Finally, people are carrying signs, taking to the streets and speaking their minds.
Showing posts with label portland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label portland. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
portland racism
A racist legacy taints this state,
doesn't it? A Portland, Oregon college professor wrote a column for a local paper. What he said in that column was a pile of pure manure.
There is no doubt that Oregon has a racist history. But, to cast the racist sheet over every white Oregonian's head, as this essay has done, is more than misinformation via fact manipulation. It is an outright lie. Joe Uris, a flaming liberal academic, would instantly condemn someone who said, "Blacks are all ..." something or other. He would call it stereotyping -- racist rhetoric. What, then, is his pallid justification for, in this Portland Tribune piece, doing the same damn thing, himself? -- Larry Leonard, Oregon Magazine (2003 A.D.)
PERSPECTIVE: Oregon has an unfortunate history of racist acts and policies By JOE URIS of the Portland Tribune
Note: the following is a full text reproduction of an essay from the usually otherwise sane Portland Tribune, and contains my editorial response damn near line for line through the piece. I do not believe that I have ever in my life seen in one place as much liberal bias, misinformation, bad analysis, flawed logic, ridiculous conclusions and outright junk sociology as Joe Uris wrote in the piece you are about to read. It ran in the Trib just after mid-October.
In May, a police officer kills an African-American mother of two.
OMED: Who was a known drug abuser, was high at the time of the incident and tried to drive off with the officer half in and half out of the car.
This fall, racial tensions surround a high school on the east edge of Portland.
OMED: And, we ask why that statement is proof of white against black racism, which as any follower of academia and the liberal press knows, is the only kind of racism there is.
And just last month, Elinor Langer's "A Hundred Little Hitlers," a powerful account of the1988 Portland racist skinhead epidemic that culminated in the murder of an Ethiopian, makes a splash.
OMED: And begs the question. Of the African-Americans killed in a violent manner in Portland in the last ten years, how many were slaughtered by skinheads or any other white, and how many were killed by other African-Americans? Which represents the greatest threat to blacks? Whites or blacks? For another comparison, we see from the mainstream American media each day a tally of the Americans killed in Iraq. In a similar manner to that which is under discussion, here, the prevaricators fail to put these numbers in perspective. More young Americans die from violence in Washington, D.C. and Lost Angeles, two liberal American cities, each month, than are killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Langer argues that racist history is as much or more to blame as neo-Nazism for the 1988 plague of violence.
OMED: One death is not a “plague of violence." Langer needs to address the serious problem, not the statistical oddity. It would limit the scope of potential publishers since most modern presses, particularly university presses, aren't even faintly interested in the truth, but what we need from her is a book titled "Brotherly Hate: America's Plague of Black on Black Crime." But even that isn't the central problem, here. What we need is proof that Uris has made a botch of his description of Oregon's history of racial intolerance. You'll see that proof begin to unfold in just a few more lines.
Our history as a city and a state is rife with discrimination, both legal and extralegal. Here, using only the African-American experience, is some of that history:
In 1859, the new state of Oregon forbade African-American settlement. Those who defied the rule faced punishment.
OMED: In 1859, Oregon, over the opposition of the Democratic Party, joined the Union as a free state. No slavery. If you want to know who has historically oppressed blacks in Oregon, right from the very beginning, don't look to the political party that fought to free them. Look to the political party you incorrectly think was their savior. The reason why "the new state of Oregon forbade African-American settlement" is just below. His name is Whiteaker and his political party name begins with a "D."
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Portland police commissioner
From KATU
From Williamette Week
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland police sergeant embroiled in a "road rage" lawsuit will be moved to a desk job, says Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman.
The news comes three days after a driver involved in a roadway altercation with Sgt. Kyle Nice filed a lawsuit against Nice and the City of Portland.
Nice was off duty when he admits he "unholstered" his gun during that confrontation last Saturday. The driver involved, Neil Ruffin, told 9-1-1 dispatchers the gun was pointed right at him. Nice believed Ruffin nearly hit his personal truck, which held his 6-week-old baby, after Ruffin reportedly ran a red light on Southwest Allen Road.
Ruffin's lawsuit accuses Nice of menacing and threatening him with a loaded firearm.
Portland Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman told KATU on Friday he would consider taking Nice off the street. On Monday, he told KATU Reporter Dan Tilkin that he and Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer consulted, and "we have determined he will be placed in an administrative assignment off the street.”
Nice is off work and on family leave. When Nice returns from leave, he'll be "basically working in an office environment in the bureau," Saltzman said.
Meanwhile, Saltzman wasn't shy about how he feels on this matter: "I am embarrassed by Sgt. Nice in this road-rage incident, and I think it was totally unprofessional and it doesn’t set a good example for other officers. It’s not what the public expects of our officers, on or off duty.”
The case now goes in from the recently set-up citizen review board.
"I think the public deserves better from officers who are on, or off, duty,” Saltzman said.
