Designa Vaginas: Cosmetic Surgery Goes Deep

Yes...I went there. Image by Rio Safari
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In a society where numbers on a measuring tape and weight scale calculate a woman's worth, the field of cosmetic surgery has grown to astounding length.

Physicians offer a variety of nip and tuck procedures that can allow the transformation of a female body from the top of her skull to her very tiptoes. More recently, much has been made of what has come to be known as the "designer vagina" craze.

The field of cosmetic surgery has a long history that continues to evolve.

Groundbreaking techniques were developed by plastic surgeons in order to repair facial deformities caused by the wars of the 20th century. It soon occurred to plastic surgeons that cosmetic surgery procedures could also be used to enhance beauty. More procedures were developed to include body-contouring breast augmentation, liposuction, and tummy tuck, in addition to facial surgeries.

Once quite costly, cosmetic surgery was once a luxury afforded only by the affluent. Today, cosmetic surgery is performed on a wide variety of patients from varying social classes. In 2007 alone, there were more than 11.5 million cosmetic surgeries performed, an increase of 50 percent from 2000.

The revamped vadge

The concept of vaginal surgery or labioplasty originated in the 1950s, with the goal of improving a woman's "well-being." It also grew from a need to repair episiotomies, where the entrance to the vagina is tightened after giving birth. It is also true that the advanced form of this surgery, Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation (LVR), has been used to correct stress urinary incontinence, whereby the relaxed vaginal muscles and support tissues are tightened and relaxed vaginal lining is reduced.
Surgery is also done to correct excessively large labia, a condition that cause chaffing and painful intercourse.

An unexpected turn occurred when woman began to report that, not only had surgery corrected their vaginal ailments, it also brought to them an increased enjoyment of intercourse. When the media picked up on this, the designer vagina craze was born as women began to request the surgery not out of medical concern, but rather for enhanced sexual satisfaction.

A surgeon in Los Angeles who advertised this surgery with the headline "You Won't Believe How Good Sex Can Be!" has cashed in at a phenomenal rate as women flock to him and other surgeons who offer designer vaginas in search of mind numbing sex.

As labioplasty, vaginoplasty and a technique called "G-spot amplification" have become the fastest growing cosmetic procedure in the industry, requests for the procedure have doubled in the past five years. Not all advise or support this medical procedure for non-medical needs however.

Vulnerable vaginas, vulva vanities

As the potential for genital landscaping grows, so, too does concern in the medical field. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recently issued a statement on the designer trend, calling it dangerous, expensive and unwarranted. "The real risks of potential complications such as scarring, permanent disfigurement, infection, dyspareunia and altered sexual sensations should be discussed in detail with women seeking such treatments," it said. Doctors in the United States and Britain have raised similar concerns about the surgery.

One area of concern calls upon the ethical question of exploitation. While the designer vadge is not cheap at $6000 to $10,000 a poke, the industry is seeing a growing number of women as young as 15 requesting the procedure.

One young woman asked for the surgery after her boyfriend made a hurtful comment about her protruding genitalia. In the instance that women do not understand that there were a large number of variations in the appearance of normal female genitalia, there exists the possibility that these operations prey on insecurities and fears of vulnerable women who may be more in need of psychological help rather than medical.

There is also the question regarding the real purpose in having this procedure done; is it something asked for by women for their benefit or for that of their male partners? If this is the case, what happens when the revamped vadge does not meet the standards of her partner? Will a vulnerable woman undergo this risky surgery once or twice more? And what would this say about a surgeon who agrees to submit again and again to her vagina vanity syndrome until said surgeon has her fitting like a glove as her boyfriend desires?

Sex sells, there can be no denial. There dwells a great disconnect in a society where a woman's worth and self esteem are subject to scrutiny and dependent upon the decision to lance or not lance her lower lips.

When vagina modification is performed to meet the standard of what a patriarchal society defines as acceptable and desirable, it falls close to meeting the categorization of genital mutilation. And for those of both genders who think that genital mutilation does not exist in civilized societies, I now ask you to think again.
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There is a plastic surgeon online who actually linked this article on his website. Funny.

This article appeared in the September 2009 issue of the Portland Alliance

An Interview with former Weatherman Co-Founder Bill Ayers

From 2008. I got a lot of criticism for using the term "freedom fighters." Not the least from Ayers himself. I find this interesting given that he spent the better part of his twenties blowing things up. He later said,"''I don't regret setting bombs,'' Bill Ayers said. ''I feel we didn't do enough.''

