Story and photos by Pete Shaw Just after her husband had driven away to take their granddaughter to school on November 6, Heather Sirotak found herself confronted by 40 officers, some brandishing guns. Prior to entering the house with the aid of what she described as a battering ram, Sirotak said she heard one “bellowing”…
Category: Pete Shaw
Student Union United in Condemnation of Portland Police Chemical Weapon Attack
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw Seventeen students converged on City Hall November 7 for a press conference to discuss the damage they recently endured at the hands of the Portland Police department. Their message to both the cops and City Council was that they will not be intimidated and intend to keep fighting. On…
Chemical Weapon Attack & Heavily Militarized Presence Demonstrates Police Immune from Austerity Cuts
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Solidarity Against Austerity on November 3rd: We the People Are Who Matter
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By Pete Shaw On a summer Monday I was walking through downtown Kenton, excited at the thought of picking up John Coltrane’s Interstellar Space which was awaiting me on the hold shelf of the Multnomah County Library branch on North Denver Avenue. When I got to the library, however, it was closed. I later found…
Supporters Rally to Defend Homeowner Against Unjust Eviction
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw “Five months later I am still in here, but now I’m not just fighting the developers and lenders. Now we have to face the city who is threatening to take my home.” Alicia Jackson spoke those words from her porch this morning, seven hours after the eviction notice delivered…
Grand Jury Resistors In Jail For Contempt Of Court
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Workers Rally for Paid Sick Days Now!
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By Pete Shaw In this campaign season, as candidates and a compliant corporate media again do everything possible to avoid real policy issues, it is guaranteed that, in lieu of substantive discussion, every stump speech will trumpet assurances that we are the greatest nation since Sliced Breadistan. So here’s a quick question: what is the…
GM Hunger Strike Rally Proves Occupy Fueling High Endurance Solidarity Machine
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw In coordination with actions in 11 other US cities, and in the spirit of the one-year anniversary of the Occupy movement, over 100 people gathered in Portland on September 17 to demand justice for General Motors workers on hunger strike in Columbia. “The fact that General Motors is firing…
Metro Seasonal Workers Trampled Like Unwelcome Weeds
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw Holding signs reading “fairness,” “dignity,” “voice,” “security,” and “respect,” supporters of Metro’s seasonal park workers attended the September 13 Metro council meeting to demand it stop interfering with worker attempts to organize as part of Laborers Local 483. Metro seasonal workers have been trying to organize since December, 2011.…
Grand Jury Resisters Boosted By Courthouse Rally
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw As 45 people rallied and educated passersby outside the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse on SW 3rd Avenue last Thursday, Leah-Lynn Plante was readying to refuse to cooperate with the special grand jury in Seattle investigating the anarchist movement. The crowd had gathered to support Plante and other…