In addition to the Nice incident, Portland police union president Sgt. Scott Westerman admitted to pulling over a woman twice while off-duty and yelling at her. Virginia Thompson was near Interstate 205 and two days later she and her husband were on the other side of town on Beaverton Hillsdale Highway. Thompson said in both instances Westerman screamed at her because he thought her lights were on high. She said he told her he was a police officer and could have her arrested.
Westerman said he was ashamed of the incident.
Saltzman said he’s going to wait for the Internal Affairs investigation to end before taking action with Westerman, who's not an active patrol officer.
He also said he’ll wait for the investigation to conclude on Sgt. Nice before deciding on further discipline.
Nice was one of the officers involved in the police custody death of James Chasse - a mentally ill man - in September 2006.
From Williamette Week
Mental Health Advocate Takes on Saltzman for City Council
In his second straight day in the news, prominent mental-health advocate Jason Renaud announced today he'll run against City Commissioner Dan Saltzman next year. Renaud, a volunteer for the Mental Health Association of Portland, is a prominent critic of the police role in the in-custody death three years ago of James Chasse Jr. Renaud (pictured above) also weighed in on Saltzman's decision yesterday to reverse himself and reinstate Officer Christopher Humphreys, who used a beanbag gun on a 12-year-old girl who was resisting arrest. (The race for Saltzman's seat also has two other candidates: Ed Garren and Spencer Burton.) More on the political implications of Saltzman's decision on Humphreys in tomorrow's issue of WW.by JAMES PITKIN 11.30.2009Sizer and Saltzman Cave; Police Union Suspends No-Confidence Vote
The Portland police union has declined to release the results of last week's no-confidence vote on Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman and Chief Rosie Sizer today as planned. In a news release (PDF), the Portland Police Association says the decision came after Saltzman and Sizer agreed today to give back Officer Chris Humphreys' badge. "The (union's) rally on November 24 was designed to focus on the need for due process for Officer Humphreys; to have the incident thoroughly investigated before any decision was made," the news release says. "Today's actions grant those basic due process rights." Sgt. Scott Westerman (photo above), head of the police union, tells WW by email he will have no further comment beyond the release. Salzman and Sizer issued their own news release (PDF) earlier this afternoon confirming that Humphreys — who was involved in a controversial beanbag shooting Nov. 14 — has been placed "in an off-street administrative assignment." Such an assignment was Sizer's original decision on what to do with Humphreys pending the investigation. Saltzman overruled her then and decided to to pull Humphreys' badge, placing him on administrative leave Nov. 19. Saltzman's office says he will have no further comment today on why he changed his mind.by JAMES PITKIN 11.27.2009Police Union Boss Pushes Back on Two Theories about the No-Confidence Vote
Amid all the political speculation on the Portland Police Associations's current no-confidence vote against Chief Rosie Sizer and Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman, two recurring theories have endured. Both were swatted down today by union president Sgt. Scott Westerman in an interview with WW. The first theory making the rounds has it that the union's no-confidence vote against Sizer and Saltzman for placing Officer Chris Humphreys on administrative leave is, in part, meant to benefit the cops when contract negotiations between the union and the city begin next year. Some observers believe weakening Saltzman could create leverage for the union. Others have noted that pissing off City Hall as a tactic could backfire. And Westerman today swatted down any such speculation about the vote a couple of days before the union is scheduled to announce the results. "People say this is for leverage, but that is not the case," he said. "This is about public safety. This is about our members looking at the chief and the police commissioner and saying, we followed our training, what do you expect us to do now?" Westerman also noted, as some observers believe, that "this will actually hurt our ability for contract negotiations." The second bit of speculation involves City Commissioner Randy Leonard. It's been reported that the union is working closely with Gallatin Public Affairs. Political insiders also know that Leonard has close ties with Gallatin lobbyist Greg Peden. Could it be that Leonard, a former firefighter union boss who has nursed his own designs to become police commissioner, is somehow playing puppet-master at the union through his friend Peden? Westerman scoffs at the notion, saying the union is working not only with Peden but the entire Gallatin team in Portland, with Shannon McCarthy Berg as the union's main contact at the firm. "I can assure you there has been no collusion between the Portland Police Association and any city commissioner to conspire toward anything," Westerman says. "I think Randy's quotes recently exemplify that."by JAMES PITKIN 11.19.2009Chasse Cop Christopher Humphreys Placed on Administrative Leave (UPDATED with union reaction)
Portland Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman has directed that Police Officer Christopher Humphreys be placed on administrative leave while investigators look into Humphreys firing a beanbag round at the thigh of a 12-year-old girl at close range. In this release (PDF), police say Humphreys —who also was involved in the death of James Chasse— and Officer Aaron Dauchy responded to a call at 10:47 pm last Saturday that took them to the MAX platform on 162nd Avenue. Police say officers were told there had been a large party with several gang members that had just broken up, and that a gun had been found in bushes near the party. Humphreys and Dauchy got on the MAX train heading west with about 20-30 teen-agers, including a girl Dauchy knew was excluded from the trains, police say. When Dauchy tried to take her into custody, police say she swung at him and resisted despite repeated warnings from Humphreys that he would fire the beanbag gun. Police Chief Rosie Sizer says a TriMet video of the incident left her "troubled." And Saltzman said he "directed that Officer Humphreys be immediately removed from the street and placed on administrative leave." Sizer read the prepared statement at a news conference and took no questions. Police spokeswoman, Det. Mary Wheat, wouldn't comment on whether there was a policy