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The "terrorist" and the Prez-elect: Bill Ayers on Obama, activism and Republican spin In a stump speech delivered one month before election day, the intellectually challenged Sarah Palin said of President-elect Barack Obama; "Our opponent ... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country. Turns out one of Barack's earliest supporters is a man who, according to the New York Times, and they are hardly ever wrong, was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that quote, launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and US Capitol." The so-called "terrorist" in question is Bill Ayers, co-founder of the sixties radical Weather Underground, an organization the FBI labeled as a domestic terrorist group. The sixties became a time ripe for anti-government dissent and calls for revolution among young, radical activists in the U.S. Bill Ayers was one who answered this call. In time, he would rise to national prominence as a militant leader of the New Left. Already an anti-racist and anti-war activist, Ayers became involved with "Students for a Democratic Society" (SDS), a leftist organization that focused on direct action, radicalism, participatory democracy and student power. From1968-69 he rose in the ranks of SDS and went on to lead the "The Jesse James Gang," an SDS regional group. It was at this time that Ayers and like-minded members began to question the effectiveness of non-violent civil disobedience as mere symbolic activism while looking toward a more radical and militant form of response. As discussions of differing ideologies grew within SDS, so too did a lasting schism. The final split occurred at the 1969 SDS convention in Chicago where a document titled "You Don't Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows" was circulated. It outlined the position of the group that would become the Weathermen (and later the Weather Underground Organization, WUO). It was signed by 11 people, including Mark Rudd, Bernardine Dohrn, John Jacobs, Bill Ayers, Terry Robbins, Jeff Jones, Gerry Long, and Steve Tappis. After the murder of Chicago Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton in 1969, the WUO issued a "Declaration of War" against the United States government. As an investigation disclosed that Hampton was set up by the FBI to be assassinated by the Chicago Police Department under the umbrella of the illegal surveillance program COINTELPRO, Ayers and fellow comrades were moved to adopt fake identities, pursue covert activities only and go underground. As Bernadine Dohrn (wife of Bill Ayers) has stated, "We felt that the murder of Fred required us to be more grave, more serious, more determined to raise the stakes and not just be the white people who wrung their hands when black people were being murdered." Following through with urban guerrilla warfare that they felt would actually interfere with U.S. military and internal security apparatus and serve as a catalyst for revolution, the Weathermen proceeded with a series of bombings that targeted government buildings and several banks. The bombings were preceded by communiqués that provided evacuation warnings with statements regarding the particular matter that motivated the attack. The bombing of the United States Capitol in March of 1971 was accompanied with the statement saying it was done "in protest of the US invasion of Laos." The bombing of The Pentagon on May 19, 1972, was done "in retaliation for the US bombing raid in Hanoi," and the January 29, 1975 bombing of the United States Department of State Building was done in "response to escalation in Viet Nam." In 1973, the federal government actually requested the dismissal of the charges against Dorn and Ayers in the interest of national security following accusations of government misconduct. However state charges against Dohrn remained. Reluctant to turn herself in to authorities, the couple finally left the underground in 1980. Dohrn was fined $1,500 and given three years' probation for a misdemeanor dating back to a 1969 anti-war demonstration. In 1982, Dohrn did eight months in jail for refusing to testify before a grand jury about the 1981 Brink's robbery that involved fellow radicals David Gilbert and Kathy Boudin. Today Bill Ayers is a professor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, holding the titles of Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar. He is also the author of a number of groundbreaking books with a focus on teaching and civil rights. In the decades that have ensued since the WUO has fluttered and dissolved, various members have been quite candid in reexamining actions taken and words spoken in the hubris of youth and white privilege in a time when the sentiment of "all or nothing" appeared to be the most effective path to take. Former WUO members have gone on record to reveal a certain lingering of regret in relation to their militant past. As Mark Rudd has said: "These are things I am not proud of, and I find it hard to speak publicly about what was right from what was wrong... part of the Weatherman phenomenon that was right was our understanding of what the position of the United States is in the world. It was this knowledge that we just couldn't handle; it was too big. We didn't know what to do. In a way I still don't know what to do with this knowledge. I don't know what needs to be done now, and it's still eating away at me just as it did 30 years ago." In the following interview, Bill Ayers reflects on his resurfaced notoriety, Obama and what the future may hold under a new administration. ME: When the Right found itself floundering, the McCain/Palin campaign resorted to desperate tactics as both you and Rev. Jeremiah Wright became the men to hate. Interestingly, neither Fox nor other corporate networks mentioned the fact that in 1980 you turned yourself in and that many of the charges against you were dropped due to the illegality of COINTELPRO surveillance. What do you have to say about this? BA: Unable to challenge the content of the Obama campaign, his opponents chose instead to invent a narrative about a young politician who emerged from nowhere, a man of charm, intelligence, and skill, but with an exotic background and a strange name. He seemed to knock everyone out, but still the refrain played over and over: "What do we really know about this man?" Secondary characters in the narrative included an African-American preacher with a fiery style, an activist white minister identified with the black community, a Palestinian scholar, and an "unrepentant domestic terrorist." Linking the candidate with these supposedly shadowy characters, and ferreting out every imagined secret tie and suggested dark affiliation became big news. I was the person cast in the "unrepentant terrorist" role; I felt at times like the enemy projected onto a large screen in the "two minutes hate" scene from George Orwell's novel 1984, when the faithful gathered in a frenzy of fear and loathing, chanting "kill him!" It felt surreal. ME: On November 4, it became clear that the Republican inspired neo-McCarthyism and post 9/11 rhetoric of fear proved unsuccessful. Seven years after an attack by Muslim freedom fighters, the U.S. elected to the presidency a Black man who's middle name is Hussein. Did this surprise you? BA: I don't recall any "attacks by Muslim freedom fighters," but rather crimes against humanity carried out in the service of an arid and crypto-fascist ideology--- nothing nice. ME: For the record, what history do you have with Barack Obama? Do see anything at all revolutionary about his win? BA: President-elect Barack Obama and I sat on a board together; we lived in the same diverse and yet close-knit community; we sometimes passed in the bookstore. We didn't pal around, and I had nothing whatsoever to do with his platforms or positions. I knew him as well as thousands of others did, and like millions of others today, I wish I knew him better. The dishonesty of the original narrative about Obama assumes that if two people are in the same room at the same time, or if you can show that they held a conversation was, or shared a cup of coffee, took the bus downtown together, or had any of 1000 other associations, then you have proven that they share ideas, policies, outlook, influences, and especially responsibility for one another's behavior. There is a long and sad history of guilt-by-association in our political culture, and at crucial times we've been unable to rise above it. Election night in Grant Park, Chicago was electrifying--- a mass gathering powered by a sense of unity and hope for future accomplishments. The mood and the celebration echoed worldwide: what was unimaginable had become inevitable, and unforgettable. The power of rising expectations, of imaginations unleashed, of hope for something better than the politics of war and fear---all of it was in the air and on the move. Several initiatives are bubbling and rising today, drawing folks together to speak and to listen to one another, and to search for ways to name the moment as we inaugurate change from the grass roots. It's movement-building time. This is the moment of, "Yes, we can." Its time has come, and it's up to all of us. ME: Where do you see the country going after this in terms of domestic and foreign policy? Is there anything that you feel hopeful about? BA: This is the moment to rethink and reframe. We should organize and mobilize to break the stranglehold of a foreign policy based on military might in favor of foreign policy based on justice, and on learning to live in the world as a nation among nations. We should break with the idea that what's best for the rich is somehow good for all, and invest in people, their education and health and well-being. Yes we can... and let's make a commitment to working toward a world at peace and in balance. ME: Is there anything that you feel important for the next generation of radical activists to focus on at this time in history? And what do you feel is the task of alternative media at this point? BA: We need to act, and we need to doubt. If we only act we become self-righteous and dogmatic; if we only doubt we become paralyzed. If we open our eyes, make connections, act, doubt, act again... doubt again... then we're on the right track. And we need to always measure the success of the work pedagogically---did we learn something new? Did we teach another person? If we are teaching and learning, learning and teaching, then we'll be making our twisty ways toward a world in balance. This article also appears in the December 2008 issue of the Portland Alliance

Eco-Warriors Or Eco-Terrorists?

The Northwest Green Scare sweep brought much from the shadows. FBI plants brought activists to the brink, friends and comrades turned informants for lighter sentences, even as those sentences themselves put former activists behind bars for an average of ten years.

This is from 2008.
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Eco-Warriors Or Eco-Terrorists?

Rulings seen in NW cases of three eco-activists

Court cases of three environmental activists have recently reignited discussion regarding definitions of the word "terrorism." All three cases involve acts of arson. While arson is a crime punishable by law, one still must question the heavy handedness of prison sentences handed down as well as proposed sentences in the following cases. The lengthy sentence originally handed down to forest activist Jeff "Free" Luers was recently reduced by nearly 13 years. Briana Waters faces a possible 20 year sentence with Tre Arrow possibly facing life sentences if found guilty. A single act of arson in the state of Oregon is punishable by up to seven years. In this post 9/11 environment, radical environmentalists have been labeled terrorists by the federal government. Does this label fit the crime in these cases? Does destruction of private property equal terrorism? Is destruction of private property equal to acts of violence?

Court Clampdown

On March 3rd, Tre Arrow, aka Michael Scarpitti was arraigned in the Federal Courthouse in downtown Portland after ending his four-year extradition fight from Canada to the U.S. He has been wanted by FBI to stand trial in Oregon on charges connected to eight year old arsons that caused $260,000 in damage to Oregon logging and cement trucks. Arrow was arrested on shoplifting charges in Victoria on March 13, 2004. He had been held in Canada since then.

After a bow and greeting of Namaste from Tre, 34, the short hearing began before Judge Dennis Hubel. The indictments moved forward with Tre pleading not guilty to conspiracy and arson.

Greeted by press outside the courthouse after the arraignment, Loney stated that Tre felt that the time was right to return to Oregon to set the record straight. "His spirit is great," said Loney. "We are very happy that U.S. marshals will meet his raw vegan diet. He is a strong, centered and spiritual individual. This is what has carried him through."

Hubel scheduled Arrow's trial for May 6th. Arrow is to be held as a flight risk and potential danger pending the trial. Arrow is currently being held in Multnomah County. Because of security concerns it is not yet known where he will be moved to. Tre faces fourteen counts with the charges of arson and conspiracy alone possibly resulting in life sentences.

Briana Waters Found Guilty of 2001 Arson

On March 6, a jury in Tacoma found Briana Waters guilty of two counts of arson. The 32 year-old stood accused of serving as lookout while fellow activists firebombed the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture in 2001.

The jury deadlocked on five other counts including conspiracy and use and possession of a destructive device that could have put her behind bars for at least 35 years. She now faces five to 20 years in prison. Her sentencing is scheduled for May 30.

Both Waters and Arrow maintain their innocence.

Jeffrey Luers Wins Appeal

Jeff "Free" Luers, originally sentenced in June of 2000 to 22 years and eight months for setting fire to three SUVs at the Romania Chevrolet dealership in Eugene, Oregon, was re-sentenced to 10 years. This decision was handed down on February 28 in Lane County Circuit Court. The new ruling brings his release date to December 2009. Luers originally filed his appeal in January of 2002.

While supporters and civil liberty proponents see the re-sentencing as a victory, many are still left with the strong sentiment that the Luers trial, in addition to the Arrow and Waters charges and sentencing, are clearly politically motivated persecutions used by a repressive state as a tool to squash and discourage dissent.

When The Punishment Does Not Fit the Crime

The original sentence handed down to Luers in June of 2001 was stunning in a most draconian sense. The three vehicles that he and Craig "Critter" Marshall (who later plead out under the "Alfread Decision"--no contest--and served five years) set fire to caused $40,000 worth of damage and were quickly put out with a simple fire extinguisher. The vehicles were also repaired and subsequently sold. Luers and Marshall had taken care to make sure that the dealership and surrounding buildings were vacant. When the two were pulled over a half hour later for a missing headlight and detained for three hours in which time other agencies arrived at the station, Luers was questioned and arrested for criminal mischief I, which carries a sentence of one year.

