From the open publishing newswire: Taken from our comrade Jose Palafox:

From the face of the Grand Jury Subpoena, it appears related to an animal rights action that took place in Santa Cruz in August of 2008. I believe this is a political repression and part of a government attempt to gather information on activists and the animal rights movement. I will be getting a lawyer and plan to exercise my rights to the fullest extent. The National Lawyers Guild in San Francisco can help people subpoenaed before Grand Juries.

homepage:  http://www.becausewemust.org/grand-jury-subpoena-in-oakland

From the open publishing newswire: Occupy Portland recently organized a Rally in Richland Washington, "speaking out directly against the failure of the cleanup at Hanford Nuclear Reservation..... raising the question: is enough being done to clean up the most contaminated site in America?"

Selected Speakers From Hanford Rally

"The purpose of the rally on April 15th, 2012 was to raise awareness about issues facing the Hanford Nuclear Facility. The Hanford site is an environmental disaster with the potential of becoming a catastrophe as large in scope as that of the Fukushima nuclear facility in Japan."

This video was produced for a taped segment of the local Public Access program, "A Growing Concern," and features almost a full hour of selected speakers from the event.

Besides a potent introduction by Mirian German, organizer with Occupy Portland, included are Indigenous speakers from the Walla Walla tribes, as well as Umi Hagitani from No Nukes Action in California; Bonnie Urfer, Wisconsin Nukewatch; long time antinuclear and peace activist, Sister Megan Rice; and Lori McMillan, a downwinder suffering from long exposure to radiation in the Tri-Cities area.

Also included are performances by local Spoken Word artist, Mic Crenshaw and the song, "Peace and Love," by local rock band Miriam's Well.

From the open publishing newswire: President Obama coming out to call for equality of relationships when answering the question, should gays be allowed to marry was wonderful. The answer for me has always been yes, to see him join the 21st century is great; but let's not forget his short comings, he still thinks he can murder people anywhere in the world at his will. So, forgive me if I wait to celebrate his conversion to equality. I don't know what the lunatics will now say about him, but I will defend this position, because it is the correct position. When religious leaders try to say their god says this or that---look at them with a cautious eye, most of the time they lie. The more interesting thing that is going on, occupy is on the move again. They are looking at budgets and school funding, they are demanding people be allowed to return to their homes, they are challenging the status quo on every level and still want to do it their way. I say us old fogies who have fought the good fight for many years should get the hell out of the way and let the young learn and lead. I still fear that organizations will try, (and many have tried) to direct or overshadow the Occupation Movement. I have great respect for our big thinkers who have taken a step back and not criticized the people who are doing the good work, but stay near to help and support the new movement. Even the politicians are using words like equality, sharing, coming together; it is good.

We, who are in the streets should stay, there seems to be help on the way. I like the idea that over 20 people have signed up to run for mayor of Portland, many are young and will be our leaders in the future, their ideas are wonderful and we should have listened to all of them. I do get irritated with entrenched organizations who exclude candidates on the basis of how much money the candidates raised; seems too calculated for me. We should make arrangements to hear all the candidates on an equal basis; there is that word equal again. I was very disappointed with the City Club, League of Women Voters and The Urban League, they along with others took the easy way out of setting up for debates, just the major candidates please on our stage--very short sighted. Even my Progressive and the Greens had some short comings, but we might do better in the general election--maybe!

On 5-16-2012 we will appear again in front of the City Council to present an argument concerning the use of Police Horses during demonstrations. We wish to have our wonderful horses retired to a good life working with children or maybe helping our veterans readjust from killing people in far off lands. The use of the horses by the cops during demonstrations has endangered our protesters and the horses. This will be a long fight but the cost of keeping the horses on board may be the very thing that cause them to be retired.

From the open publishing newswire: "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom." (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)
UPSET Uprising -- Occupy Education Funding!
(UPSET = Underfunded Parents, Students, Educators, Together!)

Friday, May 11 (TOMORROW!)

3:30 p.m. -- March from Rose Quarter to Pioneer Courthouse Square
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. -- Pre-event activities at Pioneer Courthouse Square
4:30 p.m. -- Rally with speakers and performances at Pioneer Courthouse Square

Spearheaded by a teacher and students at Grant High School, this is a mass demonstration and rally against education budget cuts which impact the future of our youth who are our future.

Gather at the Rose Quarter shortly before 3:30 p.m. for a march that begins at 3:30 p.m. The march will be across the Broadway Bridge, down Broadway to Pioneer Courthouse Square.

If you cannot march at 3:30 p.m. -- due to school, work, mobility or other life commitments -- please head directly to Pioneer Courthouse Square. Pre-event activities will take place between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. when the rally starts.

