From the open publishing newswire: Gary "Rusty" Fleming was a no-show at the Salem Public Library on Saturday January 26th, but in spite of this over 75 people turned out for the OFIR-hosted screening of his film "Drug Wars: Silver or Lead." The film is a bloody romp through the lawless world that is the US and Mexico border. The movie was written and produced by Gary "Rusty" Fleming, filmmaker and volunteer public information officer in Hudspeth County, Texas.

Oregonians for Immigration Reform are an interesting bunch of folks. Their members actively write to local publications, chastising journalists for not referring to undocumented people as "illegal-immigrants" and calling for the implementation of the highly unreliable E-verify system. Last month the Federation for Immigration Reform (FAIR) released a publication entitled "The Fiscal Burden of Illegal-Aliens on Oregonians," which OFIR proudly makes references to in their endless stream of guest opinion columns and letters to the editor. The report is lousy with exaggerated numbers and fully acknowledges that it has no data on the immigration status of foreign-born students, but claims that 75% of the US-born children of undocumented immigrants will need Limited English Proficiency instruction. OFIR hasn't shut up about this report since it came out and it didn't take long to learn something about this group: they're ticked off, they're vocal, and they're scared to hell of pretty much everything. This event was no exception to the rule, and OFIR had been hyping it since December with urgency and panic in every website update, one of which insisted:

It opened with a quote that stated "The first terrorist in this country was a drug dealer, and nobody did anything about it." The film didn't go on to elaborate exactly who this first terrorist was, because we were immediately plunged into a montage with real-life footage of bodies lying in the street, SWAT teams swarming into buildings, and assorted white powders on cracked mirrors. This was interspersed with reenactments of shoot outs filmed in pick-n-pull lots where Mexican gangsters in red bandannas and white tank tops hid out amongst piles of old junky cars.[...]

"The producer of the documentary recommends that children as young as 10 should see this movie. Gangs and cartels are targeting even younger children now. Shockingly, eight year olds are the new cartel target for drug addiction. Every child is at risk." [...]

From the open publishing newswire: Northwest Primary Care, a local Medical Group has decided and begun informing patients who have legitimate diagnoses of Chronic Pain that they will no longer be treated with pharmaceutical pain medications if they choose to avail themselves of Medical Marijuana.

Current patients who use both pharmaceutical pain medications (opiates) and medical marijuana will have to decide which of the treatments they can utilize. Those that choose pharmaceutical treatment will be subjected to urine analysis (piss tests) to ensure they are not using medical marijuana at the same time. This will occur even in cases where opiates and MMJ are treating different issues such as pain and loss of appetite as many cancer patients suffer from.

Some may recall that the Obama administration had announced, some time ago, a truce in the federal enforcement of laws against the use of marijuana by those legally using it for medical purposes in States where it has been approved by voters, such as Oregon. However, the Pharmaceutical Industry has in the last few weeks announced that it wants to enter the market of providing, and profiting, from Medical Marijuana. The FDA has, as expected, been receptive to the plan, and are once again targeting the MMJ infrastructure. In Washington state, the Governor vetoed a Dispensary bill due to fear that the federal government will go after state employees who would have administered the dispensary program.

From the open publishing newswire: Residents of Haditha, Iraq claim USA Marines murdered civilians there in November, 2005, investigation pending.

Residents of Redford, Texas claim USA Marines murdered an American civilian on USA soil in May, 1997, investigation closed, murderers free to kill again. "Team 7 was driven back to Marfa, put in a motel room, given a six-pack of beer, and told to write statements."

When Esequiel Hernandez Jr. died in 1997, he became the first American killed at home by U.S. troops since the massacre at Kent State University in 1970. This is his story.

From the open publishing newswire: David Pool writes: "At the Hempstalk festival of a couple weeks ago we caught up with Dr. Leveque an Oregon doctor and osteopath who has practiced medicine for over fifty years. The doctor is not currently practicing as a result of having had his license pulled by the state medical board, which also fined him $26,000.

Dr. Leveque was one of the first doctors to help patients suffering from a range of illnesses to use marijuana to alleviate symptoms. Many doctors refused to counsel their patients on the therapeutic uses of the drug, preferring to use pharmaceuticals like Oxycontin and Hydrocodone to treat pain.

From the open publishing newswire: Last Friday, August 5, 2005 at about 6 PM, I witnessed a stop and pat down of a woman and her boyfriend by three PPB officers. I was in a parking lot between SW 10th and 11th on Salmon street when I noticed three officers and two police cars surrounding a young couple at the edge of the parking lot. I decided at that point to watch carefully what was taking place (and I advise others to do the same when the police are making a stop in your vicinity). One of the officers was speaking with the couple while the other two were in the car donning blue plastic gloves. I knew that the use of the gloves was a precursor to a search. I did not see the what prompted the stop and the search but I noticed that the couple did not at all seem threatening to the police.

I then watched as the two police that were in the car get out and one of them walked over to the young woman who I estimate was about twenty five years old. She raised her arms up to her sides on command of the officer. The officer proceeded to pat her down. He felt her buttocks, he slid his hand over her frontal private parts, he put his hand in both of her front and back pockets and he slid his hand slowly down the inside of her thighs. He did not touch her breasts. He went through her pocket book. He did not find anything of interest. After this ordeal was over, the woman collapsed on her boyfriend's shoulder bawling histerically. She was noticeably traumatized after being felt up in public by this officer.