dictating the proper range for a beanbag shot. UPDATE: After Sizer ended her news conference without taking questions, police union president Scott Westerman held his own news conference on the steps of the Justice Center. Flanked by about 40 other officers, Westerman said Humphreys is a "well-respected" officer and called his actions "appropriate, justified, warranted and necessary" to defuse the situation. Westerman said regulations governing beanbag use require shots to the torso be from at least 10 feet away but that in closer-range situations, beanbag rounds to the extremities are OK. Westerman added that there are no restrictions on using beanbags against children. Westerman ascribed Humphreys' punishment to what he termed a "bias" against Humphreys after the Chasse death. And Westerman said Saltzman's decision to put Humphreys on administrative leave overrode Sizer's decision to only take Humphreys off the street. He said both Sizer and Saltzman have lost the confidence of police rank-and-file.by BETH SLOVIC 12.07.2009Saltzman, Fritz And Sizer Meet with Mental Health Advocate
Given all the issues swirling around Portland police, here's a meeting worth noting. City Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who oversees the Portland Police Bureau, Commissioner Amanda Fritz, a former psychiatric nurse, and Police Chief Rosie Sizer are scheduled to meet this afternoon with Richard Harris, according to Fritz's calendar. Harris is the Oregon Department of Human Services' assistant director for addictions and mental health, and was formerly the executive director of Portland's Central City Concern. Detective Mary Wheat, a spokeswoman for the police, says the group is "information sharing."by HANK STERN 12.10.2009Now Look Who's Mad at Dan Saltzman
Karin Hansen, who's never been shy about weighing in on what's roiling City Hall, is now upset with Commissioner Dan Saltzman in the wake of his reinstatement of Officer Christopher Humphreys to desk duty pending investigation into Humphreys' use of a beanbag gun against a 12-year-old girl who was resisting arrest. Hansen, who's married to former Mayor Tom Potter, responded to a Facebook thread last night by the Rev. Chuck Currie that said he wouldn't support Saltzman for re-election and that he "will be looking for a progressive voice to support." Hansen's reply: "You are oh so right! Thank you for your bold commentary." In case you're wondering whether that signals any interest by Hansen in being added to Saltzman's growing list of challengers in the 2010 election, don't. Hansen (in the photo above with Jasun Wurster, organizer of the first effort to recall Mayor Sam Adams) tells WW she isn't interested in running against Saltzman next year.by HANK STERN 12.18.2009The Newest Challenger To Dan Saltzman is ...
Jesse Cornett. There's been no shortage of candidates filing recently to take on city Commissioner Dan Saltzman next year. And Cornett, who's leaving his post as assistant to PSU's president at the end of this year, has been a political candidate before. One of the founders both of Blue Oregon and the Bus Project, the now-34-year-old Cornett ran unsuccessfully for the state Legislature in 2006. He also considered trying again for a legislative seat this year before deciding against it. Now living in Lents, Cornett says he's filing the paperwork today to take on Saltzman in the City Hall race instead of Commissioner Nick Fish —who's also up for re-election next year— because Saltzman has been in office for three terms with what Cornett says are "few accomplishments." Cornett faults Saltzman for losing control of one of the more recent issues the commissioner had to deal with in Saltzman's reversal of his original decision in the case of Officer Christopher Humphreys. Cornett also wrote an op-ed in The Oregonian that also probably made Cornett no friends in the police union. Cornett says his experience in the city and state, including previous work as a senior policy adviser and legislative aide for former Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, makes him the best-qualified candidate to take on Saltzman. "I didn't see anyone else in the race being a really strong contender," says Cornett, who plans to seek public financing.by BETH SLOVIC 01.11.2010Updated: A Sixth Candidate Joins Race Against Dan Saltzman
Rudy Soto, student body president at Portland State University from 2007 to 2008, will file next week to run against Commissioner Dan Saltzman, joining five others who have already announced their intention to challenge the three-time incumbent. Soto says he plans to make an official announcement next Monday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Soto, 24, has already seen the dark side of political campaigns. Back in 2007 when he ran for PSU student-body president, his victory at the polls was challenged in an underhanded fashion that required intervention from the state Attorney General's office. It's already been said many times that Soto has a biography tailor-made for politics in the Obama age. Of mixed Latino and Native American heritage, Soto at one point lived in an Idaho facility for juvenile delinquents. He then moved to Portland, where he graduated from Cleveland High School before enrolling at PSU. In 2008, Soto took a leave from college to join the Oregon National Guard. Currently on "drilling status" that requires service one weekend a month, Soto plans to graduate from PSU in June. Soto also has seen his share of City Hall politics recently. A member of Mayor Sam Adams' committee studying the Rose Quarter redevelopment, Soto is also an intern in Commissioner Nick Fish's office. Soto says he informed Fish, who is also up for re-election, this morning of his intention to run. "He did ask, 'Wait a second, which position?'" Soto says. Soto adds that his decision was influenced, at least in part, by the event hosted by his fellow challengers on Friday night, which was sparsely attended. "I think I could create more interest in the race," Soto says. Update at 5:30 pm: Soto filed Monday Jan. 11 to run against Saltzman. Photo of Soto with then presidential candidate Barack Obama courtesy of Soto.by BETH SLOVIC 01.19.2010Dan Saltzman Files For Fourth Term
The six candidates who have declared their desire to challenge Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman finally have a challenger in Saltzman; the three-time incumbent officially filed today to seek a fourth term. His website is DanSaltzman.com.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Gentlemens agreements in Portland
In the 1920's and 1930's there were gentlemens agreements in various places in the USA. The KKK ran Portland Jews out of Portland (Where the University is now).
