March 25, 2003
'Trib' on Protests, Tactics, Business
A couple of pieces in today's Portland Tribune. First up is a look at protestorss and tactics:
Activists involved in planning many of the most disruptive activities of the recent antiwar protests in Portland say they have adopted strategies that make it more difficult to hold them legally or civilly responsible for the consequences.
Although most of these protests have begun with rallies called by established peace, church and labor organizations, the events that snarled traffic were planned as informal gatherings and carried out by individuals or "affinity groups" independent of the sponsors.
What appears to be happening, according to the article, is that while the more mainstream networks of protest organizations may acknowledge the plans for more disruptive direct action, they don't become officially involved themselves, perhaps out of the fear that the various over-broad definitions of terrorism in post-9/11 legislation could subject them to prosecution for conspiracy.
Meanwhile, downtown businesses -- and their cabal the Portland Business Alliance -- are getting irritated at the impact of rallies and marches on their endeavors:
"People have a right to protest and we understand that, but at some point you have to ask, When is enough enough?" said Chris Finks, vice president of marketing for the Portland Business Alliance, which represents downtown business owners.
According to Finks, many downtown retail owners believe sales are down because shoppers cannot reach stores or simply have stopped coming downtown altogether.
"It is impossible to quantify how much the protests are affecting sales because the economy is down. But that’s part of the problem, too. Downtown retailers just can’t take much more," he said.
You might recall, of course, that the PBA virulently opposed the antiwar resoution which failed before City Council, in part because Commissioner Francesconi parroted the PBA's "concerns" about the measure. Local protestors are, of course, not too distressed at the prospect of causing the PBA and its affiliate businesses some headaches because of that.
Beyond that however, I continue to place my own personal stance directly behind the intention of these disruptions: To force people to grasp the simply idea that life for us should simply not be "business as usual" (both literally and figuratively) when the nation is at war.
This inevitably get labelled as selfishness, naivete, or something much worse. But the message behind such business disruption (or, indeed, behind traffic disruption) is that the truly selfish, and the truly naive, are those who think that Americans have a God-given right to go about the normalcy of their daily lives at a time such as this.
If this issue must be forced through tactics such as traffic blockades and business disruptions, so be it.
Comments (18)
migraineboy@AllianceWatch on 25 Mar 2003
The second article about the reaction of downtown business to the rallies was very interesting. Perhaps the most interesting part was at the very end. The article states that the Portland Business Alliance is supporting the bill in the Oregon Senate that would broaden the definition and crimilization of terrorism (SB 742). You have reported on this extensively, but I find it interesting that the Alliance is supporting this horrible, over reaching bill.
Also note that Frink literally yells fire in a crowded theater at the end of the article.
"What if there’s a fire and people need to get out of town? What's going to happen then?" he asked.
The One True b!X on 25 Mar 2003
That doesn't track with my reading of that particular article. It's clear from the article that the PBA is backing the stronger law on trespass, but it's not at all indicated that they are backing SB 742.
Redden (the article's author) moves from explaining PBA support for SB 46 (the trespass bill) into describing what SB 742 is about, and then segues suddenly back to a PBA spokesperson talking about protest rights.
It reads confusingly, but the article doesn't claim that the PBA is backing SB 742.
migraineboy@AllianceWatch on 25 Mar 2003
That is a bit confusing. I read the article twice and until you mentioned it I hadn't picked up on the fact that the article does NOT cliam that the Alliance was supporting the bill.
Somehow I still have my suspicions that the Alliance might support this bill.
The One True b!X on 25 Mar 2003
Well, I have an email in to Jim Redden about it, so we'll see if he can clarify for us both.
The One True b!X on 25 Mar 2003
Redden confirms the PBA is backing SB 46, but ther earticle was not meant to suggest backing of SB 742 as well.
Lynn B. Meyer on 12 Apr 2004
Jim Redden at the Portland Tribune failed to do a followup on his Secretwatchers story about Dr. Frank Stearns Giese and the Northwest Liberation Front dynamite bombings of 1973. Dr. Giese claimed he was innocent despite his conspiracy conviction. Jim Redden claimed he organized and financed the NWLF hiring ex-cons and others. However, none of the stolen police intelligence files even mentioned these claims.
