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.

From the open publishing newswire: Four organizers with Tenant Rights Project used their alloted 3 minute time slots at this week's Wednesday morning Portland City Council meeting to criticize a local slumlord housing corporation and housing commissioner Nick Fish. The council objected to the "harsh rhetoric" of tenants.

Tenant Rights Project started organizing CCC tenants in the fall of 2008. CCC is a $33,000,000 annual budget nonprofit, with 23 buildings and 1400 tenants. There are persistent pest control (cockroaches, mice and bedbugs) problems in several buildings, crime (drugs, prostitution, sex harassment) that has moved into some of the buildings (aided and abetted by CCC managers in some buildings), and lack of transparency: the CCC board of directors has an 'oral preference' that tenants aren't allowed to attend board meetings or to speak at board meetings. Tenants are also forbidden to get copies of board minutes -- a practice that Community Alliance of Tenants (which TRP has been talking with since November, 2008) says may be illegal, under Oregon Attorney General John Kroger rules regarding transparency and nonprofits.

At this week's Aug. 26 city council meeting, tenants criticized Fish's refusal, for six months now, to meet with tenant organizers on these issues. Fish said nothing in response to this complaint. Instead, Fish launched into a long talk about people misusing the First Amendment, likening tenant protesters to the conservative protesters against Obama's health plan proposal. Fish deplored the lack of civility in public discourse, and suggested tenant organizers should "alter their delivery" and use 'less harsh' rhetoric, etc.

From the open publishing newswire: Tristan Anderson, an American national, was critically injured on 13 March 2009 when he was shot with a high velocity tear-gas projectile during an unarmed demonstration against the Wall in the West Bank village of Ni'lin (report and video: palsolidarity.org/2009/03/5324).

The Israeli Ministry of Defense has notified the Anderson family's lawyers that Israel perceives the incident on 13 March 2009 as an "act of war." This classification was made despite the fact that Anderson's shooting occurred during a civilian demonstration and there were no armed hostilities during the event or surrounding it.

[Tristan] was taken to Tel Hashomer hospital near Tel Aviv and to date remains in the hospital facilities. He has had several life-saving surgeries and his prospects for recovery are unclear.

From the open publishing newswire: At 8 pm PST at the Radical Faerie Sanctuary in Southern Oregon. Radical Faeries at their annual summer gathering each were given a handful of crematorial remains (of John Burnside and Harry Hay) which in unison were released to the land, thus bringing these seminal figures of gay rights home one last time.

John Burnside passed away this last fall, surviving Harry by a number of years. The life partners were among the original founders of the Radical faeries, and Harry Hay was one of the initial agitators for queer rights, as founder of the Mattachine Society, the first gay rights advocacy organization since the fall of the German Vidmar republic, agitating in a world before Stonewall. Both life-long critics of Capitalism, and the commercialization of the gay culture and the commodification of gay men, as well as Advocates of "subject-subject" consciousness.

They will be missed, but will never be silent.
They are survived by innumberable free faggots all around the world.

From the open publishing newswire: Brian Willson lost both of his legs in an attempt to prevent U.S. arms from reaching Nicaragua's CIA-endorsed Contras. He will be speaking at a benefit for Iraq veterans against the war at 7 PM [Thursday] July 23, at the First Unitarian Church in Portland, 1211 SW Main. Donations are requested, but noone will be turned away. This is a fundraiser to help send a delegation that I am part of to Venezuela in September

For more information please visit our website: pdxvenezuela.org

Related Coverage

From the open publishing newswire: Navy veteran Joe Walsh (The Lone vet) from Portland Oregon, had his day in court and was found NOT GUILTY in a stunning peace movement victory over a foreign political influence.

Without Gordon Sturrock's video of the events there would have been almost no way to have won this case without having to do some really painstaking Q&A lasting several hours involving lots and lots of drawings with x'es and dotted lines and biases. The video provided an impartial camera eye's view of events that would have been very difficult to establish any other way. It's doubtful there would have been the same outcome without it. The video showed Joe walking across the driveway once, twice, being led away in cuffs- and the whole time there is another man in a black suit walking about in the restricted area with complete impunity. As it turns out, he's important.