From NATASHA LENNARD at The Nation:
In May I wrote about my friend Jerry Koch going to jail. A well-loved New York anarchist, Jerry, 24, was not charged with a crime, but was taken into federal custody for refusing to testify in front of a grand jury — those black boxes of the federal prosecutorial system with a grim history of harassing activists.
by Ansel Herz at The Stranger
On November 12, Seattle police had a WMD moment. According to police “intel,” four men had taken over the Horace Mann school building in the Central District, placed a sniper on the roof, and wired the building with explosives, Detective Renee Witt told reporters. Across the street, dozens of armed officers milled about. A SWAT team was on-site, and the entire block was cordoned off. read more »
By Julie K. Brown of the Miami Herald:
Earl Sampson has been stopped and questioned by Miami Gardens police 258 times in four years. He’s been searched more than 100 times. And arrested and jailed 56 times. Despite his long rap sheet, Sampson, 28, has never been convicted of anything more serious than possession of marijuana. Miami Gardens police have arrested Sampson 62 times for one offense: trespassing. read more »
By Jim Fromm
SEATTLE, OCCUPIED DUWAMISH TERRITORY – November 15, 2013
Portland, Ore.-based Microcosm Publishing, a self-described “radical publishing house,” is distributing books through sweatshop apparel dealer Urban Outfitters, a corporation with a lengthy record of bigoted and exploitative policies. Last year, the dissolution of the Microcosm Collective left Microcosm Publishing under the sole ownership and management of founder Joe Biel, whom has an alarming history of exploitative and patriarchal behavior. read more »
By Gary Horcher of Kiro:
The Seattle Public School Board is trying to figure out what to do with a controversial community group occupying the historic vacated Horace Mann School in the Central District, after the school district ordered the group to leave months ago. read more »
A piece on the recent Fast Food campaigns launched by SEIU – their origins, means, and prospects for revitalizing the labor movement in the U.S.
By John Jacobsen read more »
By Jim Fromm
SEATTLE, OCCUPIED DUWAMISH TERRITORY — October 30, 2013
Rising Tide Seattle, South Sound Rising Tide, and No Keystone XL Pledge of Resistance members assembled a 35-foot-long pipeline in the local office of TD Ameritrade, while holding a “Funeral for Our Future.” Rising Tide demanded the Canadian-owned corporation stop bankrolling Tar Sands extraction and pipeline construction, including Keystone XL. read more »
Contributed by Kristian Williams:
After revelations that he had trained FBI agents at West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center, Vahid Brown found himself suddenly unwelcome in Portland’s radical scene. read more »
By Aura Bogado of Color Lines:
Dania Cabello was raised in Oakland, Calif.’s, Rockridge neighborhood by Chilean parents who set up small-but-thriving electronics repair and baby wares businesses on the College Avenue main drag. In the ’90s, the proximity to Silicon Valley brought in a new monied residents whom Cabello says were largely white. Rents went up, and Cabello says the resulting gentrification forced the family to shut down its two business. The electronics shop closed in 2005 because, aside from rising rents, new residents preferred to buy new goods rather than have them fixed. And as new Rockridge residents opted for Ikea furniture, the baby shop moved to nearby Temescal. But in the last few years, a new class of neighbors has been moving to Temescal, too. As a result, rents are once again going up, and longtime residents are being displaced. And now, new residents are organizing to bring in private security. Residents like Cabello are worried that that will mean increased racial profiling—and decreased community safety. read more »
By Shane Burley of Waging Non-violence
We caught a break. Most weather reports promised rain, and the outskirts of Portland were getting soaked. But as we arrived at the meeting point there was a pause in the downpour. We were expecting 20 people, 30 if we were lucky. From the crowd that had formed in the parking lot of the pawnshop around the corner, it looks like we had more than 60. We began a march to our target: the gigantic Fubonn Asian grocery store. Upon arrival, we were greeted by private security who let us know where the arbitrary boundary was: Do not step over the white line. That curb is off limits. read more »