Gentleman's Agreement is a 1947 drama film about a journalist (played by Gregory Peck) who goes undercover as a Jew to conduct research for an exposé on antisemitism in New York City and the affluent community of Darien, Connecticut. The movie was controversial in its time, as was a similar film on the same subject, Crossfire, which was also released the same year and also nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Gentleman's Agreement was based on Laura Z. Hobson's 1947 novel of the same name.
The movie was released on DVD as part of the 20th Century Fox Studio Classics collection.
Contents
[hide][edit] Plot
Philip Schuyler Green (Gregory Peck) is a widowed journalist who has just moved to New York City with his son Tommy (Dean Stockwell) and mother (Anne Revere). Green meets with magazine publisher John Minify (Albert Dekker), who asks Green, a gentile, to write an article on antisemitism ("some people don't like other people just because they're Jews"). He's not very enthusiastic at first, but after initially struggling with how to approach the topic in a fresh way, Green is inspired to adopt a Jewish identity ("Phil Greenberg") and write about his own first-hand experiences. Green and Minify agree to keep it secret that Phil is not Jewish; since he and his family are new to New York, it should be easy to hide.
At a dinner party, Phil meets Minify's divorced niece Kathy Lacey (Dorothy McGuire), who turns out to be the person who originally suggested the story idea. Minify provides her with a large apartment and money. Kathy "works" as a pre-school teacher. The next day, Phil tries to explain anti-Jewish prejudice to his young, precocious son - directly after displaying some anti-female prejudice of his own:
Phil and Kathy begin dating.
- Green tells his mother that he's struck by the odd notion that the idea for the article came from "a girl" at the magazine. His housekeeper replies, "Why, women will be thinking next.".
Phil has considerable difficulty getting started on his assignment. Every angle he thinks of ends in a stone wall. It is only when his mother has heart pain in the middle of the night and he must summon a doctor, that he realizes that he can never feel what another person feels unless he experiences it himself. He recalls having "lived as an Okie on Route 66" or as a coalminer for previous writing jobs, instead of tapping a man on the shoulder and making him talk. That's when he decides to write, "I Was Jewish for Six Months".
Though she seems to have liberal views, when he reveals what he intends to do, she is taken aback and asks if he actually is Jewish. The strain on their relationship due to Kathy's subtle acquiescence to bigotry becomes a key theme in the film.
At the magazine, Phil is assigned a secretary, Elaine Wales (June Havoc), who reveals that she too is Jewish. She changed her name in order to get the job (her application under her real, Jewish-sounding name, Estelle Wilovsky, was rejected). After Phil informs Minify about Wales' experience, Minify orders the magazine to adopt hiring policies that are open to Jews. Wales has reservations about the new policy, fearing that the "wrong Jews" will be hired and ruin things for the few Jews working there now. Phil meets fashion editor Anne Dettrey (Celeste Holm), who becomes a good friend and potentially more, particularly as strains develop between Phil and Kathy.
As Phil's assignment proceeds, his childhood friend, Dave Goldman (John Garfield), who is Jewish, moves to New York for a job and lives with the Greens while he looks for a home for his family. Housing is scarce in the city, but it is particularly difficult for Goldman, since not all landlords will rent to a Jewish family. When Phil tells Dave about his project, Dave is supportive, but concerned.
As time goes on, Phil experiences several incidents of bigotry. When his mother becomes ill with a heart condition, the doctor discourages him from consulting a specialist with an obviously Jewish name, suggesting he might be cheated. When Phil reveals that he is himself Jewish, the doctor becomes uncomfortable and leaves. Also, when Phil wants to celebrate his honeymoon at a swanky hotel for rich people in the country, the manager of the hotel refuses to register Phil, due to his being a Jew. Also, when kids at school learn that Tommy is Jewish, he becomes the target of bullies. Phil is troubled by the way Kathy consoles Tommy, telling him that their taunts of "dirty Jew" are wrong because he isn't Jewish, not that the epithet is wrong in and of itself.
