beware! news below is from the corporate media!
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KOMO TV (website) COVERAGE
here's the short blurb that links to the longer story:
TOP STORY Protesters Shut Down 520 Bridge SEATTLE - A small group opposed
to a possible war with Iraq created a headache for Tuesday morning commuters.
here's the full story:
February 18, 2003 By KOMO Staff & News Services
SEATTLE - About half a dozen people apparently protesting a possible war
with Iraq blocked Highway 520 in Seattle near the University of Washington.
They erected three poles in a structure that blocked eastbound traffic at
Montlake for about 20 minutes before police and State Troopers moved in and
cleared the busy highway. The surprise demonstration slowed the flow of
traffic across the Highway 520 floating bridge and also affected traffic
back on I-5. No word yet on arrests or possible charges.
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KIRO TV (website) COVERAGE:
Protest Blocks Lanes On SR 520 POSTED: 8:51 a.m. PST February 18, 2003
UPDATED: 9:20 a.m. PST February 18, 2003 SEATTLE -- Anti-war protesters
blocked lanes on State Route 520 in Seattle during the morning commute
Tuesday. State troopers arrested several people and have cleared the scene.
Protesters set up a pyramid structure with three poles in the eastbound
lanes of 520 at Montlake and appeared to be trying to put up a banner on
the structure before it was taken down by troopers. Troopers made five
arrests, KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reported. Officers removed the
pole-structure, banner and towed away a car to get traffic moving again.
The incident slowed the flow of traffic across the Highway 520 floating
bridge during the latter part of the morning commute, on the day following
a three-day weekend for many workers. A group of three or four dozen other
demonstrators watched the demonstration and shouted anti-war slogans.
Traffic in the westbound lanes of 520 was slowed for a time after someone
apparently stopped to videotape the arrests.
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KING 5 (website) COVERAGE
02/18/2003 KING5.com
SEATTLE � Anti-war demonstrators blocked the Evergreen Point Floating
Bridge in the middle of the morning commute Tuesday, bringing eastbound
traffic to a complete stop for about 20 minutes.
Early reports suggested as many as five protestors were arrested. At least
that many could be seen waving signs in front of stopped cars when the
protest began around 8:45 a.m.
Witnesses said they saw the protestors jump out of two cars before setting
up signs and a teepee-like structure of poles spanning the lanes.
"While we respect their right to protest, we can't have them doing it on
the highway because it infringes on other people's rights," Washington
State Patrol spokeswoman Monica Hunter said. Hunter said police had no
advance warning about the protest.
Traffic began moving again shortly after 9 a.m. after some 11 police and
Washington State Patrol officers converged on the seen to dismantle the
structure on the highway and move the protesters.
Related Stories: Seattle rally draws 20,000 [link] Millions protest
worldwide [link] Bush: I won't be deterred [link]
Westbound traffic was also affected, and traffic on Interstate 5 was also
backed up.
The incident came just days after a crowd of about 20,000 braved a rainy
Saturday to march between the Seattle Center, the Federal Building and the
Immigration and Naturalization Service detention center in protest of an
impending war.
The number of anti-war protestors across the globe over the weekend was
estimated to be in the millions.
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analysis:
The KIRO story minimizes the turnout and the story as whole, the essential
message being -- an insignificant group of people caused a nuisance on 520
this morning: "a small group .... created a headache..."
The KOMO story not only gives more details about what happened (protestors
trying to raise the banner, how many were arrested), but gave more weight
to the event by mentioning that "three or four dozen other demonstrators"
were standing nearby in support.
The KING story is the longest and most detailed of the three. It includes a
quote -- from an 'official' source (police), not from from the protestors
themselves. Although the bulk of the story leans towards the inconvenience
and potential dangers of the action, the KING story does give more weight
to the event by linking it to related antiwar stories -- the tens of
thousands in Seattle, and the millions around the world, who protested war
in Seattle on Saturday.
All three stories seem geared to an audience of commuters -- seeing the
protest as they might, a hindrance to getting to work. The terms "direct
action" or "civil disobedience" are not included in these stories. Not
seeking quotes from the protestors, in affect, silences their voices and
minimizes their significance.
Link: http://seattle.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=22691&group=webcast