One week later he was arraigned on nine different felony counts including arson, attempted arson, and manufacturing and possession of destructive devices or explosives. Similar devices were found at petroleum distributor Tyree Oil in Eugene, and three weeks before his trial began, he was also charged with attempted arson of that facility and faced several more charges. While no physical evidence was found to link Luers to Tyree, he was offered a deal for 12 years if he would plead guilty to both Romania and Tyree. He held fast and refused. One week before his April 4 trial began, in a tragically misguided show of solidarity, someone hit Romania again and torched 30-35 vehicles causing one million dollars in damages. A statement was released afterward claiming responsibility and that the action was done in support of Luers.

In the end, Luers was found guilty of 2 counts of manufacturing a destructive device, 2 counts of possession of a destructive device, 3 counts of arson, 2 counts of attempted arson, 1 count of attempted criminal mischief, and 1 count of criminal mischief.

To be clear, Luers has admitted that he set fire to the three SUVs. What is important is understanding how and why a charge of criminal mischief can in a matter of weeks take great leaps and bounds toward a 22 year sentence. Make no mistake; the cases cited here are trials of political persecution. Luers was punished for his political leanings as much as and if not more than anything else.

Unjust Sentencing in a Climate of Lies and Fear

It does not take any stretch of the imagination to sense that the 2nd Romania arson had great impact on the punishment meted Luers. Couple this with the history of the link to anarchist activism, protest and street fighting that comes to the mind of many when the city of Eugene is referenced and you find a ready made assumption of guilt.

Briana Waters is facing the possibility of spending the next 20 years behind bars. Just days before her trial went to jury, an arson fire in Woodinville WA destroyed construction on what was to be a new Street of Dreams. Paper, television and online news sources were quick to use the term "eco-terrorism" and erroneously stated that evidence existed of explosive devices and booby traps. One has to wonder what affect this all had on the decision of the jury.

Found guilty of two counts of arson, both counts stem from the single UW arson. In order to pad the conviction, the government specified the charges of arson of a building used in interstate commerce, and arson of a building that receives federal funding.

When the defense argued that they would like to have the ability to determine if the jurors had been influenced by coverage of the Woodinville fire, the jury was instructed not to talk to either side's lawyers about the case at any point in the future.

No physical evidence was shown to tie Waters to the arson. The government instead relied on the testimony of two informants, Jennifer Kolar and Lacey Phillabaum, a young woman tagged by other activists long before the Waters trial as disrespectful, unprincipled, and not fit to be involved with the movement. Also relied upon was flimsy circumstantial evidence. While nothing in Waters' history shows her to be a flight risk, the court has determined her to be such and she will be held in custody until her sentencing at the end of May.

The hardest evidence facing Tre Arrow is likely to come from others who are cooperating witnesses. The charges he faces are more of the same evidence of political persecution.

The "T" Word

The largest roundup of eco-activists in US history began with the launch of the FBI's Operation Backfire on December 7, 2005. At a national press conference in January 2006, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller unveiled a 65-count indictment targeting the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). Gonzales proclaimed that a "vast eco-terrorist conspiracy" was the US's number one domestic terrorist threat. The feds are waging brutal war against earth defenders and are using their Patriot Act's excessive reach to do so. Earth defenders who are bound in government chains are political prisoners of war.

Briana Waters was one of many caught in the sweeping snare of Operation Backfire, now also known as the Green Scare. Waters, Luers and Arrow have all been labeled terrorists. Luers has always claimed autonomy with no affiliation with either ELF or ALF. None of the acts of ecotage described above caused injury to a single animal or human being, yet the government, emboldened with their hijacking of 9/11, has seen fit to add terrorist enhancement to the charges leveled at those targeted by the Green Scare.

To contextualize the current state of siege, consider this: In 1998 U.S. Forest Service employee Tamara Meredith was found guilty of 35 counts of arson for intentionally setting forest fires in order to receive overtime pay. While she had endangered the lives of some 600 firefighters, she received a sentence of only three years.

The sentences that the government has and will surely try to hand out to radical environmentalists in the future rank in the same sentencing categories of attempted murder, manslaughter I, rape I and kidnapping. None of the three cases stated here have dead bodies attached to them. In addition to examining definitions of the word "violence," it also begs the question; just who is a terrorist? What is a terrorist? Who has the power to define this term?

Terrifying Stats

The U.S. is the world's largest consumer of energy. According to the Energy Information Administration, the United States consumed about 25% of all the energy used in the world in 2006. We use more energy each year than all the nations of Western Europe combined, and we use about two-thirds more energy than China. We represent less than 5% of the world's population and create 25% of global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels. Despite a vast potential for energy from the sun, wind, crops and other renewable sources, renewable energy currently accounts for a mere 6% of our total energy use. U.S. Geological Survey shows that Glacier National Park will have no glaciers left by 2030. Square miles of Arctic sea ice that have melted in the last 30 years (roughly the size of Texas), threatening polar bear habitats and further accelerating global warming worldwide, according to the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. Congress has not passed any bills to cut global warming.

This should alarm you.

Pollution is driven by economy. We rank at number one as global industrial polluter compared to other larger nations. The top ten U.S. industrial polluters are: Alcoa, Chevron, Massey Energy, American Electric Power, So. Co, Boeing, Apple, Cargil, and Ford Motor. Each listed here cause devastation to the environment at growing rates either by toxic air emission, poisoning water, dumping toxic waste, or emitting toxic levels of mercury. Significant amounts of phthalate, a toxin thought to cause birth defects, have been found in the Apple iPhone and iPod. The SUVs targeted by Luers are capable of emitting three times the pollution of other vehicles.

If destruction of private property can be labeled terrorist, then so too should destruction of the earth. In contributing to global warming and causing environmental damage at an unchecked rate, why should corporations not also be labeled criminals? In weighing the crimes and alleged crimes of radical environmentalists seen recently in Northwest courts, circumstances beg a critical examination. Which acts of destruction have caused long term, irreversible damage? Which acts have been driven by cold capitalism and economy? Which acts truly endanger the health and well being of the larger population and generations to come? In his statement to the court at his sentencing hearing, Jeff Luers stated, "I am filled with love and compassion. I fight to protect life, all life, not to take it."

The so-called eco-terrorist acts spoken of here were carried out to protest excessive consumption, global warming, the rape of the land and genetic engineering. As long as eco-activists are witness to the violence committed upon the earth by corporate polluters one would expect that we will continue to see desperate acts of ecotage. I ask that you take a moment to consider who and what acts are more criminal. Just who are the true terrorists?

"When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money."

Cree Prophecy

Indy Media in the Police State

From 2009

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The role of independent media in the continuing police state An interesting thing happened at the Republican National Convention this past September. As police donned riot gear and readied their rubber bulletrifles and tear gas canisters to combat thousands of anti-war/anti-police state protesters, minute-to-minute updates of police brutality and resultant street fighting began to appear online on Indymedia centers across the United States.

It was truly an amazing thing to see, and we can thank resourceful activists and Twitter in large part for this. Twitter is the networking technology launched in 2006. Twitter expanded "mobile blogging" (updating a blog from a cellphone) into "microblogging," the updating of an activities blog (microblog) that distributes the text to a list of names. Messages can also be sent and received via instant messaging, the Twitter Web site or a third-party Twitter application. Heady tactics for heavy times, and an amazingly effective tool for organizing and on-the-fly independent news reporting in the continuing police state. During the RNC police riot, radical Twin City activists provided some of the more savage police state imagery imaginable; we read and viewed video of mass arrests of demonstrators who, in following orders to disperse, were still corralled and maced before they were beaten and dragged off to police vans and buses. On video, tales of police torture and beatings began to emerge and were posted to YouTube. In some cases, arrestees were denied medication. Folks held in jail for over eight hours saw requests for food and water ignored. Some toe-to-toe, blow-by-blow accounts  were reported as they happened. That is effective reporting. A day or so into the protests, a group of journalists and activists held a press conference to report that police were increasingly targeting independent journalists. Notes were confiscated along with computers and video cameras. Film was exposed in cameras and equipment was held as evidence. Reporters from Portland Indymedia (OR) were among those who lost equipment. Merchants of fear Sept. 11, 2001 brought the first opportunity of the 21st century to radically alter the mentality of "Amerikkka." With this came the introduction of a new order of society; a New World Order. In a time when anyone who stands up against the New World Order is labeled a terrorist, hotbeds of dissent are in danger of falling silent. This is a grave time, and if ever there was a time of exposure of the under reported or the unreported, that time is now. This is not a time to fall to the language of fear. In addition, we cannot allow ourselves to exist in fear of the season of the snitch. This is a time for coalition building and organizing and radical leftist and anti-capitalist strategies. This is a time for cross-cultural and inter-cultural dialogs and exchanges, the initiation of which should not fall on the shoulders of radical independent journalists of color or different ethnicities alone. With this, I must offer a challenge: Alternative independent media cannot wear the face of the white male only! It also cannot continue to be offered only in the language of the oppressor. It is the task of the white radical left to create meaningful and respectful ways to cover the struggles of people of color and also include people of color in media organizations. At the same time, the radical white left must take note that they are not "The Great White Radical Hope,"  coming to the rescue of the disadvantaged. Radical media cannot be limited or event oriented only. There must always exist ongoing activity in regard to meeting the challenge of whatever the enemy has in store in a time of unchecked violation of civil liberties. We must understand that, just because we cannot always hear the enemy walking in lock step, this does not mean that the jack boot does not have itself poised to crush the back of our necks. Those of us who are privileged and gifted with any knowledge of technology must not waste this gift. We need to share both with whomever and wherever we can. Our laptops are our weapon. We can choose to use it in self-serving anonymous complacency or as a tool for change. Its all about communication and reporting the unreported. And perhaps most importantly regarding the new President-elect Obama: We must not allow ourselves to be lulled into complacency as it appears most have. Our task is to hold him to his word on campaign promises made. This must be our greatest task. Our cameras, digital or not, are also weapons if we live with intent and commitment to our cause. Videotape and photos can open windows to a whole different world. They can be tools for social justice,  social parity and key in creating the inter-cultural collectives and communities that are essential to movement building. Moreover, when video and film capture and expose injustices, both can be tools for silencing the enemy. All one needs to do is point and shoot.