From the open publishing newswire: Portland's two main sources of toxic waste (The Oregonian & Tribune) have recently been locked into a heated competition to see who can print the most sensational headlines and ignorant stories about meth abuse in our city. Finally fed up, I took the time to debunk the premise of the Tribune's most recent front page story on this subject.

From the open publishing newswire:
On December 18, I attended Gary Webb's memorial service in Sacramento, along with about 250 other people.

In 1996, Webb wrote a series of articles ("Dark Alliance") for the San Jose Mercury News reporting that, in the 1980s, "a San Francisco Bay Area drug ring sold tons of cocaine to... street gangs of Los Angeles and funneled millions in drug profits to an arm of the contra guerrillas of Nicaragua run by the Central Intelligence Agency" and the "cocaine that flooded in helped spark a crack explosion in urban America... "

The "contra guerrillas," of course, were the Reagan administration CIA-nurtured darlings who sought to overthrow Nicaragua's leftist Sandinista government.

The story, obviously, was huge. Too huge, as it turns out, for certain powerful sensibilities. The disinformation machine soon was cranked up full tilt, and shortly after the series' publication, the Big Three in American newspapers -- the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post -- shamefully dedicated time and column inches attacking the veracity of Webb's assertions instead of pursuing the story. His professional coup de grace was administered by his own editor, Jerry Ceppos, who journalistically ran for cover and left the Pulitzer-winning reporter twisting slowly, slowly in the wind.

<< read more >>

[ more articles about Gary Webb | more articles by Mark Drolette ]

From the open publishing newswire: As I detailed in my last report, The International Caravan for Justice in Juarez and Chihuahua City reached Juarez on October 31, 2004 to demand justice in the cases of hundreds of murdered young women. This group of activists, teachers, students, researchers, and journalists from around the U.S. and Mexico had finally reached its destination, and we then had 5 days of activities and meetings to attend. It's hard to tell what lasting results would come from these efforts, but there are signs that some positive steps forward may finally be at hand.

previous reports from Caravan: [ Crossing Into Juarez (Nov. 7) | 12th Day of International Caravan for Justice in Juarez and Chihuahua (Oct. 29) | Caravan for Juarez Women Succeeds in Raising Awareness of 400 Murdered (Nov. 1) ]

[ More from Steev | Mexico Solidarity Network ]

From the open publishing newswire: A Portland indymedia videographer accompanied the West Coast leg of the International Caravan for Justice in Juarez and Chihuahua City. On October 31 the Caravan marched across the border between El Paso, USA and Juarez, Mexico to demand justice in the cases of approximately 400 murdered women, cases neglected and mis-investigated by Mexican authorities. This is part 2 in a series of reports about the Caravan, which visited dozens of cities in the US and Canada and spent 6 days in Mexico meeting with authorities and the family members of the dead.

previous reports from Caravan: [ 12th Day of International Caravan for Justice in Juarez and Chihuahua (Oct. 29) | Caravan for Juarez Women Succeeds in Raising Awareness of 400 Murdered (Nov. 1) ]

[ More from Steev | Mexico Solidarity Network ]

From the open publishing newswire: A Portland IMC videographer has been participating in and documenting this important solidarity campaign that is visiting dozens of cities across the U.S. as they converge on Juarez, Mexico, to demand justice from the authorities in the neglected cases of approximately 400 young women.

Steev's Blog

From the open publishing newswire: (Washington, D.C.) - Friday, October 8, 2004: Local medical marijuana patients Erin Hildebrandt and Trista Okel were arrested Tuesday along with twelve other patients and supporters, for civil disobedience in front of the Department of Health and Human Services. They were part of scores of protestors who had turned out to demand the federal government acknowledge that marijuana has medical use and change its policies.

On Monday the advocacy group organizing the protest, Americans for Safe Access, filed a legal petition with HHS under the Data Quality Act, alleging that the department is violating the Data Quality Act, which says that federal agencies must use sound science in developing policies and disseminating information. [ Read More ] [ ParentsEndingProhitbition.org | Photos of Protest ]

From the open publishing newswire: With the approach of the International Caravan for Justice in Juarez and Chihuahua City, there are two screenings in Portland of a film that documents the case of hundreds of mysteriously murdered young women in the Mexican city across the river from El Paso.

The award-winning documentary, Senorita Extraviada, investigates the mysterious murders and their background.

Showing tonite at Nocturnal (1800 E Burnside) at 8:30 and Wednesday, October 13 at The Know (2026 NE Alberta).

[Portland Central America Solidarity Committee] [Mexico Solidarity Network]

From the open publishing newswire: Jack Herer, the father of Hemp and the author of "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" will be signing books at The 3rd Eye on Hawthorne, October 1st 5-6 pm.

Jack will be in town supporting the Measure 33 campaign, which gives Medicinal Marijuana patients the medicine they need to live a better quality life.

Herer will also be a keynote speaker at "The Future of Medical Marijuana" at the Embassy Suites, 319 SW Pine, October 2nd, 7pm. Workshops will occur from 3-6 and are free to the public. Tickets can be purchased or volunteer time can be traded to attend the event. Call 503-224-3051, visit www.Yeson33.org or stop by at 4315 SE Division for more info.