General Strike Closes Oakland Port, Police Respond with Tear Gas

The scene of the most heated Occupy protests so far hosted yet another showdown between police and demonstrators early this morning.

The first general strike in the United States in nearly 70 years went off with, well, several hitches yesterday in Oakland, as police and Occupy protesters clashed well into the night amid broken glass and tear gas. After demonstrating somewhat peacefully downtown, about 7,000 Occupiers marched on the Port of Oakland in the evening. Along the way, more smash-happy elements of the movement turned their attention on banks and, of course, Whole Foods, breaking panes of glass throughout the downtown core. When the marchers got to the port, they blocked the entrance, eventually forcing the port to halt operations for the rest of the night. The port, one of the continent's busiest, was to reopen this morning. Matters took a turn for the worse when protesters took over a vacant building early Thursday morning, prompting police to storm the building with tear gas, rubber bullets, and what we're guessing was just a modicum of glee at getting to tussle with the long-hairs. Oakland police say they arrested between 30 and 40 people before protest organizers decided to call it a night.