Sistas in Struggle Fight Against Oppression: Good Sista Bad Sista

From July 2008. Let me just say that I am proud to call these bad sistas my friends
Photo: ME
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Sistas in Struggle Fight Against Oppression

Turiya Autry and Walidah Imarisha are professors in the Black Studies Department at Portland State University. They are also nationally known as the word slinging spoken word duo Good Sista/Bad Sista. Between them they ad film making, creative writing, acting, activism and journalism to their mix.
Even with Walidah’s move to Philadelphia of a few years, the women maintained a bond unbroken. Having known one another going on twelve years, the two women compliment the other with grace. Gentle and hard, tough and tender, good and bad, these sistas know what’s up. I joined them recently for a discussion about education, different forms of media and the many and myriad ways that oppression intersects itself in the lives of people of color.

ME: How did you two meet?

Turiya: It’s interesting that we both teach at PSU because that’s where we met. Talk about your full circle. We came together with a different dynamic as undergraduates and now we’re both faculty. It’s pretty exciting. We’ve both come a long way.

Walidah: We met twelve years ago and clicked as Black women at a mostly white university as students, poets, activists and organizers.

ME: How did Good Sista/Bad Sista come into being?

Turiya: Someone asked us to take part in a Black History Month tribute to Black women. They asked me to fill 15 minutes with poetry. For me at that time fifteen minutes was just daunting. I said to Walidah, “You have to do this with me.” We took two pieces that we had and meshed them into a new larger piece.
Walidah: The piece that we came up with was “No, You Don’t Know Me.”And it came together from us just sitting talking smack. We never set out to form a duo, it was just something that happened organically. Most of what we produce together happens organically, including teaching. Turiya was teaching a Black feminism class and said, “Hey, you should teach this class with me.”

Turiya: Right, I thought, “How can I know that Walidah is back in Portland and not have her teach this with me?”

Walidah: It was the first college level class that we jointly taught; we had already taught elementary, middle-school and high school writing classes together. The next class that we created was Science Fiction, Race and Gender. Again, it was organic; we didn’t have anything to work, it had never been taught at PSU, it came from us talking smack about movies. We considered the implications and dynamics of films and agreed that we should teach this. In the Science Fiction class we’re talking about what other visions for the future we could see. What would a vision based on the identity of a queer, working class, Black revolutionary woman look like? Let’s put that forward.

Turiya: We are always taking various aspects of film and popular culture through the ringer regarding things that we see are lacking. We wondered about what it would be like to talk about the way that race and gender is dealt with in science fiction. We started watching films and taking notes about what sci-fi would look like if it came from a different race/different gender point of view. When we began discussing this idea with others, we got really enthusiastic responses about what should be included.

Walidah: In framing it conceptually and logically; the reason that we like science fiction is because it is the one source of literature where you get to envision a different future, a different past or a different present. You are given the freedom to create whatever you want. This is not true in other forms of literature. Revolutionaries need to be looking at science fiction more deeply because this is the space where we can say, “Okay, we’re against all of these things; but what do we want? What can we build? When we’re finished, what kind of society are we going to have?”

I think science fiction has been controlled. The white supremacist patriarchy has a choke hold on it. The visions of the future that we are fed are the visions that merely replicate the present. We see the same people in charge, the same kinds of oppression happening, the same people getting shit on over and over again and we think, Okay, well; then this is all there is. There is nothing else. In being able to deconstruct this ideology and the messages that we are given and to see that they are clear conscious choices that people are making, white supremacist patriarchal culture that has really given them an insight and intuition that often times white students don’t have.

ME: I meant to ask how you came up with the name “Good Sista/Bad Sista?”

Walidah: We were performing in a show called Black Anger’s Last Stand. Black Anger is a revolutionary hip-hop group in Seattle. At that point we didn’t have a name. We were backstage and there was this brother who was like somebody’s second-cousin-best-friend-baby-momma next door neighbor who like got backstage. He’s totally mackin’ hardcore on Turiya, like (assumes mackin’ pose), “Waddup giiiiirrrl, how ya dooooin’, you sho look goooood...” And she’s like (slips into sweet, high pitched voice, “Um, while I really appreciate your energy and the support that you are giving me, I think I’m going to need a little space from you and find some breathing room to kind of be myself, if you would please allow me...”
Then he looked at me, and I’m like, “DON’T EVEN TRY IT. Brotha, you need to back the fuck up.” And he said, “Daaayum! It’s like being Good Sista, Bad Sista!”
Just then, someone came up to us and asked how we’d like to be introduced on stage and we said, “Well, how about Good Sista/Bad Sista.” And that’s how we got that name.

ME: Is there anything else that either of you feel is important to include in this piece?
(Pause...)

Turiya: Just that Portland better watch out because we have reunited.
(Laughter.)

Walidah: Yeah! Check yo’ back Portland, check yo’ back! (More laughter.)

Prison Interview with Convicted Oregon "Eco-Terrorist" Jeff Luers

Photo: Democracy Now! Interview 2009

Prison Interview with Convicted Oregon "Eco-Terrorist" Jeff Luers

When Jeff "free" Luers and Craig "Critter" Marshall drove away from Romania Chevrolet in the early morning hours of June 16, 2001 after igniting the wicks of two one gallon milk jugs filled with Coleman fuel, they could not have known that this action would come to significantly alter their lives.

The Eugene, Oregon anarchist eco-activists had placed the firebombs under a row of SUVs in an attempt to bring attention to the disproportionate air pollution caused by gas guzzling vehicles. Neither were aware that Luers had been tailed throughout the day by three plainclothes police since his release from jail earlier that day on a disorderly conduct charge stemming from activities during the Eugene "Seven Weeks Revolt" anarchist conference. The cops lost track of the two a block from the Chevrolet dealership. Ten minutes later, Springfield officers stopped them for a traffic violation. Both were taken into custody by the undercover agents who had been following them. It was later learned that one of the agents was from an anti-domestic terrorist unit. Luers and Marshall were arrested on Criminal Mischief One, a charge that carries about one year.

Damage caused by the fire was quickly put out with a simple fire extinguisher and totaled $40,000 worth of damage. In addition, all three vehicles were repaired and subsequently sold. No human life was taken or endangered, yet one week later Luers was arraigned on nine different felony counts including arson, attempted arson, and manufacturing and possession of destructive devices or explosives. Similar devices were found at petroleum distributor Tyree Oil in Eugene, and three weeks before his trial began, he was also charged with attempted arson of that facility and faced several more charges. By the time of his trial, he had accumulated 13 charges and was looking at serving 100 years if convicted. While no physical evidence was found to link Luers to Tyree, he was offered a deal for 15 years if he would plead guilty to both Romania and Tyree. He held fast and refused. In the end, he was convicted of 11 felony charges and sentenced to 22 years and 8 months with no possibility of parole. Co-defendant Marshall took a "conspiracy to commit arson" and "possession of destructive devices" plea and was released after serving four and a half years. It must be made clear that no part of this deal involved any admission of guilt or implication of guilt on the part of Craig Marshal or Jeffrey Luers. A later falling out between the two is unrelated to this plea.

