Alderaan had no shields...

[KSW]

The Truce At Bakura page 95 quote kind of conflicts with the beginning of Episode:4. Leia logically should not have expected any legal protection. There wouldn't have been a senator from Alderaan then after all.

Depending on how their FTL comms work, neither Vader nor Leia may yet have been aware of Alderaan rebelling at that point,

Huh? Leia was FROM Alderaan, and Vader caught her intercepting the stolen plans for the Death Star, that's how he knew she was a member of the Rebel Alliance.
Since she was the princess of Alderaan, that was enough.

[Lucky]

The Truce At Bakura page 95 quote kind of conflicts with the beginning of Episode:4. Leia logically should not have expected any legal protection. There wouldn't have been a senator from Alderaan then after all.

Depending on how their FTL comms work, neither Vader nor Leia may yet have been aware of Alderaan rebelling at that point, even if they had already declared their independence. The message might take some time to reach them.

Bale was not an impulsive fool, and openly rebelling against the Empire would not be something he would do on a whim. He would have made sure to warn people first from what I've seen of him.

I seem to recall real time communications while in hyperspace, and across the galaxy.

I'm trying to figure out what pacifists could do that the Empire would care about?

Obviously they would be militant pacifists, if they were rebelling in the first place.

In context, I think the dialogue was referring to the officially pacifist but not entirely demilitarized Alderaani government. The guy's cover was posing as an Alderaani expatriate loyal to the Empire, who blamed the Organas for his planet's destruction.

Having what amounts to a police force hardly makes you militarized

If Alderaan was officially pacifist then the citizens must have agreed or Alderann would have civil unrest, and that means the Empire could send in the troops., Any anti-empire movements on the planet would have been peaceful, and that means they don't matter to the empire.

THe Rebellion didn't start on Alderaan, and was not centered on Alderaan.

[Jasonb]

Lower area of cannon do say Coruscant had planetary shield. That lowest areas of cannon. areas shield over lapsed storms. So does not rule out that Alderaan had shields however come cost like storms. So it make it unlikely Alderaan well pay cost. Other problem shields even had would they have had to time to raise them. They had few seconds do it.
You check out on this site if wish see evidence that Coruscant had shields. http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Coruscant

[Picard]

We don't have any evidence of planetary shield in canon, and EU is a no game. And remember that planetary shields would make entire Separatist attack on Coruscant pointless - idea was (Separatists' idea, not Palpatine's) to get in, snatch the Chancellor, get out. Planetary shield, even if it was raised during the attack or immediately after they got Chancellor (and we know that ships have to exit hyperspace at safe distance from the planet) would make "get out" part impossible - or even "get in" part, if "safe distance" is far enough. They don't have transporters to beam throught shields like Borg and Federation do.

[Jasonb]

We don't have any evidence of planetary shield in canon, and EU is a no game. And remember that planetary shields would make entire Separatist attack on Coruscant pointless - idea was (Separatists' idea, not Palpatine's) to get in, snatch the Chancellor, get out. Planetary shield, even if it was raised during the attack or immediately after they got Chancellor (and we know that ships have to exit hyperspace at safe distance from the planet) would make "get out" part impossible - or even "get in" part, if "safe distance" is far enough. They don't have transporters to beam throught shields like Borg and Federation do.

Planetary Shield something Emperor Palpatine add to Coruscant defense when he turn the Republic into Empire it once little changes he did. Before then Conruscant had next to no planetary defense . Conruscant did even ion cannons protect Conruscant like battle Coruscant during the Clone wars. Alderaan was supposed to have better defense then must world in Galactic Empire.

[Picard]

There were no planetary shields seen in canon. The end.

[Jasonb]

There were no planetary shields seen in canon. The end.

However they show ever show planetary shield in the clone wars. Real depend how interpreter what Vader was saying.