Oakland police ratcheted up the "war on protests" by loading up with rubber bullets and wood "pellets" to stop protesters. Some people were hurt. One guy had his hand shattered.
The protesters were ratcheting up the volume themselves, by trying to block access to a shipping company that was apparently involved in shipping to the war effort.
Apparently, this is the first time that any projectiles have been used in protests in the US for this war.
Wa Post story
This one enters into some very murky waters. On one hand, the use of these wooden pellets or "batons" is really over the top.
Description of wooden batons and proper usage
That page explains: the wooden rounds work by "producing incapacitation by blunt impact trauma and excruciating pain." It also says "IMPORTANT NOTE: Never aim at or above the Sternum. Less Lethal Ammunition can cause contusions, abrasions,broken ribs, concussions, loss of eyes, superficial organ damage, serious skin lacerations massive skull fractures, rupture of the heart or kidney, fragmentation of the liver, hemorrhages, and death."
Death. Huh.
On the other hand, actually interrupting a military operation is going much further than speaking out with signs and marching. Whether you're for or against the operation, it's happening, and to interrupt the supply of it is to put troops at risk. The 250 mile supply line into Baghdad actually starts from these port cities, thousands of miles away.
And then there are the costs. San Francisco has learned that the city itself is affected by the protests there, having to deal with almost a million dollars in additional costs because of them. (But much more positively affected by having the city unofficially represent the counter-culture!) One can only imagine how the city of Oakland makes its decisions when looking over at its neighbor, when it would have a harder time of affording such additional costs. And yet, by opening themselves to lawsuits, Oakland may find its approach even more costly than San Francisco's!
The proper way to address this might have been to arrest the protesters for trespassing, and then petition the feds to add treason to the charges. You can demonstrate, you can speak, you can march, but you can't interrupt shipments to troops. Don't ratchet up the physical pain threshhold for protesting: elevate the debate to taking it to courtrooms.