From the open publishing newswire: Two speakers from the Power Past Coal Rally: Lauren Goldberg, event moderator and an attorney for Columbia Riverkeeper; and Jeff Cogen, Chair of the Multnomah County Commission.

Power Past Coal Rally [9. min video]

Lauren Goldberg warned of the health and other consequences of "150 millions tons of coal per year being strip mined in Wyoming and Montana and coming through Washington and Oregon at 30 coal trains per day. These are uncovered coal trains, spewing coal dust and diesel pollution, a mile and a half long, every single day, 365 days of the year."

Speaking next, Jeff Cogen states that the proposals for six coal export terminals in Washington and Oregon would "turn the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area into the largest coal chute in the nation.............coal dust leaks off these trains in large quantities. PNSF railways says that each coal car leaks off 500 pounds of coal dust with each trip. And we're talk about 10's of thousands of coal cars going through our communities. This is nasty stuff!"
Just last week, Portland General Electric said they didn't want a coal terminal near one of their power plants because the coal dust is too dirty."

Unfortunately, due to illness, and much to my disappointment, I was unable to tape the speech by Robert Kennedy Jr. His speech was powerful and inspiring, citing the great damage the coal industry has wreaked on our nation with Mountain Top Removal.

As several other people were there with video cameras taping the event, I'm giving a shout out, hoping that someone can provide me a copy of just that speech to air on Public Access television.
This message needs to get out to the widest possible audience.

Related Video PIMC post by Courtney
Robert Kennedy Jr. on the threat of coal in the Columbia basin

From the open publishing newswire: The U.S. Department of Energy is currently planning to make Hanford, sitting right on the Columbia River upstream of Portland, the new National Nuclear Waste Dump where they will bury tons of highly-radioactive nuclear waste in ditches, covering them with dirt; ignoring the tons of liquid waste which have already seeped into the ground, the ground water, and the Columbia River for decades.

As a part of this plan to bring in even more nuclear waste, tens of thousands of truckloads of highly-radioactive waste will be transported through Oregon, up interstate 5, 205, and 84, right through downtown Portland, on their way up to Hanford.

The trucks transporting this deadly cargo however, are only partially-shielded, and thus, will be irradiating everything in their vicinity during the entire length of their journey. Even if no mishaps were to occur with any of these tens of thousands of trucks, the government's own studies indicate that thousands along the truck routes will later die from cancer as a result of their exposure.

Five of the local television stations were first contacted back on the 19th of April to inform them of this situation [...]


The only public hearing where we can speak out about this and oppose it is currently scheduled to be held in Portland in only a week and a half, on Wednesday the 16th of May, 2012, at the Red Lion Hotel on the River at Jantzen Beach. The hearing is scheduled for 7:00 pm, with a pre-hearing briefing scheduled for 6:15 pm.

 http://www.upwardvectorpubs.com/58rad1.htm

From the open publishing newswire: Last week Governor Kitzhaber announced he was requesting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a full environmental review of all six proposed coal export facilities in the Northwest. Although this is great news, Oregon is firmly in the crosshairs of Big Coal's plans to export millions of tons of coal to Asia. And the state of Oregon has just a month to make a decision about a dirty coal barging project on the Columbia River.

On Monday May 7, the Sierra Club will join with dozens of other groups as a part of the Power Past Coal coalition, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and health and business leaders from across the state, to call on Governor Kitzhaber to reject dirty coal export plans in the Pacific Northwest.

Rally with RFK Jr. May 7 and protect our Northwestern way of life from Big Coal and their plans to export millions of tons of coal through our backyards.

Event Details:

WHO: Sierra Club activists, friends, and you!
WHAT: Power Past Coal Rally with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
WHEN: Noon, Monday May 7th
WHERE: Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland

|Pictures from rally on PIMC newswire by Alex
RFK Jr. speaks to anti-coal protest in Portland against Asian exports

From the open publishing newswire: Solidarity needed! Pigs storm anarchist house - stealing phones, computers, and personal items. 72 felony charges brought against a well-known comrade...

From Anarchist News: Police raided (Pax) Byran Michael Wiedeman's house and arrested him, detained his housemates, took their computers and cell phones and interrogated them. He has been given trumped up charges. This is a classic tactic by the police to intimidate activists and anyone who resists them. We cannot sit by while our friends are in jail and being targeted by a repressive institution. This is when people need solidarity the most so please come out to his court tomorrow! Show him, the courts, the judges and the cops that he does not stand alone!

When: 2:00PM Friday May 4th
Where: Court Room #3 inside the (in)Justice center
(1120 Southwest 3rd Avenue, PDX)

This is where community really matters ~ Support PAX!!!

