United for Peace of Pierce County, WA - We nonviolently oppose the reliance on unilateral military actions rather than cooperative diplomacy.

Two antiwar activists were arrested at the Port of Tacoma Thursday night and booked into Pierce County Jail, Leah reported to Seattle Indymedia.[1] -- (Both have since been released). -- Acumensch observed that a News Tribune blog report on the demonstrators was slanted against them, “characterizing every movement the demonstrators made as puerile, uncoordinated, and above all, small.”[2,3] -- Although offloading of war matériel from the USNS Brittin at Sitcum Waterway has ended, Stryker are still located at the Port of Tacoma and further antiwar activities are taking place there tonight (Fri., Aug. 1)....

Two activists, K-Tee-O (Katherine Olejnik) and Kelly Beckham, were arrested for crossing a police line at the Port of Tacoma late Thursday night. Both women were thrown to the ground and treated roughly. K-Tee-O was pulled across the line by her hair. They are being held at Pierce County Jail in Tacoma, each on two charges.

As of 3:48 a.m. Friday morning, the women are being held at Pierce County Jail in Tacoma (S. 9th and Tacoma Avenue), each on two charges. K-Tee-O is being held on one count of obstructing a police officer and one count of resisting arrest. Kelly is being held on one count of obstructing a police officer and one count of destruction of property. Neither woman resisted arrest or destroyed any property. The police officers, rather than the activists, were obstructing access to a public road.

K-Tee-O and Kelly are choosing not to be bailed, requesting vegan meals, and do have legal support. Please call the Pierce County Jail as often as you can and try to visit. Site with visiting and prisoner info: http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/pc/abtus/ourorg/sheriff/jailvisiting.htm#Visiting%20Times%20-%20Main%20Jail Phone number: (253) 798-4668 There are a lot of requirements to visit, so please check the website before you go.

After these two were arrested, the police, all but one of which refused to give name/badge number, continued to act violently -- at one point corralling and trapping the entire group with squad cars on a narrow road, holding spotlight beams on the group's faces for extended periods of time, and harassing the activists by continuing in their cars to follow the group after they left the port on foot until the individual activists got into their cars. At one point they threatened to arrest the group for trespassing as they waited for a friend outside a convenience store.

Stay tuned for video footage of these events and more information on meetings -- there are still Strykers in the port as of early this (Friday) morning.

The Tacoma News Tribune (TNT) has a strategy for superficial reporting that works in the same way most corporate media works. Last night Ian and Drew from the TNT focused on what was peculiar and humorous 'about' the activists, neglecting to take notice of what was peculiar and humorous 'to' the activists. This is perhaps the single most annoying tactic of the bourgeois media, since it is not only a "superficial" excuse for reporting, it is also a way to characterize any action in a way that seems like real reporting but is essentially degrading.

Drew and Ian focused primarily on the mundane aspects of last night's events, characterizing every movement the demonstrators made as puerile, uncoordinated, and above all, small. Without explanation, most of the vignettes they talk about are entirely from ignorance, since they are only a series of first glance judgments, which play up the roles of the 'authorities,' whereas any kind of opposition demands more explanation, and is not given any. The de facto position of the reader is meant to side with the authorities.

At one point I was asked by the Ian and Drew what the protesters thought and what their goals were. I told them, "Why don't you ask them?" They replied apologetically, "We know our coverage is superficial . . ." and insisted that I tell them why the action was taking place even though equipment was moving to Fort Lewis, etc. I gave them my talking points about the action, and told them that their superficial coverage would invariably get its "truth" from the police chief's perspective, which is why they cannot be trusted. At that point they decided to speak to a couple activists, just to show they cared.

I will try to post some of my video soon, but unfortunately today is a moving day for me.

The protester quote of the night was, “We’re out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by cops.”

The group started walking from a meeting point near Puyallup and D with about 40 people. But a chunk of the demonstrators turned back before they reached the streets near where the vehicles were leaving the port.

Marching up Thorne toward where a line of officers was assembled to guide them into the so-called Free Speech Zone, the group began to sing briefly, but soon petered out.

They chanted a bit -- phases like “Our streets, our port.” But largely stood around, looking indecisive, seemingly outflanked by the highly organized police presence (which included officers on foot, bicycle, motorcycle, and patrol car) and outnumbered.

Only a couple of people decided to go into the barricaded area set up for demonstrators on 11th.

The protesters seemed to get a big kick out of posing in front of the line of police officers and snapping photos with their cell phone cameras.

At one point, the group was asked to move as a car came up the street. An officer directed them to get off the road and onto the sidewalk.

One girl said, “We’ll be over here, but we want you to know we’re still protesting.”

Around 11:30 p.m., the group saw the Strykers rolling out of the Port of Tacoma and ran down Ross toward them. Officers stopped them about half a block from the vehicles.

The demonstrators rallied briefly, singing and chanting a bit more, but not as a united group.

One youth, wearing a bandanna over his face, kept asking one officer for his badge number.

“What’s your badge number?” And when the officer didn’t answer, “Do you not have a badge number?” After a few minutes he gave up.

Another wave of Strykers rolled by just before midnight. At least one of the protesters got taken to the ground and arrested at the line of bicycle officers across Ross, but I didn’t see clearly what happened.

KOMO TV also had a crew there, but they left around midnight, about the same time we did.

A videographer accompanied the demonstrators and told myself and photographer Drew Perine that having coverage from traditional media outlets was less important these days because the group could post their actions on YouTube.

At the same time, information put on the Web by the group has turned out to be exaggerated in some cases.

For example, the night before, a blog post said one protester had been arrested on suspicion of trespassing and the cops said “’no bail’, but then again, they always do.”

The protester was placed in handcuffs, but he was given a warning, not arrested, he later told me.