From the open publishing newswire: On 12.17.09 I stopped at the weekly protest for the arrest or Impeachment for Judge ByBee. This vigil is held in Portland in front of the federal court where ByBee is one of the judges who sits on the Ninth Court of Appeals. [This is] An interview with The Lone Vet outside the Ninth Circuit Court. He describes what the protest is and talks a bit about the spirit of doing goodwill to all men and peace on earth. In this video clip the Lone Vet explains what the protest is and why there is a group standing in public demanding accountability, the reward for ByBee's arrest and more.

Judge ByBee thinks torture and pain inflicting abuses done to prisoners in US custody is fine. So each week at noon a handful of individuals for justice stand in public, in front of a court he sits on, to bring attention to the Torture memo writing Judge. The group is also sponsoring a 3,000 dollar reward for the arrest of this judge, paid for in pledged donations.

This ongoing protest (outside of the ninth circuit courthouse) continues with a slight 2 week break for the holidays.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sZyjn_08gU

homepage:  http://www.individualsforjustice.org/

From the open publishing newswire: Marla Renn, a member of the Olympic Resistance Network (ORN), was travelling to Portland, Oregon to speak on the negative impacts of the 2010 Games. Renn was scheduled to speak at educational events at Mt. Hood Community College, Reed College, Portland State University, and the Red and Black Cafe. She was held for over six hours as both Canadian and US border guards interrogated her about the subject of her speech, her contacts in Portland, and her political activities. She was previously denied entry for a Seattle speaking event on the grounds that ten anti-Olympic shirts were unauthorised commercial merchandise, but the shirts were found after she had already been questioned on political issues. Likewise, the excuse for rejecting her this time (lack of employment since her graduation in August) was brought up after her planned speech and political activities were addressed by border guards.

 http://cascadiaconvergencenetwork.wordpress.com/

From the open publishing newswire: Thursday, high noon 700 SW 6th Ave.
We will once against stop at the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit located at Pioneer Square to see if our "Torture Judge" has resigned, been impeached or arrested for crimes against humanity. Come and spend some time with us who keep the watch. The weather will be cold, but our hearts and souls will be warm. We will only be there for one hour this week because of the cold winds.
On Friday I intend to be on the Hawthorne Bridge about 0800-0900 announcing there will be Heroes protesting in front of the White House and calling on the president to stop Empire. David Swans, Cynthia McKinney, Granny D, (100 yrs old) and others will stand in the cold of DC and talk about peace on Saturday at 1100, December 12th. Please send them good thoughts and let them know we are with them in spirit.

From the open publishing newswire: On Friday, December 4, 2009 community members, service providers and surviving family members will come together at the Terry Schrunk Plaza in downtown Portland to honor the ten victims of domestic violence murder-suicides and attempted murder that have taken place over the last 5 weeks. Together, they will honor the memory of the recent victims of domestic violence and reach out to survivors in the area. The Portland Women's Crisis Line, in partnership with the Family Violence Coordinators Council, the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and the Portland State Women's Resource Center, hope to spread the message that anyone who is experiencing or witnessing domestic violence should REACH OUT to safe supports and service providers.

From the open publishing newswire: A small group speaks to the independent press in front of the Federal Building regarding the recent fraudulent elections in Honduras. In solidarity with the people of Honduras who are under media suppression as well as the silencing of their democratic opposition voices in Honduras with out fear of being killed.
About a dozen people on Monday 11.30.09 gathered in front of the Federal Building in Portland Oregon to publicly make a statement against the illegal elections in Honduras. PCASC (Portland Central America Solidarity Committee) and others stood outside and delivered two speeches asking for solidarity and respect for human rights as well as demanding justice and to reinstate President Zelaya and to denounce the fraudulent elections in Honduras.

From the open publishing newswire: This video is from the monthly Portland Human Rights Commissions Meeting
Filmed on the first Wednesday of the month and open to the public

From the open publishing newswire: In response to the call made by the National Front against the Coup d' Etat in Honduras we are promoting a world campaign to boycott Chiquita which supports the Coup d'Etat in Honduras. Visit the web page of Chiquita's Headquarter in Cincinnati, OH (USA) and send them the following message: I DON'T BUY CHIQUITA BECAUSE IT SUPPORTS THE COUP D' ETAT IN HONDURAS

FACTS: On June 28, 2009, military commandos involved in the coup d'etat arrested the legitimate president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya. They attacked his residence with machineguns, kidnapped him and took him to the US military base at Palmerola. The plane carrying the "president-prisoner" flew to Costa Rica, where he was abandoned in pajamas on one of the runways. It is a military-business coup d'etat, planned by the United States IV Fleet, which buries Honduras once again in its dark past of military dictatorships.

