This was from the Friends of Florida Folk list today:

I have no idea what is being reported on the news around the world
about what went down in San Francisco today but here is my eyewitness
report.

First, i can honestly say, i never experienced anything like what was
going on in San Francisco today. Who knows how many people took to
the streets. Certainly tens of thousands if not more. Well over 1000
people were arrested. I barely managed to escape arrest at one point
on Market Street near 7th but otherwise it was very peaceful and
police for the most part were friendly. But i heard that a couple of
cops grabbed a baby out of a man's hands and it was broadcast all
over TV and perhaps you saw it. Apparently many huge protests took
place all over the US and immense ones in the mideast, Australia,
Japan, South Korea and Europe. The destabilization of the world is
one of the side effects of this immoral, unjust war.

The strategy in San Francsico was very simple. If you want to get
arrested, go out in the middle of a street, sit down and wait to get
arrested. I was amazed at how many people i saw do this. As soon as
one would sit in a major intersection or in front of the Pacific
Stock Exchange or on the corner of Bush and Powell Streets (funny,
eh?), they would be followed by dozens sitting in, locking hands.
Eventually the police come and haul them to jail. As i am writing at
10 Pm back at home in oakland, over 1400 people were arrested in
Sanfrancisco and a few hundred more in Berkeley.
I had no interest in being arrested so i took the other strategy,
keep walking. Carry nothing with me, no signs, no buttons, only my id
in my pocket and change to make a phone call if by chance i did get
arrested, And a bottle of water. :) I arrived at the SF bus terminal
around 11 am. I walked to the embarcadero and as soon as i left the
bus station, i realised i was in the midst of a huge almost anarchy
situation. Police in riot gear were everywhere. People carrying signs
were everywhere. Groups of people marching and chanting together were
everywhere. People sitting in the streets, some in body bags were
being hauled off by police and this was occuring on EVERY BLOCK. Cars
are all standing still. Most of the drivers were putting anti war
signs on their windows and horns were blaring in both opposition and
sympathy to the demonstrations. I get to market street and i just
smiled! Tens of thousands of people had this street, the major street
through downtown sanfrancisco completely taken over and there was no
way a car or bus could get through. Most stores on Market street are
already closed. Police are in front of starbucks protecting it which
also made me laugh. I walked towards the pacific stock exchange which
has been a major site of demonstrations for many days now. COuld
barely get down that street as there were so many people sitting in
the streets in dissent. Police would carry one away, 2 more would sit
down. i kept walking, thinking if a cop stops me, i can simply say,
"i am trying to get to work". Back to market street and walk down
towards the civic center where a raly was planned at noon. At 5th and
market, police were in riot gear protecting the gap and mcdonalds and
being mocked by people. Gap was sealed shut yet the cops were still
protecting it. hmmmm Do these corporations pay for this police
protection or does the city simply give it to them??? I walked 2
whole blocks and did not see any arrests. Get to the civic center and
was repulsed by the idiots whining on the microphones, so i keep
walking this time, back towards teh embarcadero on market, thinking i
will check out union square and other areas where i assume massive
amounts of people are expressing their frustration with the pathetic
government we now have. SUddenly a huge commotion is coming from
Market and 7th! People are running towards the civic center and cops
are running towards 7th. This is the first time i feel like i am in
danger. Suddenly, i hear "phil, get out of there" and look to my left
and am immediately grabbed by a friend David who saw me and while
hauling me away to the side to the let the cops through, says, "some
punks are acting stupid on 7th and are throwing glass at cops". Damn,
this is not necessary. THen he tells me about a guy he saw whose baby
was grabbed out of his hands by 2 cops. He says that he is pretty
sure that ABC news caught it all on video and we both laughed,
saying, "Every minute is being caught on various videocameras" as so
many people have their video cameras pointing at the cops in case
they start being stupid.
Head towards Union square and again, cops in riot gear are everywhere
and there are various face-offs between cops and protesters going on.
Starbucks and the disney store and the gap are sealed tight with
absurd amounts of cops in front of them. THese guys do not look
friendly at all.
Walk through parts of chinatown and then back towards the financial
district where the action was really happening as well as on market
street. Police are cracking some heads near the pacific stock
exchange now. Earlier they were arresting people very casually, now
they were adding some cheap shots in. Luckily the 60+ year old woman
i saw them haul off, they did rather delicately without a shot to the
kidneys like some of the young died hair guys were getting. I walk
back towards the civic center and then get on the train to go to
oakland. get back in time for the 5 pm march from downtown oakland to
Jack London Square. A couple of thousand people or so were already
marching as i ascended out of the subway. I joined in and ran into my
old friend Burckaan who was asleep all day. I told him about what i
saw and he said he saw and hear much on ABC TV news. He said he saw
the father and baby incident. I am surprised and very glad to hear
they are showing some of those events. He tells me that the arrests
are now over 1000 and told me about what he heard about happened in
Berkeley.
After that march, i walked home and am now sending this report out to
various friends and family around the world since i have no idea if
you are hearing about what happened in San Francisco. We did not shut
the city down as hoped but there was certainly a major disruption in
the city and hordes of people did not go to work. I cancelled my
lessons today as i could not sleep with myself i simply sat at home
while my government acted this way. Tomorrow i have to teach or i
will not have much money next week but i finish at 2 and will
immediately head back out. There is still a huge demonstration going
on at City Hall and at Market and 5th, according to KPFA (you can
listen anywhere in the world on kpfa.org) which i now have on. People
are going to camp out all night. Apparently 2 helicopters were shot
down and there are already casualties on both sides. What a waste of
human life on both sides!

What has happened to my country? Why is this government acting so
irrationally and so immorally that we have to give up our jobs to
vent our frustration and desparately try to change things?
And the scary question that many of us are asking ourselves. How long
will they allow us to express this? When does the tear gas come out
from the police? The guns? Will the US be facing a potential Tianamen
Square type of situation here or in NYC or elsewhere in the country
in the next few weeks?

in a situation like this, dissent IS patriotic!

pray and work for peace