Kathy's attitudes are revealed further when she and Phil announce their engagement. Her sister Jane (Jane Wyatt) invites them to a celebration in her home in Darien, Connecticut, which is known to be a "restricted" community where Jews are not welcome. Fearing an awkward scene, Kathy wants to tell her family and friends that Phil is only pretending to be a Jew, but Phil prevails on Kathy to tell only Jane. At the party, everyone is very friendly to Phil, though many people are "unable" to attend at the last minute.
Dave announces that he will have to quit his job because he cannot find a place for his family. Kathy owns a vacant cottage in Darien, but though Phil sees it as the obvious solution to Dave's problem, Kathy is unwilling to offend her neighbors by renting it to a Jewish family. She and Phil break their engagement. Phil announces that he will be moving away from New York when his article is published. When it comes out, it is very well received by the magazine staff.
Kathy meets with Dave and tells him how sick she felt when a party guest told a bigoted joke. However, she has no answer when Dave repeatedly asks her what she did about it. She comes to realize that remaining silent condones the prejudice.
The next day, Dave tells Phil that he and his family will be moving into the cottage in Darien and Kathy will be moving in with her sister next door to make sure they are treated well by their neighbors. When Phil hears this, he reconciles with Kathy.
[edit] Production
Zanuck decided to make a film version of Hobson's novel after being refused membership in the Los Angeles Country Club when it was assumed incorrectly that he was Jewish. Before filming commenced, Samuel Goldwyn and other Jewish film executives approached Darryl Zanuck and asked him not to make the film, fearing that it would "stir up trouble". They also warned that Hays Code enforcer Joseph Breen might not allow the film to pass the censors, as he had been known to make disparaging remarks about Jews. There was also concern that Dorothy McGuire's character being divorced would offend the National Legion of Decency. The role of Phillip Green was first offered to Cary Grant, but he turned it down. Peck decided to accept the role, although his agent advised him to refuse, believing he would be endangering his career. Jewish actor John Garfield agreed to play a lesser role in the film in order to be a part of the film.
The film was shot on location in Darien, Connecticut.[1]
[edit] Reception
Gentleman's Agreement received a generally favorable reception from influential New York Times critic Bosley Crowther. Crowther said that "every point about prejudice which Miss Hobson had to make in her book has been made with superior illustration and more graphic demonstration in the film, so that the sweep of her moral indignation is not only widened but intensified thereby."
Crowther said that the movie shared the novel's failings in that "explorations are narrowly confined to the upper-class social and professional level to which he is immediately exposed." He also said that the main character's shock at the extent of antisemitism was lacking in credibility: "it is, in a careful analysis, an extraordinarily naive role."[2]
In addition to winning Academy Awards for best picture and best director, Gentleman's Agreement was one of Fox's highest grossing movies of 1947. The political nature of the film, however, upset the House Un-American Activities Committee, with Elia Kazan, Darryl Zanuck, John Garfield, and Anne Revere all being called to testify before the committee. Both Garfield and Revere refused to testify and were placed on the Hollywood Blacklist. Garfield remained on the blacklist for one year, was called again to testify against his wife, and died of a heart attack at the age of 39 before his second hearing date.
In recognition for producing Gentleman's Agreement, the Hollywood chapter of B'nai B'rith International honored Darryl Zanuck as its "Man of the Year" for 1948. On Sunday, December 12, a gala commemoration evening was held in downtown Los Angeles, at the Biltmore Hotel, before a crowd of over a thousand. Among the tributes to Zanuck, New Mexico Senator Clinton Anderson said, “He does not storm up and down the streets of a community, urging its citizens to do good. He does not fill the pages of books with words that string together into a sermon. He allows you to be seated comfortably in a theater, to be absorbed in a problem and to walk out into the night with your thoughts clarified and your lips say, ‘This situation ought to be changed’.”[3] After the formal speeches there was a tremendous, star-studded variety show, including the astonishing debut before the Hollywood film world of the team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Portland City Council
What The Hell Is The Matter With This Council?
author: Lone Vete-mail: lonevet2008@comcast.net
Let's have the cop screw with everyone!
Sit-Lie sucks!
What The Hell Is The Matter With This Council?
We were outside the City Council for our weekly protest against Portland joining the Joint Terrorist Task Force, The Sit-Lie ordinance and the water rate increase when Dan from Cop-Watch told us of a woman who was going to confront the Council about being harassed by a Portland Police Officer when she sat down to rest at the 6th Ave. Max station. She had her young son in a stroller and decided to sit on the stone wall that surrounds the Federal Courthouse. There were other people sitting, so she thought it would be OK for her to rest for a time. The new Sit-Lie (Lie) ordinance makes this illegal, even if you are just going to rest for a few minutes. A police officer approached her and ordered her off the wall in a way that upset her so much that she took the time to come before the City Council to report the incident and maybe hope for an apology; what she got was BS.