All of the international organizations of the American continent, the United Nations, the European Union, etc. condemned the Coup d'Etat and demanded Zelaya's return to the Presidency of the Republic, out of respect for the will of the Honduran voters. We have therefore launched the World Campaign to Boycott Chiquita, one of the corporations that most stridently oppose Zelaya's government and support the coup. It is urgent to strike back at the transnationals that, behind the scenes, finance and support the coup-installed government!

For further information: http://www.rebelion.org (spanish) | http://www.counterpunch.org/kozloff07172009.html (english) | informationclearinghouse.info

boicotchiquita.blogspot

From the open publishing newswire: After 6 hours of freedom, Jeff "free" Luers is back behind bars.

In a bizarre turn of unfortunate events, Jeff has been taken back in to custody after having a few moments of freedom.

Apparently this is because of an "error" on behalf the Oregon Department of Corrections. He was "mistakenly" released because they thought he was eligible for early release, but because of - as we understand it at this point - Oregon's Measure 11 mandatory minimum sentencing Jeff did not qualify for this early release.

Please write him letters of support:

Jeffrey Luers # 13797671
CRCI
9111 NE Sunderland Ave
Portland, OR 97211-1708

freejeffluers.org

From the open publishing newswire: BREAKING: Jeff was released this morning!!!!!!!

A Lane County Circuit Court Judge has just signed a supplemental judgment granting Jeff an additional 30% reduction in his total incarceration time!!!

This is huge news and could mean that Jeff is released much, much earlier than the expected date of December 16, 2009, and of course 12 years earlier than his original sentence prior to appeal.

In the meantime, the weeks from now to December we had planned to fundraise for education and living expenses for Jeff are now out the window, so please dig deep and send in your donations now.

Donation options are available here, http://freejeffluers.org/donate.html | or you can buy something on Jeff's wishlist here: http://freejeffluers.org/assets/pdfs/WISH_LIST.pdf | http://www.freejeffluers.org

From the open publishing newswire: A dire situtation is at hand in Honduras

This was an emergency rally organized by
Jobs with Justice and PCASC to show support with the
Honduras people and their ousted president Zelaya

A 9 minute video from the rally at Pioneer Square on Sept 24th
As the president Zelaya is trapped in the Brazilian Embassy, a group of 50 meet in Solidarity in Portland...

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Dm9CdARUhc

homepage:  http://www.joe-anybody.com

From the open publishing newswire: Police have to hand out a business card when they stop you as of Monday 9.28.09

There are a few exceptions, mostly relating to "if a person was asking for a card to distract the officer from a crime or important matter at hand"

Sgt. Scott Westerman, president of the Portland Police Association that represents rank-and-file officers, sergeants, detectives and criminalists, said the union backs the policy. but he also has the following quote:
"I still don't necessarily see how business cards are going to fix racial profiling" he said, "but we believe we are in a service industry so we have no problems handing them out when it's appropriate to do so."

From the open publishing newswire: Audio from doctors speaking at the Portland Oregon kick off for the Mad as Hell Doctors Tour, taking the message of Universal Health Care to cities along their way to Washington D.C. They intend to stop in big cities and whistle stops alike, conducting pre-booked local and national Media appearances.

These doctors, from many different areas of Health Care, speak out about the conditions in the medical industry which prompts them to take time out from their lives and seek to educate others about the need for Reform. They speak about the heavy hand of the insurance industry and the prominence of profits over people.

The Tour left Pioneer Square heading for Seattle, then on to Spokane, Helena Montana and beyond. For more info: www.madashelldoctors.com

Photos from the event | Mad As Hell Doctors Audio

From the open publishing newswire: On Friday, August 7, Josh Schlossberg and attorney Lauren Regan of the Civil Liberties Defense Center filed a tort claim notice against the City of Eugene regarding a March 13, 2009 incident where Schlossberg was falsely arrested, injured, and jailed by Eugene Police Department Officer Bill Solesbee while Schlossberg was legally distributing brochures from the edge of a public sidewalk in front of Umpqua Bank in downtown Eugene.

Schlossberg, a local forest activist, was civilly informing bank customers of the irresponsible logging and harmful pesticide practices of Umpqua's chairman of the board, Allyn Ford.

The charges of "intercepting communications" and "resisting arrest" were dropped after prosecutors viewed Schlossberg's confiscated digital video footage clearly showing him legally standing at the edge of a public sidewalk. The tape shows Officer Solesbee illegally demanding he leave-which Schlossberg is in the process of doing, while stating to Solesbee that he believes the officer is in error for forcing him to leave the public sidewalk. Solesbee falsified police reports and attempted to file unwarranted charges against Schlossberg as a result of this incident; and the Chief of police has ratified this dishonest conduct once again.