In a decision handed down on February 28 of 2008, Luers' appeal for re-sentencing was heard in Eugene's Lane County Circuit Court. The new ruling brings his release date to December 2009. Luers originally filed his appeal in January of 2002. The original sentence handed down to Luers in June of 2001 was stunning in a most draconian sense and was clearly politically motivated.

Since the time of Luers' arrest, the United States has seen an unprecedented dismantling of civil liberties via the excessive reach of the War on Terror. The largest roundup of eco-activists in US history began with the launch of the FBI's "Operation Backfire" on December 7, 2005. At a national press conference in January 2006, then Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller unveiled a 65-count indictment targeting the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) with the claim that a "vast eco-terrorist conspiracy" was the U.S. number one domestic terrorist threat.

The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) was signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 27, 2006. It was pushed through Congress by wealthy biomedical & agri-business industry groups such as the Animal Enterprise Protection Coalition, the American Legislative Exchange Council and the Center for Consumer Freedom, with bipartisan support from legislators Senator Dianne Feinstein and Rep. James Sensenbrenner.

AETA expands the legal definition of "terrorism" to include activity previously protected as free speech under the First Amendment. The Act's broad language brings ambiguity to statutory terms used in the offense and definition sections of the law. Such undefined terms as "interfere with," "profit loss," and "economic damage" might be applied to the results of lawful boycotts and peaceful protests: "interfering with" could conceivably cover undercover investigations of animal laboratories, Internet postings, email campaigns, or demonstrations and boycotts. Because of this ambiguity, the law arguably does not give a reasonable person fair notice of what is legal, as is required of a criminal statute. This is not resolved by the AETA's stated exemptions for "lawful boycotts" and "peaceful protests." Indeed, the elements of those acts may qualify as terrorist acts under the AETA. This brings a chilling effect not only to the work of eco and animal rights activists, but to all dissenters across the board. Luers in fact has never claimed affiliations with either ALF or ELF.

Jeff Luers has become internationally known and supported as a political prisoner, not only because of the length of his original sentence, but also because of his prior activism and the tree-sitting campaign at Fall Creek, Oregon. To some he is a true revolutionary. He also wears the label of terrorist. He has served time in a number of Oregon correctional facilities with the majority of his time spent at the maximum security Oregon State Penitentiary. He has been housed for the past nine months at the Columbia River Correctional Institution in Portland, Oregon. This interview was conducted by this author through a series of letter exchanges during late 2008 and January 2009.



ME-What is the status of your release date? Are you still looking at December 2009?

JL-My current release date is December 16 2009. There is some contention between me and the Department of Corrections about this; the date should be December 15. That is my good time release date. While it is unlikely to change, I could be released as late as June 17, 2010.

ME-What are you most looking forward to upon your release? What are you most apprehensive about?

JL-There are so may things that I am excited about. No more walls is a big one. I think that within my first weeks I'll find myself camped deep in the woods reconnecting with nature.

There doesn't really seem to be too much that I'm apprehensive about. Certainly, prison has changed me, but the core of my being is still the same. My biggest challenge I think, is going to be living indoors and paying rent.

ME-At the time that you began your activism, there were a host of eco issues to be addressed. What put you on the path to tree sitting as opposed to other environmental struggles?

JL-For me, tree sitting was all about the direct action. It was a campaign and struggle that was local that I could have a direct impact on.

The end goals of many struggles are completely beyond our reach. Not that we shouldn't still struggle to reach those goals, but they translate into petitions of redress. We must concede that we are powerless to create change ourselves and end up asking others to do it for us.

Direct action isn't like that. The power to create change or act on a belief system rests completely in our hands. It takes power away from the powerful and puts it in the hands of the powerless.

I got involved in old growth defense because I was physically capable of stopping the logging of that forest. And anyone familiar with the Fall Creek/Red Cloud Thunder campaign knows that we did not politely ask for that forest to be protected. Nor did we protest gently.

ME-What moved you to follow through with the arson at Romania? Did you feel that there was any other alternative at all to raise awareness about global warming? And, what was running through your mind when you set flame to incendiary?

JL-Our world is being physically and geographically altered by the greenhouse gasses that we're putting into the environment. Local and global climates are changing. These events have been happening for decades, but it is only now that this makes news.

Industry giants and corporate hooligans are making millions of dollars destroying the planet I love. They are putting people's lives at risk.

You ask me what moved me to follow through with these actions. I ask, what has not moved others?

There were plenty of other alternatives to raise awareness about global warming. Al Gore did a great job. He's also a former vice president and millionaire. It's harder to ignore him or shut him up though many tried.

Things have not changed much since the time of kings. Poor people are still ignored. Only when the peasants revolt does the king take notice.

Do you really want to know what I was thinking when critter and I lit the incendiary devices? Okay. I was thinking, "Don't set yourself on fire."

ME-You and critter both followed through in carrying out the arson action together and you were immediately arrested together after this action. Because of his plea, he was released after serving a four and a half year sentence in contrast to your original sentence of 22 years plus. What do you have to say to this? (Any comment for sake of clarity to the community regarding your falling out with him?)

JL-Critter and I talked extensively before he agreed to take his deal. He was firmly prepared to go to trial with me had I asked. I wanted critter to take the deal. At the time, they offered him five years. They were offering me fifteen. By taking the deal he in no way had to cooperate. Hell, he wouldn't have even had to acknowledge guilt.

The falling out he and I had is personal and between he and I. We have since made up. I am very much looking forward to seeing my old friend.

ME-How effective was your action at Romania, and is there anything that you regret?

JL-In some ways the Romania action was and is probably one of the most effective direct actions taken in the United States; I know, very modest of me, right? Our action changed the dynamics of clandestine actions for the earth in this country. Afterward, Romania car dealerships all over the world were targeted.

Suddenly, it was no longer just industry being targeted but the culture that is responsible for global warming.

And yeah, I do have some regrets about Romania. After all of the [prison] time that I got for that little fire, I wish I'd done something bigger.

ME-Your original sentence by any fair and rational definition was brutal and extreme, particularly in contrast to punishment meted out to rapists and other violent offenders, many of whom you saw and see released while you sit in a concrete cage. The effect on you has had to, at times, fill you with rage. What have you done to channel this rage?

JL-I've never been angry about my sentence. What am I supposed to feel rage toward? I already know that the system is corrupt and unjust. I already know that property is valued more than life. I know that an act of dissent will receive harsher punishment than crime. I was angry at those things when I took action. So I can't complain that [this punishment] happened to me. In some ways, I'm glad that they gave me 22 years and called me a terrorist. It not only proved that I was right about the things that I was saying, but it also showed that direct action really truly is a threat to business as usual.

The punishment has only served to further my dedication as demonstrated by my continuing struggle from inside these walls.

ME-Operation Backfire hit the environmental movement hard, in the NW particularly. You saw former comrades given lengthy prison sentences based on the testimony of other former comrades who rolled over for the feds. The Animal Enterprise Terrorist Act was signed into law in November of 2006. Clearly, the criminal factory farm corporations and capitalist industry polluters have it made in the shade as the government protects their interests at all costs. First, what do you have to say about these draconian measures and second, do you have any words of encouragement for activists who have fallen to fear and retreated to the shadows?

JL-Fear is the enemy of freedom. We fail to act because we fear the cost of living free. We live in a police state. The U.S. may be the kinder face of fascism, but it is still a fascist state. Yes, we have elected a man who may bring change, but the system that he upholds will still be a capitalist, imperialist monster. If anyone thinks that he isn't going to protect the corporate interests at the extent of the people, they are wrong. We live in one of the few countries in the world where corporations are granted and guaranteed the same rights under our constitution. By design, our government is structured to uphold that rule of law.

I would rather be in prison or dead than blindly submit to a government I know is corrupt and wrong. I would rather dare to live free and fight against injustice than cower in silence and despair. I think many people feel the same way. We just have to be smarter in how we speak out and in how we act.

Oppression is designed to break the free spirit of the people and force them to accept their lot. The whole nature of and desire for freedom is to break free at all costs.

There is a world beyond this one just waiting to be created. The right to clean air, water and food is a birthright. Freedom is ours by right of birth. It cannot be granted by any government. It cannot be bought at any price. It is ours and we must only choose to wear its mantle.