Ronald James Scheller on 12 Apr 2004
On February 13, 1973 I was in a shootout with Seattle Police Officer Clarence Issiah Enault after being arrested for auto theft. We both emptied our guns just one foot apart and neither of us were injured. Hours later my Ballard residence caught fire shortly after members of the Northwest Liberation Front removed machine guns, sawed-offs, and a large number of handguns stolen from a gunstore robbery. They left behind a 68-stick dynamite bomb wired for detonation. Dr. Frank Giese was convicted of conspiracy in connection with two dynamite bombings of military recruiting centers in Portland. He was acquitted of driving the getaway car at the US Army bombing because there was no physical evidence. However, there was a money trail where $1200 was traced to him that was used to rent the house in Seattle where the bomb was found. Dr. Giese claimed he was innocent because he was generous and donates money to leftwing groups of all types, not just domestic terrorists.
Lynn B. Meyer on 13 Apr 2004
Dr. Frank Stearns Giese was a former US Navy captain. James Wesley Akers had recently been discharged from the US Army when he constructed and detonated the dynamite bombs used to destroy the Army & Navy recruiting centers in Portland, Oregon back in 1973. US Army Intelligence destroyed their file in 1977 because Seattle Police Intelligence Unit strongly objected it being seen by anyone. The file was shredded before it could be seen by a federal judge under the Freedom of Information Act. Dr. Giese claimed to be a member of a communist party based in France. Was there a French Intelligence connection? A Greenpeace ship......
Ronald James Scheller on 14 Apr 2004
www.portlandtribune.com archive dated 09-17-2002 by Jim Redden notes that Portland Police Intelligence spied on known political activists to try to determine who bombed the Liberty Bell at City Hall in 1971. Does anyone know? James Redden sent me an email asking me if I knew because of my connection to Dr. Fran Stearn Giese's urban warfare cell: Northwest Liberation Front. I have no personal knowledge of it and whoever knows is just letting it remain unsolved. It would be nice if whoever was responsible would at least reveal the motivation behind it. Was it part of the People's Army Jamboree or in revenge for the police nightstick attack on Portland State University students who were peacefully sitting in front of the Student Strike tent in the Park Blocks on the campus? If anyone wants to take honest credit contact: jredden@portlandtribune.com
no one in particular on 14 Apr 2004
This is the most confusing comment thread on this entire site. On a story over a year old, too. WTF?
Ronald James Scheller on 18 Apr 2004
For more information on the Urban Warfare Cell generated by Dr. Frank Stearns Giese go to the following sites: http://www.livelogcity.com/users/copkiller/ & http://www.olynetweork.com/wiki/
This story is archival from the revolutionary era of the late 60s and early 70s most of which occured before the internet. Files are shredded, stored in inaccessible warehouses, or in hard to find hardcopy newspaper indexes. The internet is devoid of most of the details of the Northwest Liberation Front (NLF).
Ronald James Scheller on 23 Apr 2004
FBI Agent Diana M. Kims 503-552-5233 is on a witchhunt/fishing expedition investigating former radicals for possible connections with Earth Liberation Front's Tre Arrow & Craig Rosebraugh....One has a right not to speak to the FBI, especially if one has done nothing wrong to warrant inquiries.
Ronald James Scheller on 29 Apr 2004
Read "Politcal Gangsters Watched By ATF Robbing Bank" in 04-29-04 issue of http://www.twincities.indymedia.org
Related piece at 04-29-04 forum: http://www.peacedog.org
Ronald James Scheller on 29 Apr 2004
Why would the Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms just watch a bank robbery in progress when the gang just went on to rob more banks? Why would US Army Intelligence shred it's files of the case in 1977 when they could have "classified" them? Why does the FBI keep the files on Northwest Liberation Front hidden after 31 years? Has the FBI followed the path of local police agencies by shredding all or parts of the hardcopy files? Why are the Senate & House Subcommittees on Intelligence keeping their investigative files on the Northwest Liberation Front under "wraps" and denying their surrender to the Federal Archives? Cointelpro files are still under sole control of the FBI. Most of the info in them is unavailable to public (at least whatever they haven't shredded). The FBI website only has what they want people to see on it about the groups they were investigating between 1966-75.