Our mayor thanked her for coming in his normal dismissive way. Fish and Saltzman had the good sense to be quiet but not our Amanda. Commissioner Fritz thanked her for coming and made a statement that cause my head to hurt. She thanked the woman for reporting the incident and added that the city has been criticized for using the new ordinance against just "Houseless" persons and it was good that the police were being even handed when telling people to move. I almost threw up my breakfast. After the woman completed her story I applauded and that caused our dear mayor to tell me that applauding was not allowed. I said something about him being a dictator and did my Irish walk-out and rejoined my friend outside to continue our protest.
The thought I had when leaving the council chamber was, we now have equal harassment of our citizens by the police, "Isn't that special!" First and foremost, the police have questionable jurisdiction here because the wall in question surrounding the Federal Courthouse is federal property and it is the Federal Marshals that have jurisdiction, not the PoPo. In our tight budget times it seems the cops should just deal with their responsibilities and not go shopping for new work.
A friend and brother just told me a story of a security guard trying to give him a hard time for sitting on the wall, security guards have no more authority to tell you to move from a Federal Building, wall or grounds than any other citizen.
I am ashamed of this council, they don't get it and do not understand that they just look stupid during these encounters and run the risk of causing an incident with these ill thought out ordinances that they keep passing. Mayor Adams, Commissioners Fritz and Leonard are all up for re-election in 2012, they should all be defeated.
For Justice,Peace and *Laughter,
Joe Walsh-Lone Vet
Individuals for Justice
Veterans Against Torture
Proud member of Oregon Progressive Party,http://progparty.org/
War is failure, occupation a disgrace!
"Funding these wars is killing our troops"
* Why laughter?? Because without it I would have gone insane years ago.
Sen. ** harry reid must be replaced as Majority Leader, call me when you agree or just go away!
An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.
Mohandas Gandhi
Thoreau may have also brooded over the reaction of Emerson, who criticized the imprisonment as pointless. According to some accounts, Emerson visited Thoreau in jail and asked, "Henry, what are you doing in there?" Thoreau replied, "Waldo, the question is what are you doing out there?"
Molly Ivins, "It's like, duh. Just when you thought there wasn't a dime's worth of difference between the two parties, the Republicans go and prove you're wrong."
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Update on Portland, Oregon homelessness.
This is a quote from the People Project:
"In Portland, Sisters Of The Road (Sisters) and Street Roots have been at the forefront of resistance to “quality of life” measures, including a camping ban and sit/lie ordinance. In 2003, Sisters and Street Roots launched the Right to Sleep Campaign, urging City Hall to look at alternatives to criminalization measures that target individuals living on the streets. In their newspaper, Street Roots highlighted the civil rights issues faced by people experiencing homelessness through in-depth reporting on private security in downtown Portland and how it relates to the criminalization of homelessness. Over the years, the newspaper reported on a number of criminalization efforts, including alternatives to the camping, sit-lie, and Drug Free Zones. Due to community pressure and legal challenges, the sit/lie ordinance was twice struck down as unconstitutional in 2004 and 2009.
In 2010, the city proposed another version of the sit-lie law called the Sidewalk Management Ordinance. In response, Sisters organized an action in celebration of sidewalks being for everyone that was attended by over 200 unhoused and housed allies who then marched to City Hall to testify against the measure. Sisters exposed the classism and bias of the new ordinance in a public statement they used in their media work, outreach to the community, and in City Council hearings.
Photo Credit: Michael Lloyd/Oregonian
Sisters also gave a presentation to the city’s Human Rights Commission on the history of the two previous sit/lie ordinances, how it had been used against homeless people, and how the Council was manipulating the issue to make the new ordinance seem like it was about mobility rights for “differently-abled” people. They specifically objected to the way the ordinance used the Americans with Disabilities Act. Homeless people were targeted for blocking sidewalk access for people with disabilities even though the Portland Housing Bureau recently found that 47% of homeless people had a high risk of mortality caused by untreated disabilities.
A week after the presentation, the Human Rights Commission took a public stand against the ordinance. At the next City Council hearing on the ordinance, three Commissioners testified that it violated human rights and the City Council should vote no on it.
Despite these efforts the ordinance passed. Sisters immediately switched gears and launched a “know-your-rights” campaign. They did street outreach that included handing out 2,000 flyers to educate Portlanders on their rights under the law and invited them to organize with them to oppose the ordinance. Sisters’ organizer Chani Geigle-Teller notes, “Largely because of this organizing on the streets, conversation by conversation, our weekly Civil Rights Workgroup consistently has over 12 volunteers who come in throughout the week to help us carry out this work!”