MG-You've kept us update via your Dispatches from prison. In your last one you wrote that you were tired of fighting. This is a right that you certainly have earned. You also wrote that you were not giving up, but are instead looking at different ways of fighting. Can you touch more on this?

JL-I've spent the last twelve years on the front lines. Sadly, nearly nine of those have been in prison. I want to focus on my life and family when I get out.

I've seen our failures at struggling against the symptoms. I'd like to focus on creating the cure. Direct activism and militancy is a mainstay of the struggle for social and environmental justice. Unfortunately, creating alternatives to today's mess has not been. That is where I would really like to work and bring really hands on changes and alternatives to the table.

ME-One of the more chilling Dispatches from you appeared online on Portland Indymedia in September of 2006. In it, you wrote about the more brutal aspects of prison life. In the space of a few weeks a guard had been severely beaten in the yard, fights in chow hall were averaging one a week and a man lay dying for five hours in front of your cell. You wrote, "I can watch a man get stabbed in the neck and keep eating. I can pretend to not see a man lying helpless in his own blood (along with everyone else on the yard). And I can watch a man die and be completely unmoved."

When you learned that the guy you watched die was a child molester, you wrote that you were glad that he was dead. While a few folks who commented seemed to understand what it was that you were trying to convey, one chastised you for feeling glad. She wrote that this was a "sad turn of events for you," and that if anyone should have compassion for another human being, it should be you.

Clearly, prison is a dehumanizing experience. While I understand that it is not your job to clarify your feelings, how would you respond to the woman's comments?

JL-This is the first time that I have seen these comments [I mailed Jeff a print out of the Indy post]. It is obviously a little difficult to respond to something I experienced years ago.

My friend Randy Cross-who took his own life not to long after-killed a man. I watched that man die. I felt nothing as I did. It was simply just another day in prison.

Many people cannot begin to grasp the violent life of a max security prison. The threat of death is in the air everyday. I lived that life without cowering from it. When threatened with violence I responded in kind. When threatened with being stabbed I had my own shank to turn to.

Every one of my friends had a weapon hidden somewhere. Prison is a war zone. We struggle for territory, space, to avoid becoming a victim. Right or wrong, that was my life. I fought, I stood my ground, and I survived.

When I learned the man Randy killed was a child molester who admitted in court that he raped and used a foreign object inside a little girl, a girl who wasn't even yet twelve, I was glad the monster was dead. There are several monsters that I would like to see dead and not all are in prison. Some start unjust wars.

I'm not sorry the guy died. And I don't need to justify or explain that feeling. What I am sorry about is that I can watch that level of violence and be unaffected by it. I'm sorry that society makes monsters that must be killed.

ME-What do you think the world will look like to you when you hear the steel door close behind you for the last time and you walk free? What do you think you will look like to the world? How will you see yourself?

JL-I think the only difference is that the world and I will both be a little older.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeff was released on December 16, 2009 after serving more than eight years following a ruling the sentence was too harsh.

Jeff Hogg & the Liberation of Dissent

Ah, yes. NW Oregon and the "Green Scare."

Jeff Hogg 

Photo: Green is the New Red

Jeff Hogg & the Liberation of Dissent

The IWW union hall in North Portland was filled to capacity at the Liberating Dissent Ant-Green Scare event last night as Grand Jury resister Jeff Hogg shared his six month ordeal as a Green Scare political prisoner.

Until his release from the Josephine County Jail on November 11 of this year, Jeff found himself caught in the snare of the government war on dissent. His speaking presentation occurred as part of an international call to mark the weekend of December 7 as a display of unity and opposition to government repression. It was on December 7, 2005, that the FBI's "Operation Backfire" began with it's broad sweep of harassment, intimidation and persecution of eco and animal rights activists. The ensuing investigation with Grand Jury subpoenas and arrests has come to be known as the Green Scare.

Targeted because of prior eco-activism and activist associations in the Eugene area including work with the Earth First! Journal, Hogg was served with a subpoena in May of this year to testify before the grand jury in regard to a supposed ELF arson that caused property damage. His experience was one of intimidation from the beginning.

"OBVIOUSLY, THE GRAND JURY SYSTEM DOES NOT WORK"

Hogg began his presentation with an overview of the Grand Jury system and it's unlimited and unchecked misuse of investigative power. He began by offering statistics regarding the federal government's misguided crime fighting priorities.

"A couple of years ago the FBI announced that ELF and ALF were the number one terrorist threat in the country. They received funding to go out to harass and intimidate the activist communities. They are not really interested in going out to fight violent crime that terrorizes human beings. Their own statistics state that in 2003 there were 7,400 hate crimes committed that were motivated [to attack] one's race, ethnicity, religion or gender. That year there were also 450 crimes against the environment committed by corporate industries who violated the clean air and water acts and practiced illegal waste dumping. Their [FBI] priorities are somewhat eschewed. They are using the word 'terrorism' to play on our fear."

He went on to explain how the Grand Jury power of subpoena is used to gather information while counting on an individual's lack of knowledge about their constitutional rights. Many who have been subpoenaed have gone on to testify, feeling protected by the fact that as they have no information and therefore have nothing to disclose. What Hogg wants people to know is that Grand Jury subpoenas are used broadly as major fishing expeditions and that even the most seemingly insignificant information can and will be distorted and used against the radical community. With this, the decision is made as to what activity calls for surveillance, illegal wiretapping and where and when best to plant provocateurs. This kind of extra legal activity was widely used to derail the social justice movements of the sixties and seventies, and, this history is repeating itself before us again with Operation Backfire.

"60-100 people have been subpoenaed as part of the Green Scare since 2000. The vast majority were law abiding citizens called in to talk about co-workers, friends and neighbors in violation of the 1st Amendment right to free speech and association. Grand Juries are not entitled to ask for records of group membership, how money in organizations is used, who attends meetings, who your friends are or who you associate with. There was someone who went to a volunteer work party for the EF! Journal. They didn't need to offer that information. They could have gone to their lawyer to learn this."

One is not given the right to remain silent before a Grand Jury. You can still be compelled to testify. The government gets around this by giving you immunity. This means that one is guaranteed that your testimony will not be used against you and you therefore no longer have any legal ground to remain silent. Grand Juries are secretive and controlled by government prosecutors with no judge present. Jurors only look at evidence that the government chooses to present. Grand Juries are manipulated in this way.

"The purpose of the Grand Jury as stated in the Constitution is to protect people from prosecution that runs rampant and to keep the misuse of government power in check," said Hogg. "You have no right to an attorney in the Grand Jury room. Obviously, the Grand Jury system does not work."

SUSPENSION OF CONTSITUTIONAL RIGHTS

It was last May that Hogg was approached by an FBI agent and Eugene police officer as he was leaving his nursing school class.

"They told me that I was not in trouble, that they had questions and wanted me to testify against an arsonist. They implied that if I did not cooperate I might be charged with something. 'We'd hate to see you behind the defendant's desk' they said. I told them that I wasn't going to say anything until I got a lawyer."

In his search for legal representation, Hogg learned that the public defenders in Lane County were already tied up with Green Scare clients. His search led him to Portland attorney Paul Loney. One week after being asked to testify, Hogg was served with a subpoena. He refused to cooperate at the hearing by pleading the 5th.

"They walked me over to the court room. There a judge granted me immunity and said that now I had to testify. I was taken back before the Grand Jury and said I wouldn't testify and that this whole prosecution was in violation of my 1st, 5th and 6th Amendment rights. They walked me back to the court room where I was charged with civil contempt. Then I was taken to a chamber below the court room and was told, 'Well you have a few hours to reconsider your decision.'" He reconsidered nothing and was taken to jail in chains. He served 6 months in the Josephine County Jail in Grants Pass. This meant that his partner CiCi and had a 5 hour round trip to take for visits. His attorney would have an eight hour plus drive to consult with his client.

"This was challenging, especially not knowing how long the Grand Jury would be in session. The Jury is usually impaneled for 18 months, this one only had about 5 months left. They decided to extend it for another 6 months. They told my attorney that they still wanted me to testify. It was really depressing, thinking that I would not get out until March sometime. And then, I was suddenly released a week later."

By this time, Jeff had lost his job and his spot in nursing school. His grandfather also died and he was not able to attend the funeral.

