Free Tibet Protestors ON Golden Gate Bridge

Protestors using climbing gear have scaled the Golden Gate bridge and posted two large signs on the suspension cables.  One sign says "Free Tibet"  
 Check the local NBC station website http://www.nbc11.com/...

The group identified themselves to NBC11 as Students for a Free Tibet from New York. At 11:20 a.m. the three climbers unveiled two mesh banners that read "One Dream, Free Tibet 08." The sign cast a shadow on the lanes of the bridge, causing drivers to slow down and read the text.

Chopper11 showed a woman at the base of the bridge being arrested. She was wearing a T-shirt that had the words "Team Tibet" on it.

Sorry for the brevity of this diary and lack of video, but I'm on dialup.

•  Tips

  by FoundingFatherDAR on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 11:57:06 AM PDT

•  Attention seeking yuppies

  That isn't a protest. It's a stunt.

  The path of getting a message out there is not in line with these kinds of cheap tricks.

  by greatn on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:02:17 PM PDT

  •  Because everything else is workng so well?

    by SquirmyRooter on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:08:13 PM PDT

  •  if

    there were better ways to get media attention for the issue, I'd agree with you...

    but no.

    by VoteHarder on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:13:02 PM PDT

  •  you think getting arrested is cheap?

    ever tried to climb that bridge?

    It takes a lot of guts, good physique, planning, no on site training.

    It is hard for me to grasp what you know about Tibet.

    by marthature on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:14:15 PM PDT

    •  Great Comment!

      Having walked that bridge a couple of times, you have to be able to withstand cold and high winds, too!

      by CityLightsLover on Tue Apr 08, 2008 at 04:02:51 PM PDT

  •  It is a protest,

    they are a peaceful group, and seek non-violent ways of getting their message out.  This is getting them world wide attention.  This is no yuppee stunt!  And I would say if you think it is just a stunt you have no understanding of the History of Tibet, and the Delai Lama.

    by kanuk on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:20:20 PM PDT

  •  All protest is street theatre

    It changes nothing directly, but only by drawing attention to issues.  

    by lgmcp on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:32:40 PM PDT

  •  and the Boston tea party was....what.

    c'mon, sounds like you're jealous.

    by bob zimway on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:40:22 PM PDT

  •  They care

    You write sarcastic comments. Nasty.

    by anotherCt Dem on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 01:05:10 PM PDT

  •  The Protest Worked Cause You and Me Are

    talking about it right now! The protests are everywhere.

    Here are some WaPo photos of protesters in Tibet be flagellated by Chinese polic. This is why people are protesting all over the world. http://www.washingtonpost.com/...

    Here is video of Londoners and Parisians protesting.
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/...

    Protesting works and so do unions. Why do you think businesses, conservatives and neocons always bash them, talk them down and try to destroy them?

    by rattapallax on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 01:56:09 PM PDT

  •  If I was protesting the fact that your homeland

    was stolen and you were beaten by police... would you still call me a yuppy?

    by rattapallax on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 01:58:12 PM PDT

•  good for them

  and thanks for this info.

  I am an Edwards Democrat!

  by Scubaval on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:03:20 PM PDT

•  if there was an olympic event

  for human rights abuses, China would win the gold.

  by VoteHarder on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:14:13 PM PDT

  •  Although our imprisonment rates

    suggest that we'd place.

    

    Unfortunately China is not in this dataset, but I've seen other similar versions that show them well below up on a per capita basis.

    by lgmcp on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:36:39 PM PDT

    •  The far right lane is closed

      (and there might be a metaphor there), but while other traffic is slow, CHP has said they don't plan to close any other lanes.

      by DanK Is Back on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:40:03 PM PDT

•  You can watch the livestream

  http://www.nbc11.com/...

  by kanuk on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:17:27 PM PDT

  •  I provided link in the diary

    if anybody bothered to read what little I included.

    by FoundingFatherDAR on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:52:33 PM PDT

•  I hope they don't close the bridge

  because if they do it's going to piss a lot of people off who otherwise would be quite supportive of this cause. People like me.

  by Shane Hensinger on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:19:40 PM PDT

  •  See my reply above

    It was meant for you, but the mouse must have slipped.

    by DanK Is Back on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:40:39 PM PDT

  •  God forbid

    that someone suffer a bit of traffic wait so attention can be drawn to human rights abuses. I thought Democrats were the ones who were unselfish.

    by SarahLee on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:46:53 PM PDT

    •  God forbid we should pay

      a price for China's violations of human rights. Who are you to tell someone, a person on limited income, that they're gonna be delayed to pick up their kid from preschool so they have to pay a $25 charge and that's ok?

      The bridge is a major artery and shutting it ties up traffic everywhere in the Bay Area. The last time they shut the Bay Bridge it resulted in six-hour traffic jams. One bridge shutting down basically paralyzes the entire area.

      by Shane Hensinger on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:54:18 PM PDT

      •  I've got a very limited income

        and would gladly pay.  With this much notice that there might be a delay, I would call the childcare center and warn them as a courtesy and they might wave the payment.

        Nothing changes if people are not willing to sacrifice a bit on the way there.

        by SarahLee on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 02:04:15 PM PDT

•  Where is muscular effort toward...

  ending the occupation of Iraq?

  We have more influence over our own government than of China yet activists are showing nowhere near the same activity to stop the US occupation of Iraq.

  Code Pink is the consistent exception.

  In so far as human rights abuses, US is the world's leading violator.

  by skywriter on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:25:54 PM PDT

  •  I don't see you hanging any banners. n/t

    by sagesource on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:58:12 PM PDT

  •  Anything protest which distracts...

    ...the US population from what is occurring in Iraq will be well organized, well planned, and it will be allowed to happen.

    Groups that are organized to protest against the Iraq war are so heavily infiltrated by government agents that if they planned something like that they would be arrested as soon as they walked out the door.

    by Rex Manning on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 01:12:53 PM PDT

    •  If that were true..

      the Catonsville 9 would never have acted.

      http://www.commondreams.org/...

      The point is the anti-war movement during the 1960s and 1970s was much more creative and personally engaged in ending the war.

      I believe we need to more aggressively assert out stance. Meteor Blades is correct in saying that winning the Trifecta and kicking Republicans out of office in the fall still does not get us out of Iraq.

      The major hope is that Obama will listen to an engaged population.

      by skywriter on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 04:17:27 PM PDT

  •  Fair criticism

    Bay Area activists are often more concerned with Tibet than the situation in West Oakland or Baghdad.

    But still, this is a pretty great action. Stinks of the Ruckus Society. Those folks have gigantic balls.

    Reminds me of their action from the WTO protests in Seattle back in 1999.
    http://peopleandplanet.org/...

    by greendem on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 01:13:05 PM PDT

•  Well ... it's the lead story on CNN.com now

  So, the protest has served it's purpose of drawing attention to the issue.

  by CDinBoston on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:39:14 PM PDT

•  I've been listerning to KCBS about this

  One of the things the reporters are stressing is how well prepared the climbers were; they seemed to know exactly what they were doing.

  As of a few moments ago, the bridge workers had reached the banner and the protesters, were talking to them, and have started to cut the banner down. (If the wind picks up, they'll have to delay that part.) The protesters have said (through a spokesman) that they will not get confrontational, and the bridge authority is saying the same.

  Typical San Francisco: We do civilized protests here. (Most of the time.)

  by DanK Is Back on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 12:39:21 PM PDT

  •  We'll see on April 9.

    That's Wednesday...

    by Yamaneko2 on Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 01:22:54 PM PDT