The City of Portland, including the business alliance have been kicking street people out of their businesses because they look dirty. The City of Portland furthermore always try to resurrect the "Sit-lie" ordinace that was found unconstitutional in 2009. The Portland police harass and "shake down" the members of the homeless community. All big cities have "tent cities". In 1929, they were called "Hoovervilles". Even Dignity Villiage in Portland is just one of the kinder Hoovervilles. By the way, President Herbert Hoover was blamed for the 1929 stock market crash and the great depression.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Protest on war and capitalism Portland OR
Bank of America = Bare Ass Bank ------------- Wells Fargo = Welts Fragin
Cut Them Credit Cards into ribbons
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Protest over Portland Police Shootings
Protest over Portland Police shootings
author: Alex Milan Tracy e-mail: alexmilantracy@gmail.com
e-mail: alexmilantracy@gmail.com | Around 30 people marched from the Hollywood transit centre to the Southeast Portland police precinct in order to demonstrate against the recent continued police involved shootings and deaths. Portland, Oregon, 03/01/2010 |
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A number of police cars eventually showed up as the protesters crossed the Banfield expressway on 47th. The police were met with numerous bins blocking their path behind the protest that had been tipped over and sprawled across the road.
One Wells Fargo on Sandy Blvd. was spray painted with an 'Anarchy' symbol whilst another person smashed a window with a brick.
As the protesters approached the Southeast Precinct on Burnside, numerous police in riot gear began to block off the entrances with their cars and heavily armed officers.
The protest, organised last minute, was in response to the recent surge in officer involved shootings.
On Saturday January 1st an officer fired a shot outside a Portland nightclub. His aim, which missed, was at a suspect who killed the bouncer for Club 915, Ruben Mata.
On Monday December 27th police fired a taser, beanbag shotgun and an AR-15 rifle at Southwest Portland man Marcus Lagozzino who was wielding a machete. The suspect remains hospitalised in critical condition.
On Friday December 17th, officers shot at least 16 rounds, killing Darryl Ferguson in the hallway outside his apartment in Southeast, after he reportedly threatened neighbors with a gun that turned out to be a fake weapon.
Mayor of Portland, Sam Adams, who also plays the police commissioner role has said in response to the officer involved shootings that the bureau would remain "dedicated to continued improvement" in maintaing law and order in as "peaceful a way as possible."
Last year saw many deaths from officer involved shootings, concerning but not limited to mentally unstable and homeless people.
On January 29th an unarmed black male, Aaron Campbell was shot in the back with an AR-15 by officer Ronald Frashour whilst he was surrendering to the police. Reportedly officers had removed their ear pieces, shooting first with bean bag rounds then releasing a K-9 attack dog before the fatal shooting.
Jack Collins, a distraught homeless man with self inflicted wounds was shot dead in Hoyt Arboretum on March 22nd after he failed to drop a razor blade he was holding. Four shots were fired with the fatal blow striking an artery in his Pelvis.
James P. Chasse Jr., a 42-year-old man with schizophrenia was knocked to the ground after running from officers who suspected he was urinating in a street. He later died in police custody from blunt force trauma to the chest on September 17th 2006.
Another case of officers not being able to control a situation effectively happened in November when a 12 year old girl was shot with a beanbag on a MAX tram platform after she punched an officer in the mouth whilst they struggled to take her into custody.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Portland Police cover up
NEWLY - RELEASED DOCUMENTS REVEAL POLICE LIES AND COVER-UP IN THE DEATH OF JAMES CHASSE
| PRESS RELEASE: Attorneys for the family of James Chasse will share these revelations on Monday, October 18, at 1:30 P.M. Evidence includes documents. Until now kept from the public under a "protective order". That disclose a deliberate web of false statements by Portland police officers, planting of false evidence to support their false statements, and a general pattern of cover-up to conceal vital incriminating evidence against the officers. |
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The Portland Police Bureau demonstrated a consistent pattern of lies, deception and cover-up in the death of James P. Chasse, Jr., according to evidence contained in previously-withheld documents that the City of Portland has now released as ordered by the Court.
Attorneys for the family of James Chasse will share these revelations on Monday, October 18, at 1:30 P.M.
Evidence includes documents.
Until now kept from the public under a "protective order".
That disclose a deliberate web of false statements by Portland police officers, planting of false evidence to support their false statements, and a general pattern of cover-up to conceal vital incriminating evidence against the officers.
WHO: Attorneys for the family of James Chasse
WHAT: Media event, open to the public, to share new revelations about police cover-up in the case of James Chasse
WHERE: Ace Hotel, 1022 SW Stark Street, Room: "The Cleaners" (10th Avenue entrance)
WHEN: Monday, October 18, at 1:30 P.M.