"I want to thank everyone for their support. I don't think I could have gotten through this without it. The support was amazing. People from around the country wrote me letters, I had free legal representation, my friends and supporters did fundraisers, gave firewood, let my partner borrow their car when ours broke down, people came and did yard work—people came together in solidarity. That is something that you should all be proud of. I don't know if I could have done that [jail time] without all of that support. I see it as a statement from the radical community saying 'Fuck you! Your campaign of harassment and intimidation is not dividing this community. ' Thanks for even the smallest role of support. It was important not only for me but for everyone to make that statement, not just to lift my spirit but so that we can all experience that solidarity. Not only to help my partner pay our bills but for everyone's own faith and strength in the face of government repression. So that you know that if you are in my shoes, we have your back. Perhaps it was the lack of faith in support that that contributed to the breaking [of activists] under the threat of life sentences and to become informants. It's really sad, because the support is there."

PRISONER SUPPORT

Before leaving the microphone, Jeff touched on the dire importance of prisoner support. He stated that before he went to jail, he didn't much write to prisoners because he did not feel that he had anything interesting to say.

"Now, I have to say: when you're in jail *anything* is interesting." This brought great laughter from the event attendees. He went on to encourage folks to be creative and write about a hike you took, a work project, something of great beauty that you might have seen.

"Anything is always interesting when you're in a concrete box. So... please, continue to write to prisoners, keep up the solidarity. And, thanks." With this, this slight, soft spoken young man went back to tabling for Portland Books to Prisoners.

I caught up with Jeff a little later to ask if there was anything else that he felt was important to include in this article. He obviously has not had an easy time and with the attack on the right to dissent, he might have more hardship to endure. Did he have anything to say to activists who may feel the need to walk away from movement organizing out of fear of government retaliation?

He paused for a moment and then said, "I would say, just stay strong and have faith in your community. Keep working on building that community. And support our prisoners."

PDX Immigration Roundup: Tip of the ICEberg

This is from June 2007. More than disheartening as so much remains the same, with Trump leading the hate on immigration.
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Sanctuary Meeting

Reunion de Families 7:00

Community Center

Photo: ME

PDX Immigration Roundup: Tip of the ICEberg

In response to yesterday's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid at the Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. plant in North Portland, over 300 immigrant workers, worker families and immigrant rights supporters came together last night to voice concerns and learn about resources available to those affected by the worker roundup in which 167 were arrested and detained for immigration violations.

At the emergency forum held at St. Andrew's Catholic Church in N.E. Portland and organized by local immigrant advocacy organizations and legal advisors, attendees learned about what rights are guaranteed undocumented workers upon arrest and detainment by ICE; what assistance is available families of those detained, and; what best next plans must be coordinated as it is expected that ICE is sure to add another notch to their "criminalization of immigrants (quotes by author)" campaign.

Corporate media denied access

                                                                    

                                                          

The evening began with some negotiation with local T.V. reporters. Forum organizers were concerned with the issue of video recording in contrast with necessary confidentiality regarding immigration status of some in attendance. Employer retaliation was also a concern as some worried about what reaction Del Monte supervisors would have upon seeing employees on camera at the pro-immigrant event. While the handful of corporate media sat in a funk just outside the church meeting hall, organizers discussed with attendees whether or not to allow filming access. After lengthy discussion among those in attendance, it was finally decided that those who did not want to be on camera would move to the right of the hall. In the end, only one photographer from the Oregonian was seen taking photos.


"We Are Not Criminals!"

After Father Charles Lienardt led a prayer asking that those affected by the Del Monte raid be provided with strength and support during their ordeal, VOZ day laborer organizer Pedro Sosa next addressed the crowd. As he waved a $20 bill in the air, he asked the audience what it was that he held in his hand and what one could do with it. After a myriad of responses, he crumbled the bill and threw it on the floor. "What can we do with it now?" Stepping on the bill and grinding it into the floor he asked, "Does it still have worth? Does it still have value?"

"Yes," came the answer. Sosa then held the wadded bill in the air. "I hope that when we think of the worth of this money that we think of our own worth. We have been stepped on and beaten down but we still have value, we still have worth and we still have our dignity. We must remain united in our opposition to a structure has no dignity and only values us for our labor and then throws us away when we are no longer needed. We are workers! We are not criminals!"

This was met with cheers and a brief discussion about the necessity of maintaining a united front. It was then time for an overview of the day's events. It was explained that the raid was the culmination of a six-month investigation into the illegal manufacturing and sales of identification cards including fraudulent social security numbers. Is is alleged by ICE that nine out of ten of those employed by Del Monte were hired while using phony I.D.s.

The forum next moved to those in attendance sharing their experiences. Family members spoke emotionally about not knowing where spouses, children and siblings were detained, how to reach them or when or if they would be deported. It was said that Del Monte supervisors were giving out as little explanation and information as possible to workers and their families. Daycare providers told of children who were still in their care as of late evening because their parents had been carted off by ICE law enforcement. When one daycare provider asked authorities what steps to take to reunite the children with their family, she was told to turn the children over to the Department of Human Resources. Another story was told of a neighboring family whose underage children were waiting for their parents to come home. With this, it was announced that immigration attorneys were in attendance and that anyone with questions about the location and status of family members, questions regarding their own resident status as well as information about reunification were free to meet in an adjoining room with counsel. Approximately more than a third of those present rose to do so.

Immigrant Rights and Sanctuary

Attendees were next informed of their basic rights and learned that they had the right to remain silent and request an attorney. They also were informed that they had the right to appeal their charges and request release on humanitarian assignment. This category can be extended to those under medical care, women who are pregnant or those who are the sole caregiver or family provider (obvious Catch-22 noted here). There is also the possible that some arrested may be released if it is evidenced that they are not a threat to the community. It is not known at this time if anyone has been released from the Tacoma WA Detention Center where they are held.

Also brought into discussion was the formation of a new Sanctuary Movement. This Movement reached its height in the mid 1980's as U.S. residents provided sanctuary for Central American refugees fleeing the U.S. sponsored terrorist death squads. These death squads who put into practice lessons learned at the U.S. School of the Americas, were responsible for the rape, torture, mutilation and murder of 300,00 innocent Central American civilians from 1979-87.

As the evening grew long and the schedule behind, some voiced the need to take organized action in a show of solidarity. It was also said that there was an immediate need to establish a worker fund for families targeted by ICE. It was suggested that those interested in forming committees to discuss specific tactics of resistance join together for separate discussions. Some tactics discussed were the possibility of an informational picket and migra (ICE) watch at Del Monte and other companies with a large immigrant workforce, an info picket at the Mexican Consulate as well as at the ICE office and a concerted effort to focus on Portland Mayor Tom Potter to urge him to implement discourse with ICE on comprehensive and humanitarian immigration reform.

Thoughts and Analysis

As former volunteer and staff with PCUN, The Oregon Farmworker Union, I have for years seen first hand the rampant, blatant, violent and racist exploitation of Latino agricultural and cannery workers. As summer approaches, the fields in the Willamette Valley will soon be full with workers who put fruit and vegetables on our tables, pick the grapes for our wine and cut the hops for our beer. It is well known among farmworkers and farmworker organizers that growers have often worked in tandem with ICE in coordinating immigration raids. Many times, raids occur just after harvest and workers are deported without pay. Without our support, undocumented workers are not likely to often speak out against unfair wages, inhumane working conditions, harassment or much of anything else.

Yesterday's raid at Del Monte is sure to be one of many such operations. It is important to strategise, support and take part in organizing an active resistance to counter inhumane ICE tactics.

I ask you to keep in mind that ICE is a wing of Homeland Security, brought to us via the Patriot Act. I also ask that at your next meal, you take time to consider that everything on your plate was first touched by an immigrant worker. They take care of our children, clean our houses, mow our lawns, construct our housing, cook at our restaurants, bus cafeteria tables, scrub public toilets. I ask you to consider news wire images of pregnant women led to jail in ICE handcuffs and leg chains. What is her crime?

Immigrant workers provide for us. Let's come together and provide for them.

Radical Women: Delores Huerta

I first met Dolores Huerta in 1995. She had come to PCUN in Woodburn, Oregon to speak at the memorial of PCUN co-founder Cipriano Ferrell. Since that time we have greeted one another at various marches, rallies and protests as we take part in the never ending struggle for the rights of undocumented immigrant workers. Like Fredrika Newton, Dolores most definitely is one of my sheroes. I may not agree with all of her political point of view (I'm a recovering liberal), but I continue to admire her nonetheless. She is a tireless and dedicated Chicana Warrior and can always be found on the frontline of the battle for human rights.
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Photo: Delores Huerta Foundation

Chicana Warrior Still Going Strong after 45 Years of Activism

Dolores Huerta ended her keynote address at the first Environmental Conference for Health and Justice with a familiar call and answer. Looking out over the audience that packed the Seattle Ethnic Cultural Center Theater, she called out, "We didn't cross the border!" The audience shouted back the answer, "The border crossed US!"
"Always remember this," she said. "If you are of Latino descent and someone tells you to go back from where you came from, make sure that you tell them that you ARE where you came from and that you were here a long time before they were, right?"
 