Ronald James Scheller on 01 Jun 2004
Lynn B. Meyer and former Portland State University professor Dr. Frank Stearns Giese were both involved in the January 1973 dynamite timebombings of Navy & Army recruiting Stations. Meyer was one of the four students kicked out of PSU for the February 1970 week of anti-military recruiting protests that were watched by men in suits representing the FBI and the Portland Police Intelligence Unit. Meyer was also suspected in the May 20, 1970 (National Strike Day) firebombing of the PSU Placement Office where US Army recruiters were scheduled. They cancelled due to the emergency in the building. On February 13, 1970 two US Navy recruiters were forcibly led down a stairwell by Maureen Gray, Ilenya Fenyo (wife of Professor Fenyo), and Lynn B. Meyer. Dan Wolf opened the front door of the Smith Memorial Building to assist in the Navy's ejection. Earlier, more than 20 other students helped remove these recruiters from their room of business. They halted their help after receiving a stern warning from Campus Security. The four students: Gray, Fenyo, Wolf, and Meyer failed to heed the warning, finished the job, and were kicked out of the college (PSU Four). About 36 restraining orders were also issued by County Circuit Court. This week of anti-military recruiting demonstrations was headed by the Students for a Democratic Society with strong backup support from the Student Mobilization Committee. The SDS was the more militant of the two groups. The SMC did not officially condone the violence of the SDS but supported their actions to forcibly remove two US Navy recruiters from the campus as a desperate attempt to draw a public forum on the issue. The mainstream Press came to the demonstration but soon left with their hands down saying: "nothing going on here!" The forcible ejection of the Navy recruiters was basically a publicity stunt and was done after consulting with the SDS lawyer: Donald Chambers. Gary Waller, sociology professor, was the SDS faculty sponsor who also approved the action. Coverage of this February 1970 protest rose from media indifference to major headline news for an entire week involving a major public forum throughout the City of Portland. In May of 1970 the medical tent at the PSU Student Strike was attacked by the Portland Police Riot Squad giving major head injuries to many of the students who were peacefully sitting in front of the tent. Maureen Gray (one of the PSU Four) was pictured in the media with a severe bandaged head concussion. She later became one of the leaders of the People's Army Jamboree. The September 2002 "Secretwatchers" series at www.portlandtribune.com has a copy of a police intelligence memo that clearly reveals the underhanded methods by police to neutralize demonstrators at the Peoples Army Jamboree. One still wonders if the 1970 bombing of the Liberty Bell at Portland City Hall was in revenge for the Nazi-like goosestepping club wielding behavior of the Portland Police against those operating the medic tent at the Portland State University Student Strike.
SpyKiller007 on 27 Jul 2004
An urban warfare cell terrorized Portland with it's dynamite timebombs, machineguns, sawed-off shotguns, and large amount of handguns.
Liberty Bell at Portland City Hall was blown up!
A serial bomber planted his highly destructive devices throughout Portland including one at a brick public restroom near the County Courthouse.
Sensationalism exploded when the Union owned Portland Reporter denied financing the saboteurs who bombed eleven (11) trucks of it's rival Samuel Newhouse owned Oregonian.
Ronald James Scheller on 24 Aug 2004
ELF: Do Eco-Terrorists Wet the Bed Too?
Little boys who play with matches will wet the bed.
--SpyKiller007
SpyKiller007 on 28 Aug 2004
ELF: Do Eco-Terrorists Wet the Bed Too?
NLF: Northwest Liberation Front terrorized Portland, Oregon with machineguns and sawed-off shotguns long before ELF: Earth Liberation Front made that city it's aboveground communique headquarters. NLF planted dynamite timebombs while ELF just plays with matches (Everyone Loves Firebugs!)
Little boys who play with matches will wet the bed.
Access indepth data on the NLF that was taken from a file found within an entire truckload of stolen police inteliigence surveillance reports: http://www.livelogcity.com/users/copkiller11 http://www.olynetwork.com/wiki