October 9 anti-war protest Portland, OR
Video and Report Back: October 9, 2010 Rally, March and Teach-In
| Video and report back from the Portland Rally, March and Teach on October 9, 2010, commemorating the 9th year of the war and occupation in Afghanistan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTuuDDD9cA8 |
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| Report Back by Peace and Justice Works- Thanks to all the hearty individuals who braved the rain and rallied in the South Park Blocks on Saturday, marching over an hour to our teach-in at PSU! I counted about 100 people in the park and between 100-150 marching down the park blocks, toward the waterfront, and back up Broadway. It was a spirited crowd who didn't let a little "Oregon sunshine" get in the way of getting out the message "Money for Jobs and Education, Not War and Occupation!" The rally featured music by Morris McClellan; guest speaker Nate from the Veterans for Peace national board talking about Afghanistan and Iraq; local JL Dunn of Iraq Veterans Against the War and VFP Chapter 72; Meredith Reese of the International Socialist Organization (ISO) on the economic disaster that is the USA; Will Seaman of Jewish Voice for Peace about the continued failure of US policy in Israel/Palestine; Megan Hise, coordinator for the Portland Central America Solidarity Committee and Ismerelda Gonzalez, a PCC student about US policy in Latin America and the recent raids on activists; and Ali Al Hihi, of Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights (SUPER), explaining how the Qu'ran is not a template for hatred, and asking why, then, all the Islamophobia? Host Rebecca Nay, interim evening news director at KBOO 90.7 FM, hosted the rally and kept the energy going, braving mud and rain to make sure the show would go on. The march went by a surprising number of pedestrians given the inclement weather. The No War Drum Corps kept a steady and upbeat pace as the "End Wars" banner made the 30-plus-block trek, stopping at the World Trade Center to denounce Wall Street's war on workers and the Oregonian building to call for "no more lies!" At PSU, the teach-in began with a 7-member panel, hosted by Nicole Bowmer of the ISO. There was a crowd of between 70-100 people there, many of whom were not on the march--you could tell because their clothes and hair were dry. Presenting were: Zaher Wahab, an Afghan-American Education Professor at Lewis & Clark College, who has spent about four months a year in Afghanistan since 2002; Zaher called for a withdrawal of US troops; Israa Hasani, an Iraqi-American community activist, gave the historical picture of US policy in Iraq which led to the rise of the Baath Party (and Saddam Hussein), the deadly sanctions and war of 1990/1991-2003, and the invasion and occupation which are still ongoing; Tasha Triplett, a Senior at Portland State University and a member of SUPER, gave a scathing report card on the US supporting the apartheid regime in Israel--that is, while Palestinians are treated as second class citizens, there is no true pathway to peace; Robin Hahnel, a visiting professor in the department of economics at PSU, made the connection between the failing US economy and what he called the "imperialist wars" overseas; Goudarz Eghtedari, director of the American Iranian Friendship Council and an Iranian-American, described the efforts inside the Obama administration to push for war on Iran, warning that an attack by the US was more likely than one by Israel. Alexis Ball, former field director for Witness for Peace in Mexico, broadly outlined US involvement in Latin America and focused deeply on the carnage caused by the so called "war on drugs" fueled both by US demand for drugs and arms supplied by our government to theirs; Kate Chester, community relations manager at Portland Community College's Sylvania Campus, described her work with the Institute for Christian-Muslim Understanding and the Arab American Cultural Center of Oregon in trying to combat anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim sentiments through dialogue and respect. At about 2:30, the remaining crowd broke into three "workshops": One focusing on Iran and scapegoating which included Kate and Goudarz; one about the economy which included Professor Hahnel, Tim Koch of the ISO and Pam Allee from the Oregon Community for War Tax Resistance/War Resisters League; and the third combining Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel/Palestine and featuring Prof. Wahab, Israa, JL Dunn, Kelly Campbell of Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility and September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, Wael Elasady of SUPER and MaryAlecia Briggs of Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights. In the Smith Ballroom, during the teach-in, about 10 organizations had literature tables to inform the crowd further. Comments from attendees leads me to believe that the event was well-received, particular compliments went to the panelists. I don't know if there was any mainstream media coverage beyond a great interview with Tasha on KOIN-6 at 6 PM on Saturday. I saw a few recognizable local videographers and photographers at each part of the event. We did, much to my surprise, get some pre-event coverage at the Willamette Week blog ( http://blogs.wweek.com/news/2010/10/08/anti-war-rally-this-saturday) and at KGW ( http://www.kgw.com/lifestyle/weekend/Weekend-Guide-Oct--104178174.html). It was a good thing so many of the cosponsors had created web pages about the event, as our website went down for several hours on both Friday and Saturday mornings!!! So, from the folks who came early to set up, to the ones who slogged equipment through the mud and the others who emptied the ballroom when it was all over, to the many cosponsors and endorsers (especially the PSU student groups ISO and SUPER, the First Unitarian Church, PPRC and KBOO!!!) a warm thanks from us here at Peace and Justice Works. Let's hope that the cumulative effect of these educational events will be to bring all the troops home, and get money directed to human needs, not war!!! |
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