"You can make an easy kind of a link that, if you have a protest group protesting a war where the cause that's being fought against is international terrorism, you might have terrorism at that (protest)." "You can almost argue that a protest against that is a terrorist act." Mike Van Winkle – spokesman for CATIC A bulletin issued by The California Anti-Terrorism Information Center (CATIC) five days before the now infamous Oakland docks protest where police fired wooden bullets and concussion grenades at protesters and dock workers may have played a big part in the excessive violence used by the OPD. Although CATIC's webpage states that their activities meet "stringent guidelines for intelligence gathering and civil rights protections", the bulletin clearly shows that the agency has been spying on protest groups, a conclusion reinforced by Oakland Tribune ( 1,2) sources and statements by CATIC officials. The ACLU has issued a statement urging Attourney General Bill Lockyer to stop state monitoring of political activists. ACLU Report on Suppression of Dissent in Post 9/11 America | Infoshop.org