Not long into this, the protesters were impeded by LAPD officers. Unlike the fully armored hordes of officers who came out in previous days, there were fewer than a dozen officers, many of them bicycle cops with no body armor (but no less aggressive). We are not used to seeing the command treat us like non-violent people of conscience. The crowd chanted and cheered, and stepped back from the intersection, the emcee and people took the mike deliberating a civil disobedience of sitting down in the cross-walk against orders.

The erie, conspicuous police restraint:
At this point I want to emphasize the significance of the crowd sticking to the plan and being non-violent. The crowd of several hundred did not run around the cops back into the intersection, play cat-and-mouse, or try to surround the officers just because they could. In my opinion, however, there was verbal direspect, and I concur with those who say that calling the police "piggies" is a problem. That made me decide I would not risk arrest today; I would not willingly place myself in the hands of the LAPD when someone in the same crowd said things to piss them off. (We know what the cops are. They are not the issue here, they are an obstacle.) Luckily for me, the crowd decided on a march through town, a more visible act.

The march starts:
So as this discussion on disobedience winded down, the energetic crowd was murmuring about marching down Sepulveda, and this turned to concensus. I think those willing to do disobedience felt in their hearts and minds they had to do more, they had to go farther, they had to be more visible, they had to do their best. People are dying and the city's own residents wanted their outrage heard on the streets. And so the march started along Wilshire, now closed to traffic, to Sepulveda. After a few minutes, some suggestions yelled out from the crowd led it south on Sepulveda, away from the barren VA streetfront and toward civilization.

A peaceful, non-violent march:
There was a distortion reported on TV (I hear) of people 'pestering' motorists by banging on their car hoods. A woman in a corvette did get that treatment but only when she would not stop advancing into the crowd--even ignoring a Highway Patrol on loudspeaker. If anyone else did any pestering: WAKE UP! You had too many supporters out there to create or attack non-supporters! However I don't think any of that happened.

Marching:
The march went down the middle of Sepulveda, another major LA thoroughfare. Cars stopped, and countless faces beamed and flashed peace signs. The marchers continued chanting: "No blood for oil!", "Whose streets? Our streets!", to a pleasant delirium by this point.

Connecting, dissenting, unrelenting:
By the way, I could not disagree more strongly with the person above who says "what have we accomplished." What have we not accomplished? We acted, we needed more to act with us. Tomorrow, they will, in whatever form. This was an emergency action to vindicate three million of our fellow humans being shell-shocked on purpose by a government everyone is against but nobody can stop. To feel sorry for bothering someone's evening routine on such an evening as this is moral weakness in the face of conformity.

Po-po play pinball, ball won't cooperate:
So now we are marching down Sepulveda, and the po-po (LAPD) continue playing their new game of "let's see how few officers we can get by with." At Ohio, a police line was formed across the road, and the brave crowd leaves the sidewalk and veers right on a patch of dirt and takes Ohio. Nothing but cheers and support from onlookers on Ohio. Nothing but positive vibes all-around.

Then the police line receives instructions, and comes running alongside the marchers, batons in hand, and actually jogs AHEAD of our leading edge. The group then does something spectacular, reversing direction and simultaneously taking a side-street down to Santa Monica Blvd, right in the busy corner where the freeway lets out, with gas stations etc.

Tactics/communication:
At this point I would like to offer some basics I have been taught for being part of a crowd like this one. In any peaceful crowd threatened by riot police (all noticeable peace protests these days):
--Stay together! Notice your position in the crowd, and try to relay signals to 'slow down in front' and 'catch up in back!'
--Don't let stragglers fall behind, esp. when pursued by riot police. Don't leave people alone to fend for stragglers. Don't let people in front keep going on when you are busy fending for stragglers. Communicate! Pass on messages front to back!
--Be the eyes and ears of the group. Don't let the group proceed into a tight space or a line of cops without relaying a signal. Suggest courses of action.
--Don't panic and run! Stick together! Sit down when threatened! This works very well, especially with witnesses/video, of course.
--Join in chants. Lead chants. Those around you and those whose lives you're disrupting want to hear it! They would like being awakened; make it good!
--There are better guides on the web for safe behavior in tumultuous times. Plus use your own judgment and knowledge of self.

Chanting/singing at Butler/Purdue:
At Butler, the police lines came out to confront the dissent. After complying with the request to get off the roadway or face arrest, the group is on the sidewalk and is squeezed with some very impolite baton force. The authorities had exerted the usual excessive force to insult and intimidate dissenters. The rest of the standoff was just a line of officers penning the most vocal group, and less dense lines of officers facing groups on opposite sidewalks. There was one group of marchers who had allowed themselves to get separated at a stoplight, and were cut off by the police line now.
The chants went strong, of course, and the sing-song playlist included Bob Marley (redemption song), and some NWA. You had to be there.

Walk back:
We have said all that needs saying about that lame LAPD-generated scenario. If we need to say anything more, it will be said in a lawsuit. Or in a memo to JC on judgment day.

Finale:
With fewer than fifty people left in the street, as I got ready to go myself, the horns were blaring and the volunteers for the cause of humanity were soaking up the vibe, reveling in what they had accomplished and what they hoped to accomplish next time, for the sake of humanity. As I walked away and 'freshies' arrived, with wreathes and painted signs, I realized that there was us, then there was the matrix.

Comments:
--Practice safe marching! Stick up for your own! This ain't darwinism, don't outrun your friends. But do keep in mind you can do more with a video camera present.
--Feel no tepidation! The moral dilemma is the same: you are 'breaking the law' by not being out of the way, while far away others are killed with impunity. Be heard! Rock the boat!
--Any corrections on fact please correct me.

Guess what...our group of 3-400 protesters were not the "MOB" on the streets that night...How about the 900+ police officers who were out there with us?...Did you forget about them? Or did you also forget that Iraq was being bombed as we marched, People were dying, and your government was causing it...So would you people please stop worrying about pissing off a few drivers, or the fact that we cause a little "inconvenience"...This country is causing quite an INCONVENIENCE by dropping bombs on people's homes!!!!!!Get your priorities straight please....It was a beautiful night, and LA represented well by taking the march to the streets...Look around the world, and stop worrying about minor disruptions, ....please...How about yelling at the police for holding protesters, without asking them to disperse...how about blocking us from walking on the sidewalk, ..WE have the RIGHT to be out here, and standing on the corner, isn't the only thing we should do!!!Out into the streets...You should be outraged!!!!!!!