Full PPB Press Release
Pax support page
facebook support page

From the open publishing newswire: An un-permitted May Day rally through downtown Portland ended in mass arrests as people repeatedly marched in the streets. Police came in with force at intervals to make targeted arrests at various intersections. Portland, OR, USA, 05/01/2012.

Related picture posts from May Day in PDX:
[1.] | [2.] | [3.]
Related video post from May Day in PDX:
[1.] | [2.] | [3.] | [4.] | [5.] | [6.]

From the open publishing newswire: The Portland Liberation Organizing Council (PLOC) held a press conference outside a foreclosed home on N Fargo and N Vancouver ahead of a planned protest on May Day from 9am at Woodlawn Park NE Dekum. May 1st will see the organization launch a campaign to support and partner with local communities to reclaim essential resources. Portland, OR, 26/04/2012.

Portland Liberation Organizing Council (PLOC) May Day Press Conference 2012
[6.min video]

From the open publishing newswire:

The protest will take place outside the Mittleman Jewish Community Center, 6651 SW Capitol Highway in Hillsdale, beginning at 4 p.m. on April 29. Demonstrators are committed to nonviolence and oppose all forms of racism, including racism against Jews. They are asking Oregon residents and political leaders to say No to war on Iran, No to funding Israeli apartheid, and No to AIPAC and the lobbies of the 1%.

Join a coalition of peace, human rights, and Palestine solidarity organizations for a demonstration outside the annual Oregon fund-raising dinner of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on Sunday, April 29.

The demonstration will protest AIPAC's role in promoting a military attack on Iran's nuclear energy facilities. The protest is also calling for an end to U.S. military aid to the Israeli apartheid government which refuses to halt the construction of illegal settlements and routinely violates the human rights of Palestinians living under Occupation.

Israel controls the lives of more than 4 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip but denies them the right to vote or to exercise their right to self-determination. We will be demonstrating at the start of the event and at the end when the politicians leave stuffed full of food and AIPAC talking points.

Some Oregon political leaders have regularly attended AIPAC's annual fundraiser in past years. This year the protesters are asking Oregon's leaders to represent their constituencies' opposition to another unjust war in the Middle East by boycotting AIPAC's gala. Among the groups protesting are Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights (AUPHR), Friends of Sabeel - North America (FOSNA), Jewish Voice for Peace - Portland (JVP), Lutherans for Justice in the Holy Land (LJHL), Occupy Portland, Palestine Action Group--Corvallis Oregon, Peace and Justice Works - Iraq Affinity Group, and Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights (SUPER).

From the open publishing newswire: An action organized by Portland Jobs With Justice, Union leaders, and city workers as an attempt to sell cupcakes to raise money for the citys coming budget cuts which are in the millions. Unsold cakes/cupcakes were offered to city officials for a pledge to cover the amount of these cuts.

A mock fundraiser organized by Portland Jobs With Justice, Union leaders/members, and city workers. Cupcakes were sold for $2 to the attendees to help raise money to cover the city's budget shortfall in the millions which is threatening to cut public service programs. Delegations of five people went in to City Hall with press and cameras and upstairs into council members' offices. Members of the group gave their statements to staff along with remaining cakes for council members to buy at prices representing the amount of the cuts.

A17 City Hall Budget Cuts Bake Sale 4-17-12
[video 1hr 12min]

From the open publishing newswire: I'm with Code Pink Portland and We Are Oregon. I was asked to speak at the demo on April 23 in front of Wells Fargo in San Francisco. Below is an expanded and updated version of my remarks.

I was asked to speak here on how Wells Fargo's policies affect women in particular. Before I address that issue, I should say that for the last quarter century I've been working with people who became disabled through motor vehicle accidents, on-the-job accidents, or serious illnesses. First they lost their health, then their jobs and health insurance. After they depleted their life savings, they lost their homes. Seeing one person or family go through this is pretty upsetting. Hearing the same stories for 25 years, in the so-called "richest country in the world," is enough to make my head explode.


This brings me to the issue of Wells Fargo's crimes against women. I'm sure you've heard that Wells specifically targeted black and Hispanic communities with subprime loans. Women got the same treatment. According to the Consumer Federation of America, although women and men have roughly the same credit scores, women were 32% more likely to receive subprime loans than men. This was true across the board—within every income and ethnic group. According to Maria Poblet, executive director of Causa Justa (Just Cause), the majority of foreclosures have been on female-headed households.


With all these lucrative investments, 2011 was a banner year for Wells Fargo. Yesterday, April 24, they voted to give CEO John Stumpf an annual salary of $13 million, plus additional compensation worth $7 million.

 http://www.ebisupublications.com/