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SAN FRANCISCO
10 arrested during World Can't Wait's anti-Bush march
Chronicle building hit by Molotov cocktail

Leslie Fulbright and Marsha Ginsburg, Chronicle Staff Writers

Thursday, November 3, 2005

An anti-Bush demonstration in San Francisco ended with the arrest of 10 people, including one who was found carrying several Molotov cocktails after such a device was thrown at The San Francisco Chronicle building on Wednesday, police said.

Nine people were arrested for blocking traffic at Hyde and Market streets, said San Francisco police Commander David Shinn.

About 2,000 people participated in the rally and march organized by The World Can't Wait, a group whose focus is to remove President Bush from office.

Shinn said the march was mostly peaceful but added that there was a "small element bent on violent acts of destruction."

At one point, as the small group marched along Mission Street, somebody pulled out a Molotov cocktail, lit it and threw it against the Chronicle building, where it exploded, sending fiery material onto the shoulder of San Francisco police Officer Gary Constantine, who was not injured, Shinn said.

Police arrested a person who was found with Molotov cocktails, but they were uncertain Wednesday night whether that person was the one who threw the explosive, Shinn said.

The protesters also staged a "die-in" at Hyde and Market, in which they lay down on the street.

Mona Villa, a monitor for the march, said the 2-mile march was ending when about 15 protesters -- some of them high-school-age teens -- stayed behind for the "die-in." Other protesters had done the same thing periodically throughout the walk.

As they lay in the street, about 25 police officers in riot gear holding batons told the protesters that "anyone who didn't want to be arrested should get up and move to the sidewalk," said Villa.

About a third did, Villa said. Without warning, she said, the police circled the remaining protesters, charged in and grabbed them, forcing them to fall on one another.

"I barely got out of the way," she said. "There was no reason to use such force. They were just lying there ... high schoolers practically singing 'Kumbaya.' "

They remained there for about 45 minutes, she said, refusing to let anyone move and clogging traffic. Villa said she saw a woman who was trying to obtain the name of one arrested youth get backhanded by police.

Shinn said police allowed the group to block traffic for a while, but when the protesters refused repeated orders to clear the intersection, police arrested them.

SAN FRANCISCO
Protesters taking to streets to seek Bush ouster
Communist group is helping organize nationwide effort

Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, November 2, 2005

A new campaign aimed at removing President Bush from office is scheduled to begin with a noon rally today in San Francisco's Civic Center, followed by a march downtown.

Calling itself The World Can't Wait, the group was initiated in part by supporters of the Revolutionary Communist Party, and it has a simple goal: removing Bush from office by impeachment or resignation -- even if, according to the organization's Web site, they're not quite sure what should follow:

"The question of what will replace the Bush regime should be discussed and debated as we join together and work shoulder-to-shoulder toward our common political goal," according to the Web site worldcantwait.net.

Today's demonstration, which will coincide with similar protests in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago, is not sponsored by International Answer or United for Peace and Justice, which have been behind most of the nation's mass demonstrations in the past few years.

Among some of the group's supporters are left-leaning writers (Eve Ensler of "Vagina Monologues") and artists (Boots Riley of the hip-hop band The Coup).

"They're in it because they think it's absolutely urgent to get rid of this regime, that it would both lift a huge burden from the world," according to the site, which also touts, "Greens, Christians, Republicans, anarchists, Muslims, Jews, feminists, Democrats, pacifists, and people who claim no affiliation" as members.

In San Francisco, liberal politicians like San Francisco Supervisors Chris Daly and Tom Ammiano and activists like Code Pink's Medea Benjamin and Cindy Sheehan will participate in today's rally.

"It's all part of keeping the momentum going," Benjamin said. "With the (Lewis "Scooter") Libby indictments last week and the Senate going into closed session to talk about the intelligence that was used to go to war, there is a lot of energy out there to get into the streets."

Student walkouts are planned at 43 colleges and universities nationwide, organizers said, including UC Berkeley and St. Mary's College in Moraga. Some midday San Francisco Muni bus lines around the Civic Center will be rerouted, with details available at www.sfmuni.com.

Police said organizers expected about 2,000 people to participate in the rally and march. "We will facilitate the march," said San Francisco police Sgt. Neville Gittens.

Marchers will move from Civic Center south onto Polk Street, then head downtown before returning along Market Street to Civic Center Plaza for a closing rally from 4:30 to 6 p.m.

Bay Area organizer Federico Garcia said he hopes the demonstration's focus on a single goal will answer critics who say that anti-war demonstrations include many seemingly unrelated interests, from the plight of death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal (who will be contributing a taped speech to today's San Francisco event) to the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis.

"We want to get all these people united in a common goal -- to get Bush to step down," Garcia said. "We can't continue to fight all of these battles one at a time."