From the open publishing newswire: August 10th 2pm--4pm at Liberty Hall (311 N. Ivy)

Know Your Rights and Check A Pig (how to Copwatch) Training
presented by NoPo CopStop

Learn your rights when dealing with the police and how to organize community pressure to check the pigs.

From the open publishing newswire: As we drove to Silverton today, we passed by the memorial along Highway 213 which honors Andrew Hanlon, the Irish citizen who was shot and killed by officer Tony Gonzalez early this month. The Grand Jury has since decided that Officer Gonzalez was justified in killing Hanlon. No surprise there. We are getting used to officers being exonerated after their thoughtless and deadly actions. Will we ever get used to these memorials? There were notes from Andrew's friends, declarations of solidarity and flags of Ireland fluttering in the summer breeze. I thought about Fouad Kaady, another unarmed man killed in Sandy by officers quick to pull their triggers. In Portland there have been many such deaths. Each of them has been discussed and remembered on this site. Here are pictures of this memorial so we can put a face to this most recent murder.

From the open publishing newswire: In the face of growing concern over the use of tasers and other so-called "less lethal weapons," police officers and weapons industry shills have been conducting what can only be described as one of the strangest PR campaigns ever mounted. They have been "demonstrating" tasers by shooting them at each other, and at hapless volunteers in incongruous settings during family-friendly public gatherings. The message is supposed to be simple and easily digested: "See? Tasers can be fun." One such demonstration took place at the Columbia County Fair over the weekend. It was a bizarre spectacle that surely must be reminiscent of what Rome was like shortly before it fell.

From the open publishing newswire: Thank you! To the anonymous ninjas, Us here at the Pitch Pipe Infoshop would like to thank you from the very bottom of our hearts for removing the surveillance camera that was pointed at our house. You are beautiful and amazing, whoever you are. We are all extremely grateful for your vigilance in defending our community from the onslaught of the police state.

The government wants us all under their thumbs. They want all of us to be in our right place; going to work, being trapped in school, rotting in prison, doing nothing that they do not want us to do. We are forbidden from living. The government wants to render us into soulless, empty shells, acting as nothing more than carriers for capital and resources. Our forests are as expendable as we are to them. And so that none their slaves may rebel, they cover our streets with cameras and police cruisers. They wish to destroy every free space still in existence. They wish to see everything so that they may stop what is most dangerous to them: LIFE.

Whoever destroyed the camera destroyed a small piece of the government's grand design for us. They took a swing at the panopticon and made off with one of its eyes. Let there be thousands more of these acts. Together, let's smash their horrible machine to pieces.
PS: If you can, please make information about the stolen camera public so everyone can know what they were using against us.

Photos of the Camera: 1,2

From the open publishing newswire: Not even 24 hours after the Silverton police brutally shot and killed Andrew James Hanlon (who had been living with his mother in France and attending art school when he came to visit his sister in Silverton last year). The Clackamas police used a "pit manuver" on bank robbery suspect Mitchell Sean Coole and caused him to bounce off the 205 freeway wall at Sunnyside rd. and cross the medium into oncoming traffic and ended up hitting several vehicles injuring multiple people.

From the open publishing newswire: So, I am riding my bicycle home from work on the afternoon of June 30th, 2008 through Waterfront Park when I hear the tell tale signals that the pedestrian path on the lower Steel Bridge is raising. Instead of sitting in the sun waiting for the barge to pass I stop short of the bridge to stand under the shade of a tree. This is when I notice about 50 feet away two uniformed officers talking to an black couple laying down in the park. I look to see what is going on as it is very strange how the officers are treating them and this is when I identified Ofc Reisten from the Joe Anybody? video in May. [ Read More ]

From the open publishing newswire: The Portland Police Bureau has continued its criminalization of houselessness, by sweeping 50 folks from under and atop the Burnside Bridge on 6/24, and sweeping almost 50 more folks from the Hawthorne and Morrison Bridges the following night. Their possessions were confiscated and thrown away. The Portland Coalition Against Poverty is hosting a demonstration to demand an immediate end to police harassment of poor and houseless people. It is on Wednesday, July 9th, at 5pm, in the North Park Blocks.

From the open publishing newswire: I interviewed Clifton in the neighborhood near where he was assaulted on Saturday 6-12-08. He told me on camera how he was assaulted by two assholes coming out of a bar on SE 48 and Belmont street here in Portland Oregon around 7pm at night. This happened as he was waiting for a bus to go to work on an evening shift...the job he lost due to be taken to jail and missing work.

