Occupy protesters shut down busy US port

Several thousand Occupy Wall Street demonstrators forced a halt to operations at the United States' fifth busiest port Wednesday evening, escalating a movement whose tactics had largely been limited to rallies and tent camps since it began in September.

Police estimated that a crowd of about 3,000 had gathered at the Port of Oakland by early evening. Some had marched from the California city's downtown, while others had been bused to the port.

Port spokesman Isaac Kos-Read said maritime operations had effectively been shut down. Interim Oakland police chief Howard Jordan warned that protesters who went inside the port's gates would be committing a federal offense.

In New York, Los Angeles and other cities where the movement against economic inequality has spread, demonstrators planned rallies in solidarity with the Oakland protesters, who called for Wednesday's "general strike" after an Iraq War veteran was injured in clashes with police last week.

Organizers of the march said they want to stop the "flow of capital." The port sends goods primarily to Asia, including wine as well as rice, fruits and nuts, and handles imported electronics, apparel and manufacturing equipment, mostly from Asia, as well as cars and parts from Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai.

The protesters spilled into the Oakland streets Wednesday morning, and the participants, officials and business leaders were optimistic the strike would be peaceful. At a briefing, officials described the protests as orderly and said no arrests had been made.

Craig Merrilees, spokesman for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, said its members were not being called to strike but they supported the protesters.

The members "are supporting the concerns raised by Occupy Oakland and the Occupy movement to speak up for the 99 percent and against the corporate greed that is wrecking America," Merrilees said.

In other cities, demonstrators targeted symbols of big business.

Nine protesters in Philadelphia were arrested as they held a sit-in at the headquarters of cable giant Comcast. About 100 military veterans marched in uniform in New York, angry at their dim job prospects. And parents and their kids, some in strollers, formed a "children's brigade" to join the Oakland rallies.

"There's absolutely something wrong with the system," said Jessica Medina, a single mother. "We need to change that."

In New York, the military veterans stopped in front of the New York Stock Exchange, standing in loose formation as police officers on scooters separated them from the entrance. On the other side was a lineup of police horses carrying officers with nightsticks.

"Wall Street corporations have played a big role in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Jerry Bordeleau, a former Army specialist who served in Iraq through 2009 and is now a college student. He said private contractors have reaped big profits in those countries.

In Boston, college students and union workers marched on Bank of America offices, the Harvard Club and the Statehouse to protest the U.S. growing student debt crisis.

Oakland let city workers use vacation or other paid time to take part in Wednesday's march, and officials said about 5 percent took the day off. About 360 Oakland teachers didn't show up for work, or roughly 18 percent of the district's 2,000 teachers, officials said.

"I came here because the schools are in the (same) boat as everyone else," said Steve Neat, a fifth-grade teacher.

Some Oakland protesters broke off from the rally to picket at nearby banks.

At a Citibank branch, more than a dozen protesters blocked the entrance, some with fake $100 bills taped across their faces. They held signs with messages such as "Share the Billions with the Millions."

About 200 people chanted outside a Wells Fargo branch, where graffiti on a wall read "The 1 percent won't back down" and "Who's robbing who?"

Further away from the rally, vandals shattered a Chase bank branch and splattered ink on an ATM. Someone later taped a note to the shattered glass that read: "We are better than this. ... Sorry, the 99 percent."