She then brought the crowd to their feet with the Farmworker Movement mantra Si Se Puede. "Se puede? (Can we do it?)" she asked. Attendees answered, "Si, se puede! (Yes, we can!)"
 
Huerta introduced this rallying cry in the earliest days of her work as co-founder with Cesar Chavez of the United Farm Worker Union in 1965. While Chavez has garnerd much of the spotlight in counteless books and documentaries, Huerta is at times a mere blip on the radar.
 
Huerta was born on April 10, 1930 in New Mexico. Her parents divorced when she was three. Huerta's mother was a business woman who raised her daughter to be outspoken and independent.

After earning a teaching degree at the University of Pacific's Delta Community College, Huerta ended a brief stint as a teacher because in her words, "I couldn't stand to see kids come to class and needing shoes. I thought that I could do more organizing farm workers than be trying to teach their hungry children."

As a founding member of the Stockton, California Community Service Organization (CSO), Huerta met Cesar Chavez when he joined the outfit in 1955. The CSO worked to organize voter registration drives, fought to end police brutality, battled segregation and pushed to improve resources for the poor and underemployed. in 1960, Huerta helped organize and found the Agricultural Workers Association. As a lobbyist she succeeded in obtaining that citizenship requierments be removed from public assistance programs. She also helped pass legislation that allowed voters the right to vote in Spanish as well as the right to take a driver's license test in one's native language.

In 1962, Huerta and Chavez recognized the need to organize farm workers. Together they founded the National Farm Worker Association. In 1965 they merged with the Filipino worker's Agricultural Farmworker's Association to become the United Farm Worker Union (UFW).

After a successful five year boycott of California grape products, the UFW won the first agricultural union contracts with the San Joaqchin Valley grape growers. It was Huerta who negotiated these first historic contracts. Since then, Huerta has worked tirelessly to lobby for better wages and working conditions for ag workers, fought against federal implementation of Guest Worker programs, pesticide regulation (it was the UFW that won the ban od DDT), and has spearheaded legislation to grant amnesty for farm workers who have lived, worked and paid taxes for years in the U.S. but have been barred from the advantages of citizenship.

During the last presidential election Huerta left the UFW (she is currently the UFW 2nd Vice President Emeritus) to work full time for the Gore campaign.

I had the honor of taking a few minutes with Dolores during a break in conference events.

ME: What have yo been doing since making the transition from full time work at the Union?

DH: Well. for one thing, I worked on the Gore campaign before I was hospitalized for an aneuyrsim. After that, I was sick for a whole year. Then, about that time one of my daughters (Huerta has 11 children!!), Anita, needed a transplant. One of my other daughters, Maria Elena who is a filmmaker, gave her 70% of her liver. Up until February of this year, I was pretty much tied up with my daughters. Then in February I hit the road. We had a lot of activities around March 31 which is Cesar Chavez Day.

ME: How has the focus of your speaking presentations shifted now that you devote much of your time to other causes?

DH: Well, I always use the farm worker struggle to show people what we can bring about through organizing.You know, Cesar and I started the Union with his wife, Helen. And I use the organization as an example of how we were able to rally enough people to change laws and bring about farm worker union contracts that included medical plans, job security, pension plans, paid vacations, and how the Union has grown throughout the southwest, Southeast and Northwest. We have a radio station, the Radio Campesino Network that broadcasts from Washington State all the way down to California's San Joaqchin Valley.

ME: How do you define your role with the UFW now. and, was there a sense of loss as you made the transition from the Union to campaigning Gore?

DH: Um, yes and no. I'm co-founder of the Union, so that will always be my title. You know, at some point you realize that other people can do the work that I used to do.

ME: And this is a way to build leadership.

DH: Right. And I'm always thinking of or doing other projects. One thing that I'm very involved in is promoting women's rights. I'm on the board of the Feminist Majority Foundation. This is the organization that brought attention to the plight of the women in Afghanistan. This is an organization that fights for gender balance, at least on the legislative level and public level. So, there's so much more to be done in terms of the fight against racism, sexism...I don't lack for things to do (laughs)!

ME: After all these years, you're still a powerhouse. Is there anything else that you feel is important to include in this interview?

DH: Only to remind the people that it is we who have the power and to always remember this.
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Visit her foundation site: http://doloreshuerta.org/dolores-huerta/

RADICAL ELDER: ANARCHIST PRIMITIVIST JOHN ZERZAN

John Zerzan gave a presentation in January 2005 at Laughing Horse Books in Portland OR. This piece was done just prior to JZ's reading there.
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RADICAL ELDER: ANARCHIST PRIMITIVIST JOHN ZERZAN

When investigators in the Ted Kaczynski case narrowed the scope of their search for an ideology that seemed to match that contained in the communiqué sent to the New York Times OP-ED by the then unidentified Unabomber in April of 1995, they found themselves taking a look at the anarchist and radical environmentalist communities of Northern California and the Pacific Northwest.

It was not long before a NY Times reporter found his way to Eugene, Oregon to speak with anarchist and primitivist theorist John Zerzan. The resultant full-page article on Zerzan, which appeared on May 7, 1995, moved Zerzan (who was never a Unabomber suspect) and the city of Eugene into the spotlight.


As a resident of Eugene for nearly 30 years, John Zerzan has been well known and respected as an elder within anarchist activist circles in the Northwest long before broad media attention came his way. The June 1999 Eugene Reclaim the Streets celebration (where gallant anarcho street fighters had police on the run) and the Seattle anti-WTO protest, which occurred later that year (and came to be a full blown riot of Gestapo-like police brutality), brought Zerzan into focus once again as the media sought him out to shed light on anarchism and black bloc tactics.

It is his association with Ted Kaczynski that has perhaps most indelibly marked Zerzan as radical elder. Zerzan was present throughout Kaczynski’s 1996 trial and conversed with him often. Two essays by Zerzan, “Whose Unabomber?” and “He Means It, Do You?” are evidence of his shared anti-technology Kaczynski ideology.

I recently asked Zerzan some questions about his work via e-mail.

ME: Can you share a bit about your background and what it was that brought you to anarchist thought?

JZ: I've been around since the movement of the '60s and '70s when I was a union organizer and activist in SF and Berkeley. After those days passed many of us wondered what happened, why it stopped, and why it didn't go further. Something seemed to be missing in the way we looked at things and of course since then we are seeing the deepening environmental crisis and the accelerating technologizing of society, to mention two major developments we weren't much aware of then.

Today we have new challenges and new questions and are being forced to look more deeply to explain the very threatening negative phenomena of today and to imagine how much things would have to change to qualify as liberatory change, as qualitative change.

One way of putting it is that it isn't enough to only oppose capitalism; the origins and dynamics of a worsening totality involve more than that.

ME: Your most recent work, “Running on Emptiness” touches on this.

JZ: Yes. Running on Emptiness (2002) is my latest book and my next one, “Twilight of the Machine,” will appear sometime in 2007. I've tried to explore possible beginnings of alienation and domination, in such basic social institutions as division of labor (specialization) and domestication/agriculture (control of nature), which make civilization possible. More recently my focus has been on modernity/mass society. We have taken the latter for granted; even radical theorists have only criticized it without proposing its abolition.

The promise of modernity has turned to ashes at every level, from the barrenness of daily life to warming. Anti-modernity has begun to emerge as a serious topic and not just among some anarchists.

ME: How does anti-civilization or green anarchy theory come into play? Do you see this kind of theory as a necessity for the future?

JZ: Given the failure of the Left to address reality, new sources - such as indigenous wisdom - are needed for sustenance and inspiration. The acceptance of mass production, mass society, mass culture, mass consumption is unacceptable; instead we need visions and critiques that refuse the industrial techno-culture and its suicidal trajectory.

Green anarchy/anti-civilization/primitivism poses questions without judgment. What has passed for opposition or resistance has gone along with what is questioning mainly only who is in charge in lieu interrogating and opposing the components of the dismal present.

To be anti-authoritarian is to be willing, as we see it, to make a break with "givens", today's politics, and all the rest that confines us.

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Catch up with John at www.johnzerzan.net