Earlier today at a packed hearing at the University Place Hotel, the fledgling Portland State University board of trustees voted to authorize weaponizing its existing campus security force. This action was taken despite almost universal student and faculty opposition. Prior to the hearing, a short rally and march from the Park Blocks to the hotel took… Continue reading PSU Board of Trustees Votes to Weaponize Campus Security
Category: Fortress America
1,000 Mike Browns Take Over Portland’s Downtown: PHOTO ESSAY
Last night saw an amazing local achievement within the justice movement for Ferguson and the supporters of Mike Brown, as well as opponents of police violence and institutionalized racism at large. Portlanders, like most the world, have watched events unfolding in Ferguson closely. After a grand jury refused to indict Brown’s killer, riots broke out across… Continue reading 1,000 Mike Browns Take Over Portland’s Downtown: PHOTO ESSAY
Portland Police Proudly Display Support for Child-Murderer
In March 1981, Portland police officers grotesquely killed several possums, then threw their dead bodies at a black-owned restaurant in North Portland in a sickening display of violence meant to terrorize a community. That was then. This is now. And nothing’s changed. In recent days, numerous Portland Police Bureau officers have taken to social media to show their support… Continue reading Portland Police Proudly Display Support for Child-Murderer
To the Cop Who Nearly Ran Me Off the Road: Fuck You
Cops suck. It’s a fact. They’re armed, trained to use lethal force, and can almost never be punished for crimes they commit. They protect the wealthy and their private property while enforcing a class structure designed to fuck the poor forever and ever. Cops are overwhelmingly white men, attracting to their ranks an infinite supply… Continue reading To the Cop Who Nearly Ran Me Off the Road: Fuck You
The Last Minute Preparations Before Hurricane Ferguson
The grand jury decision whether to indict killer cop Darren Wilson for the execution of Michael Brown could be mere weeks, or even days away. Almost everyone knows there’ll be no indictment – police officers are rarely disciplined for using deadly force, let alone prosecuted. Knowing this, law enforcement agencies have begun flaunting new military weapons as residents… Continue reading The Last Minute Preparations Before Hurricane Ferguson
A Post-Election Question for Liberal Democrats
This blog usually only wades into the cesspool of national politics when there’s a local or urban angle. But we did just have a mid-term election – the results of which means less to me than reactions to the outcome does. I’ll keep this short. It’s common for two-term presidents to lose the house and senate in the… Continue reading A Post-Election Question for Liberal Democrats
What the Hell was Leon Panetta Doing in Portland?
It’s not every day Portland is graced by the presence of a bonafide war criminal. This week, though, we were in luck. For just one day, one Leon Panetta was in town by invitation of the supposedly progressive Portland State University. If you’re unfamiliar with him, don’t feel bad. I’d rather spend my days not thinking about mass… Continue reading What the Hell was Leon Panetta Doing in Portland?
Documenting the Art of Street Rebellion
The historical tactics of domestic and international street uprising is one usually condemned in the moment and glorified decades later. I’ve never ceased to be amazed by those who support mass demonstrations in Egypt while criticizing civil disobedience here in the states. They recognize the value the Boston Tea Party but abhor the notion of burning cop cars. As a graduate of the NW Film… Continue reading Documenting the Art of Street Rebellion
Night Terrors from the Industrial Revolution
Shorpy.com is without a doubt the finest high resolution photo archive available online. Their collection holds thousands of 8×10 plate glass negatives, all meticulously scanned and retouched, revealing an enthralling portrait of America from the Civil war through WWII unlike any you’ve seen before. As was common for the era, most images are group portraits… Continue reading Night Terrors from the Industrial Revolution
BDS Targets G4S Prison Profits In Portland
Today, activists with the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions movement staged a protest at the local office of G4S, a private prison and security firm, in opposition to their operation of apartheid prisons and checkpoints within Israel and of their support of Israel’s crimes against Palestinian people. Billed as ‘Rally Against the Profiteers: End the Occupation, Break the Siege‘ the… Continue reading BDS Targets G4S Prison Profits In Portland