Hear Mr Brooks tell "his version" of how he lost his job due to being on city street in Portland waiting for his bus to go to work and then being jumped by two drunks ... and if thats not enough having the portland police come long and shock the shit out of him and take him off to jail? [ Read More | Video: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV | joe-anybody.com ]

From the open publishing newswire: My friend just called saying that she was stopped by a copcar for riding her bike without lights. She was pulled over around SE 7th and Morrison. As they were writing her a ticket another biker was biking North on 7th. They used him as an example how bikers cannot be seen without lights. So the cops told the other cyclist to stop and when he did not stop quickly enough/was confused why they were telling him to stop, they ran after him, pulled him off his bike, threw him against a nearby wall and tased him multiple times. When my friend called I could hear him screaming in the background and the cops yelling at him.

One commenter says: "I'm pretty sure I heard somebody talking about this experience on the bus late this evening, at least it was somebody with a similar story, he was like talking to somebody on a cell phone or something & said the paramedics had a hell of a time carving the taser barb out of his chest. Said he was charged with assaulting an officer for touching the motherfucker's boot while he was writhing around on the ground screaming. Sounded like a really fucked up event, yet another example of how tasers are just torture toys for sadists.."

From the open publishing newswire: This past Saterday on June 7th 2008 at [about] 9:40pm i was about
to board the #15 bus at SE 34th & Belmont, on my way to work. Before i
can make it on the bus, i get jumped by these two drunken a**holes, coming out of some sports bar from across the street! I'm
trying to fight these two off, defending myself, with dozens of people
everywhere [including the bus' occupants]. They push me into a storefront
window, smashing it. I suffer a laceration on my lip & left ear. When
the two take off, heading east towards 39th., i call 911. Many people,
including the bus driver call 911. I'm on my cellphone talking to the
dispatcher, telling her what just happened to me.

I stay on the scene, waiting for the police to arrive. As soon as
they do, i approach them. But within seconds they ARREST ME! They force me
to the ground, i'm completely subdued & they TASER ME!!!

From the open publishing newswire: On May 30 Eugene police repeatedly tasered a UO student organizer at a peaceful downtown rally supporting an end to toxic roadside pesticide spraying in Lane County, Oregon. EPD wrongfully arrested 2 students and one community member collectively known as "The Kesey Three" -- as the events took place at Eugene's Ken Kesey "Free Speech" Plaza.

2 Gatherings for Peace in Support of "The Kesey Three":

• Gathering for Peace in Support of "The Kesey Three": Thursday, June 5 from 12 - 3 at the EMU Amphitheater, University of Oregon, Eugene; Come wear a white armband to speak out against police brutality and the use of tasers in policing.
• Gather in Support of "The Kesey Three" on Saturday, June 7 in Kesey Square (Willamette / Broadway) at 12 noon. We will gather together silently. Many will have an "X" painted over their mouths or will be wearing tape over their mouths as a statement of how the police are trying to silence free speech with their violence.

Flyers will be silently handed to those with questions.

Youtube Video of May 30 events

From the open publishing newswire: "This is all part of a larger government effort to quell political dissent," says Jordan Kushner, an attorney who represented Ganley and other Critical Mass arrestees. "The Joint Terrorism Task Force is another example of using the buzzword 'terrorism' as a basis to clamp down on people's freedoms and push forward a more authoritarian government."

Related: Earlier post about Marie Mason Case: The National Lawyers Guild has established a hotline, 888-NLG-ECOL, for individuals arrested, subpoenaed or questioned for offenses related to environmental or animal activism. We encourage people to call the NLG hot line if you are contacted by law enforcement and would like to consult with an attorney on these matters.

From the open publishing newswire: After the Portland Police department swept protestors from City Hall at 5:30am, [on Thursday May 15th] the United Poor People have regrouped and continued their protest. We are calling for new ways to address the lack of adequate housing for the people of Portland in the hopes that it can serve as a model for other cities. More long-term solutions are being debated by UPP such as searching for ways to provide affordable housing for people who are poor. Innovative changes must be addressed with proper representation for the poor instead of solely allowing existing service providers to make decisions.

The protest has been ongoing for over 20 days, starting April 25th, since police performed sweeps at many of the common camp sites that people were staying at. Larger issues have become key such as the lack of adequate housing, shelters that provide space for those with mental and physical health issues, couples and people with pets, as well as for sexual minorities and increased space for women. The existing shelters, which police gave information for during the sweep, are already full as are the beds that Mayor Tom Potter has trumped up for the media.

Protesters have stated that they would stop sleeping at City Hall if a temporary Green Zone was approved to allow those without houses to camp in a safe environment. This would require repealing the Camping ordinance and protesters would like to see the Sit and Lie ordinance repealed as well. Please come out to support members of your community because this issue effects all people. Any time is good for people to come down but especially on Wednesday morning for the City Council meeting at 9:00am. For more information please contact UnitedPoorPeople@gmail.com.

[ Previous articles: More articles on homeless camp ]

Updates: May 16th - City Hall Protesters return, but then cops return also, and sweep them into park